Mary Carey (born Mary Ellen Cook on June 15, 1980) is an American erotic actress and tongue-mostly-in-cheek politician. Her stage name comes from her remarkable facial resemblance to the musician Mariah Carey.

Mary Cook was born in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to Florida when she was seven, and studied ballet and dance until she was 19 years old. She graduated in 1998 from the Pine Crest School, a Fort Lauderdale private preparatory school (alma mater of Kelsey Grammer and Wayne Huizenga). At 19, she decided to try to join her college dance team. After being part of the college dance team for a year, she tried stripping.

She loved being naked so much that she began thinking about becoming a featured adult entertainer. Shortly thereafter, she became an established erotic actress. She has been in numerous adult magazines, adult TV shows, adult internet sites, and adult movies. Her years of ballet have paid off: Not only can she perform well with stage presence and flexibility, but she can dance. She also claims to have never received breast implants and openly discourages their use.

During the 2003 California recall, she was an independent candidate, placing tenth in a field of 135 candidates. She ran on a ten (later expanded to eleven) point platform, promising to:

• Legalize same-sex marriage
• Tax breast implants
• Make lap-dances tax deductible
• Wire the California Governor's Mansion with live web-cams
• Create a "Porn for Pistols" program to reduce the number of handguns
• Be a goodwill ambassador to attract business to the state
• Make those drawing unemployment insurance do jury duty for their pay
• Fight the attacks on the porn industry by John Ashcroft and the U.S. Department of Justice
• Allow bars to stay open until 4:00 A.M.
• Address the AIDS epidemic

In April 2005, she was arrested in connection with a Lakewood, Washington cabaret sting operation. She subsequently made a plea agreement and received a 19-month sentence, which was suspended pending her lack of legal problems for one year.

In December 2005 Mary announced she lost 20 pounds, got new teeth and got brand new 36D breasts. The addition of the new breasts lead to a change of her employeer, moving from Kick-Ass Pictures to Legend. Mary was also named �2005 Bimbo of the Year,� according to WorldNetDaily.com.

Political ambitions

In June 2005, Carey announced her bid for Lieutenant Governor of California as an Independent in 2006. She also attended a GOP fund-raiser with the president of the company that produces her porn videos and announced that she is a Republican. Given her previous political record, however, it remains to be seen if she (or Californians) will take her candidacy seriously (it is not likely that she takes it seriously herself). She would not be the first adult actress to win public office if her future bids are successful, as Italian porn-star Cicciolina was elected to the Italian Parliament.

Many members of the press have forecasted that she could do something inappropriate at the dinner or arrive in inappropriate attire as a publicity stunt; however, she was dressed formally for the occasion and did nothing unusual. Some, including Rev. Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association, believe that her new political affiliation is an organized attempt to embarrass Republicans, by showing a porn actress in the same dining hall with President Bush and her affiliation with the Republican Party.

She has also said that she hopes to run on a major party nomination for President of the United States.