Born Marilyn Kaye, she was once married to Kenny Vance of Jay and the Americans. Marilyn became a costume designer in Hollywood. She is the mother of film producer Ladd Vance and actor/producer-writer Gregg Vance of Phat Beach fame, and over the course of her career as costume designer and film producer, she has been credited as Marilyn Straker, Marilyn Vance-Straker, Marilyn Kay Vance, and Marilyn Vance. When Vance was asked about how a costumer could also be a film producer, she stated that for her it was a "natural progression" of her career.
Career
Costume Design
Vance began her costume design career in the 1980s on The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo. While still working in television, she began costume design for many notable films, such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Untouchables, and Pretty Woman, receiving specific recognition for her contributions to The Untouchables, Pretty Woman,The Rocketeer, and Mystery Men. She was noted in the late 80s for her use of designer clothing for product placement. In 1988 she was nominated for both an Oscar and a BAFTA Film Award for her work on The Untouchables. In 1990 she received a BAFTA nomination for her costumer work on Pretty Woman. In 1992 she won a Saturn Award for he work on The Rocketeer, and a Saturn nomination in 2000 for her work on Mystery Men. At the 11th annual Costume Designers Guild Awards in 2009, she received a Lacoste Career Achievement in Film Award for her feature work.
Producer
While still continuing her work as a costume designer, Vance began her work as film producer, with her first production being The First Power in 1990. This was followed by Judgment Night, The Getaway, and Timecop. She partnered as co-chairman with E! Entertainment founder Alan Mruvka in 1993 with The Ministry of Film as a motion picture and television production company. Her first productions with MOF were the Erotic Confessions video series and Embrace of the Vampire in 1995. She returned to television in 1996 with The Legend of Gator Face for Hallmark Entertainment and the Pacific Blue series for USA Network. These were followed in 1998 by the MOF productions Intimate Sessions video series and the film Digging to China. MOF was dissolved by Mruvka in 1998, However, in 1999 Vance sued Mruvka alleging he diverted assets from their production company, the Ministry of Film Inc. In 2003 Vance won a $1 million jury verdict against her former partner. Vance continued in film and television with her ongoing work as either costume designer, producer, or both for Pacific Blue, Red Letters, Run for the Money, The Girl Next Door, Two Sisters, My Best Friend's Girl, and Unknown Sender. She is also a co-founder of Vance Entertainment,a Hollywood-based entertainment development and production company along with her son and actor Gregg Vance. Marilyn and Gregg optioned every ghost story written by the legendary, and renowned Paranormal Investigator and Author Dr. Hans Holzer, considered internationally as the 'Founding Father ofModern Day Paranormal Research'.
