Born and raised in a small town in South Texas, Arlene moved to Austin to attend college at St. Edward’s University where she earned her degree in Theater Arts. After graduating, Arlene moved to Los Angeles to pursue her passion and has been working steadily as an actress, producer, and writer.

As an actor, Arlene's film credits include the blockbuster films Star Trek Beyond and Fast 5. Other film projects include the indies This Path, Luna, and Violeta. Arlene has also worked on many notable television shows like CSI: Vegas, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Scandal, and Agents of SHIELD, has guest-starred on For the People, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Castle, Franklin and Bash and has recurred on Sony’s hit show StartUp and Grey's Anatomy.

Arlene has hosted E! News Now and Live from E! for E! Online and has contributed on The Talk, Access Hollywood, and Entertainment Tonight.

Arlene is also incredibly passionate about working in the field. During the 2016 Presidential Election, she worked with Voto Latino, a civic media organization that seeks to transform America by recognizing Latinos’ innate leadership. As part of “Crash The Parties,” Arlene covered the Democratic National Convention for Fuse TV. After the election, Arlene worked with Senator Alex Padilla, who was then California’s Secretary of State, to engage young voters to pre-register or register to vote.

During the summer of 2020, Arlene worked for the El Rey Network as a Segment Producer for Maria!, a political show highlighting the most important issues affecting the Latinx community leading up to the 2020 Presidential Election.