Mary Carey
Career
Born Mary Ellen Cook in Cleveland, Carey debuted in adult film in 2000 and became, in 2003, the only performer in this category ever to run for governor of a US state as a declared candidate rather than a novelty write-in. She placed tenth of 135 candidates in the California recall election with 11,179 votes, campaigning on tongue-in-cheek platform planks — taxing breast implants, making lap dances tax-deductible — that nonetheless put her on national news broadcasts for weeks. She followed it with an announced 2005 run for California Lieutenant Governor, withdrawn in 2006 to care for her mother, and a further attempt at the 2021 California recall, withdrawn for missing the filing window. AVN gave her two individual-project marketing-campaign awards, in 2004 for the governor run itself and in 2006 for a publicity stunt built around an invitation to a White House correspondents' dinner, before inducting her into its Hall of Fame in 2013. She retired from performing in 2008 and appeared on VH1's Celebrity Rehab in 2008 and its 2011 follow-up.
Signature: The only performer on this list whose defining 2000s achievement is a real election result rather than a screen credit — tenth of 135 candidates, and AVN gave the campaign itself two separate marketing awards.
Index score — The Pornstar Ranked Performer Index v3.0
Scores are normalised within a single ranking's field, so this breakdown is Mary Carey's placement inside Female Pornstars Who Built the Industry, Ranked by Impact — the largest field she appears in. Her rank on each of the other 2 rankings below was computed against that ranking's own field and is not the same measurement.
Full award record5 entries
- 2004AVN — Best Overall Marketing Campaign, Individual Project (Mary Carey Campaign)
- 2004FOXE — Vixen of the Year
- 2004XRCO — Mainstream's Adult Media Favorite
- 2006AVN — Best Overall Marketing Campaign, Individual Project (Mary Carey's Dinner with President Bush)
- 2013AVN — Hall of Fame
Beyond performing
- Directing credits
- Radio hosting
Mainstream credits
- 2003 California gubernatorial recall candidacy (10th of 135, 11,179 votes)
- Announced 2005 California Lieutenant Governor candidacy (withdrawn 2006)
- Announced 2021 California recall candidacy (withdrawn)
- VH1's Celebrity Rehab (2008) and Sober House
- Celebrity Rehab Revisited (2011)
Official links
Appears in
Also ranked on
Ranked alongside
Sources and verification2 sources
- No independently audited aggregate credit count
- Exact end date of adult-industry activity — Wikipedia notes activity as late as 2023 despite her stated 2008 retirement from performing
