[2] A review in the magazine Variety described her as having "an easygoing earthiness that glows in the velvet textures of her voice ..."[3] Haran was born in San Francisco, California,[1] one of eight children in an Irish Catholic family.
[4] Her father, James Haran, taught English, film and theater at City College of San Francisco.
[9] In the early- and mid-1970s, Haran performed in local and regional West Coast theatrical productions, including Dangling Desperation or All Strings Attached,[10] Beach Blanket Babylon,[11] The Boys from Syracuse,[12] Company,[13] and Babes in Arms.
[18] She used the intimacy and directness of cabarets to her advantage as she performed not just a selection of songs but a production whose preparation was equivalent to an off-Broadway show.
[5] Haran did research about each singer and songwriter whose work she performed to find material to supplement his or her featured songs.
[18] On television, Haran wrote and co-produced Doris Day: Sentimental Journey on PBS in addition to contributing her efforts to programs about Bing Crosby, Irving Berlin, and Louis Armstrong.