Agent Lisa Optican Joins Douglas Elliman from Hilton & Hyland

Lisa Optican, a broker who gained prominence for selling Marilyn Monroe’s Brentwood estate, has joined Douglas Elliman, the firm told The Real Deal.

Optican, who was at Hilton & Hyland, will work atElliman’s Beverly Hills flagship office.

Some of her prominent deals include a 2021 closing where she represented the buyer for a $23 million Pacific Palisades mansion. Optican also is well-known for representing the seller at a $35.7 million closing at 1 Electra Court in Hollywood Hills in 2017, which was the same year the deal for Marilyn Monroe’s former residence closed.

Hilton & Hyland did not return requests to comment on her departure. She leaves the agency during a time of transition. The co-founder, Jeff Hyland, passed away in February from cancer. In early September, Hilton & Hyland’s long-time general manager Billy Jack Carter resigned. This summer, Drew Fenton, a top producing agent at Hilton & Hyland, filed documents with the California Secretary of State to start a new residential brokerage, which could be a competitor to Hilton & Hyland.

However, Fenton continues to work with Hilton & Hyland. Optican is one of the first high-profile agents to officially exit Hilton & Hyland since February.

Optican has worked as an attorney and a property developer. Before joining Hilton & Hyland in 2020, she worked at Compass in a stint that started in December 2017. She previously worked for the now defunct Mercer Vine real estate firm.