Born in Dallas, Texas, K Callan's first professional job was at the Margo Jones Theatre. She first gained national attention as Peter Boyle's mousy wife in the legendary Joe (1970). Her career includes film, television and theater. Other memorable films include American Gigolo (1980) and A Touch of Class (1973). A regular guest star in countless television movies and series, her favorite television roles include the lesbian Veronica in the Emmy-winning "Cousin Liz" episode of "All in the Family" (1971), Superman's mom on "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" (1993) and the wife of an Alzheimer's patient on "Nip/Tuck" (2003).Callan is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy and is a past Board Member of the Screen Actors Guild. In addition to her work as an actor, she has also authored a string of showbiz reference books: "How to Sell Yourself as an Actor", "The Script is Finished, Now What do I Do?", "Directing Your Directing Career", "The Los Angeles Agent Book" and "The New York Agent Book".

She guest-starred on the Emmy-winning "All in the Family" (1971) episode playing Edith's deceased Cousin Liz's lover Veronica. CBS originally did not want to air this (at the time) shocking episode but Norman Lear prevailed.