Mary Carey, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, was born into a family that could be described as dysfunctional. Her parents were both mentally handicapped, with her mother being diagnosed as a schizophrenic. As a result, Mary was taken away from her parents by her grandparents at just three months old. After her parents divorced, her mother moved in with Mary and her grandparents.
When Mary was seven years old, the family relocated from Cleveland to Florida. The following year, she was legally adopted by her grandparents. Despite the challenges she faced, Mary continued to pursue her passion for dance, which she had started taking lessons for in Cleveland. She was a straight-A student and went on to perform in "The Nutcracker" with the Miami City Ballet at the age of 12.
Mary's dancing skills were honed through her attendance at a prestigious dance school, and she was offered dance scholarships from various institutions. However, her life took a dramatic turn when her grandfather developed lung cancer and passed away within a few months. Her grandmother's Parkinson's disease worsened, and Mary's body began to develop, making it no longer suitable for a ballerina. She was advised to lose weight and get a breast reduction but instead decided to leave ballet altogether.
Mary tried out for and won a place on the dance team at Florida State University, where she was enrolled. However, her grandmother's health continued to deteriorate, and their financial situation became precarious. To make ends meet, Mary looked for a job that could pay a decent wage and found work as a model on an adult Internet site. She eventually landed a job as a stripper and noticed that the featured girls were the ones who commanded the big money.
An agent told her that the best way to become a featured stripper was to get a following by doing porn. Mary traveled to Los Angeles and made the rounds of adult-film producers and studios, eventually landing a job with Playboy TV. Just prior to the recall campaign against California Governor Gray Davis, Mary signed a contract with Kick Ass Pictures and decided to run for governor as a publicity stunt.
The stunt worked better than expected, and Mary's bubbly personality, sense of humor, and beauty endeared her to the California public. Although some political pundits wrote her off as a joke, her campaign received extensive media coverage and drew enthusiastic crowds at her appearances. Although she didn't win the election, Mary managed to garner over 11,000 votes.
After the election, Mary continued to produce videos, which continue to sell well, and is now one of the most recognized porn stars in the industry, besides Jenna Jameson.
