Mary grew up in the small beach community of Long Beach Island, NJ, but her family hails from Louisiana. She graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in acting, and the Stella Adler Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting. Recently Mary was also awarded an honorary Masters Degree in Acting from the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in San Francisco.

Mary made her Broadway debut in "Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me" in 2006, for which she won the prestigious Theatre World Award. Mary also stared as rookie cop "Deputy Kimball" in Reno 911 on Comedy Central, and in the Fox feature film "Reno 911: Miami."