He was the eldest son of Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll and Isabel Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 2nd Lord Lorn, and eventually rose to the position of Lord High Chancellor of Scotland.
He was also the governor of Tarbert Castle, and his "clan" was rivaled only by Clan Gordon. At the Battle of Flodden, he (and his brother-in-law, the Earl of Lennox) was killed, along with his king, James IV. His wife (who was the daughter of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox) bore him nine children, including Colin Campbell, and Donald Campbell, Abbot of Coupar Angus.