Marlena is a world renowned singer, entertainer, educator and actress. Her father is from Lanett, Alabama, where her big sister still resides. Marlena attended Central State University in Ohio. Marlena formed the Hallelujah Singers in 1990 in an effort to share and promote the Gullah heritage. Marlena's mother and Grandmother were from South Carolina where Marlena discovered her own Gullah heritage. Marlena lives in Beaufort South Carolina, the home of the Gullah festival that she founded in 1985. This festival attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year to the South Carolina Sea islands.