Mary was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin on American Avenue. She attended schools as a youth in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, and Princeton, Illinois where she graduated from high school. She was an AFS student to Lebanon in 1972. Upon her return, she attended the University of Illinois in Champaign Urbana, Illinois. At the university, she studied photography, cinematography, and design. It was there she learned the art of hand-colored photography. She graduated in 1976 with a BFA degree in graphic design and headed west to Los Angeles. Her design work has focused on the entertainment and toy industry. Mary's award-winning photography has been exhibited throughout the USA and published in international magazines. She married Bob Beland in 1992 and added “Beland” to her name, thus going under more than one name to add more chaos to life. She currently lives in the Mar Vista section of Los Angeles with her husband, Bob, and daughters, Genevieve and Remy.