Marlena graduated with a BA in Drama and Earth Science from Vassar College. She moved on to work in casting, as an actor, and PA for House of Cards, which shot in her hometown. Marlena starred in, A Good Egg, a short film which was submitted to festivals. She then moved to Los Angeles and continued her scene study at The Berg Studios. Marlena's been featured in various print and commercial works. Seeing a gap in the representation of mixed race narratives, Marlena created, wrote, directed, and starred in her biting six episode commentary Let's Complain.