Marlene Aloisio was born in Detroit, Michigan on May 17, 1948. Her father was Italian and her mother was Polish. Marlene Aloisio chose the surname "Willoughby" for her professional work after someone referred to her as "willowy" due to her lithe, 5'-10" frame. She followed her older sister, Jacqueline Carol, in pursuing a career in show business. In 1969, she appeared in the controversial Lennox Raphael Off-Off-Broadway play Che! Other theater roles followed including the Obie Award winning Dracula Sabbat, Fuck Mother and Keepers of the Hippo Horn. She also landed parts in mainstream fare such as No Place to Hide (1970), Up the Sandbox (1972), I, the Jury (1982) and Trading Places (1983), Married to the Mob (1988) and softcore work such as Voices of Desire (1972) and While the Cat's Away... (1972).