Originally from
Kansas City, King trained at the Miller Marley School of Dance in
Overland Park, Kansas. She worked briefly on a revue in
Las Vegas before starting at
Studio 54,
New York City, on its opening night in 1977. She appeared in the Broadway musical
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1978), then in
Roland Petit's 1981 revival of
Can-Can, before originating the part of
Bombalurina at the
Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway in
Andrew Lloyd Webber's
Cats, which she played from 1982 to 1984. In September 1982, the
New York Magazine ran a feature on King, who was pictured as Bombalurina in a window display at
Bergdorf Goodman. She played a Shark in the Mediterranean Tour of West Side Story. She was also a lead dancer in the film
Grease 2 (1982). She now has a studio in
Camden Town and teaches music, theatre, and film students. ==Musical theatre==