Born in Kōriyama, Kobayashi started her career as an idol while still at high school;[1] she made her record debut in 1972 with "Hatsukoi no merodī" (初恋のメロディー; "Melody of First Love"),[1][2] which reached the 18th position on the Oricon Singles Chart.
[3] She eventually had her breakout in the late 1970s as a model and an actress for commercials of major brands such as Shiseido and Parco.
[2][4] Kobayashi's major hit was the 1984 song "Amaoto wa Chopin no Shirabe" (雨音はショパンの調べ; "The Sound of Rain is Chopin's Music"), a cover of Gazebo's "I Like Chopin" with Japanese lyrics by Yumi Matsutoya;[2][4] the song peaked at the top of the Oricon Singles Chart for three weeks.
[1][3] In 1991, she married and retired from show business to focus on her family.
[4] Kobayashi made her official comeback in 2016, posing on the cover of the magazine Kunel.