Mary Carey

Carey was born to a father with cerebral palsy and a mother with schizophrenia. She was raised by her grandparents from the age of three months old, moving with them to Fort Lauderdale, Florida at the age of seven. She attended Pine Crest preparatory school in Fort Lauderdale on a scholarship.: 111  She lost her grandfather to lung cancer when she was 16. In 1999, she enrolled in Florida Atlantic University (FAU) with the intention of getting a degree in theatre. Trained in ballet, she performed on the dance team at FAU. After three years, she left university at 21 to help better provide for her family. In addition to appearing in pornographic films, Carey has also worked as a feature dancer and appeared on Playboy TV.: 110–111  She retired from performing in adult films in 2008. In January/February 2008, Carey was featured on the VH1 reality TV series Celebrity Rehab, receiving treatment for alcoholism. While on Celebrity Rehab, she stated that she would leave the porn industry and straighten out her life because of her mother, who was hospitalized in Florida after jumping off a four-story building as a suicide attempt the previous month. In the reunion episode of the show taped approximately six months after leaving rehab, she claimed she had not made an adult movie since becoming sober and intends to never make another one. However, she continues to "feature dance" in clubs, saying that she needs the money to care for her mother, but also hopes to stop doing this. In an interview with AVN magazine, Carey stated that she had entered rehab to tackle an addiction to Xanax, which she developed around the time she dropped out of her second run for governor and that the focus on alcohol was created by the show. In 2009, Carey made a film titled Celebrity Pornhab with Dr. Screw. The film is a pornographic parody of the VH1 show and includes a sex scene between Carey and a female costar. In 2011, Carey was interviewed for Celebrity Rehab Revisited stating that, following the end of the show, she had quit Xanax and binge drinking, apart from occasional champagne. She had been married to an electrician for two years and stopped making adult films, but continued making a living with personal appearances in night clubs and strip clubs.