Washington native Marlys Lucke attended high school in Walla Walla, Washington, where, in 1954, she married Wallace Burdette. They had a daughter and soon moved to Gardena, California, where as Marlys Burdette, she found work as a model. In 1961, the couple divorced. In July 1963, she came in third in the first California Bikini contest, with actress Edy Williams taking top prize. A few acting jobs came her way during the mid-1960's, and she was best remembered for three appearances in Star Trek. She left the entertainment business and in 1978, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner reported that she had one million dollars in real estate sales for the Harleigh Sandler Company. In 1983, Burdette married Dr. John Willison Allen, a Sacramento area obstetrician and gynecologist. In 2000, they retired to La Quinta, California, where her husband died in 2022. Marlys continues to reside there and has participated in fan conventions over the years.