She has been called the "most influential American DJ you’ve never heard of" due to her show having many underground guests such as The Dream Syndicate and Concrete Blonde, while also welcoming established artists as well.

[1][2] She started her radio career in 1973, working at WBCN and WNTN in Boston, then moving to WABX in Detroit in 1975 then going to KMGC in Dallas.

(an acronym for Saturday Night Avant Pop), and later started the program Breakfast with the Beatles in 1976 at KMET-FM, simultaneously working at both stations to do both shows.

[5] In 1986, she was briefly fired by the bosses at KCRW due in part to her refusal to share her playlists with the music department.

[6][7] O'Donoghue died unexpectedly on January 21, 2001, at her home in Santa Monica, leaving behind an archive of KCRW interviews and performances from the 1980s on her show.