Mary Jo Buttafuoco - Author, Career and Childhood

On May 19 1992, Mary casually answered her door without knowing that this would change her life forever. She was standing on her porch when she was shot in her face by Amy Fisher, Mary’s then husband’s 17-year-old mistress. Fisher didn't threaten her or reveal the gun until she shot Mary. At first, Mary thought she was there to talk about the alleged affair between Joey, her husband, and Fisher’s younger sister. After a brief conversation, the moment Mary turned back to enter her house, Fisher fired a bullet which passed through Mary’s temple, leaving her in a pool of blood. She was immediately admitted to a hospital where she slipped into coma for three days. The incident left one side of her face paralyzed.

At the beginning of the investigation, Joey, with Mary on his side, denied all the allegations of having any relationship with Fisher. Later, he was found guilty on several grounds and he admitted his sexual relationship with Fisher. He had started a relationship with Fisher when she was still a minor. He was also convicted on the basis of having coerced Fisher to commit the crime and was charged against raping a minor and planning a murder. Joey, an auto-body shop owner, was sentenced to four months of imprisonment for being indicted on many counts of statutory rape, sodomy and endangering the welfare of a child.

Fisher was convicted of attempt to murder and was sentenced seven years in jail. Since she was a minor, she was kept in the juvenile room until she turned 18. After spending seven more years in jail, Fisher was released on a parole in 1999 with the condition that she would never contact the Buttafuoco family again.

Overnight, the story became international news. Throughout 1992, tabloids had their pages filled with stories of the affair between teenager Fisher and the thirty-something Joey. The heinous act became the most talked about crime that year and is yet to fade away completely. In fact, the crime became so famous that Fisher's story was made into three TV films. She was nicknamed by the media as ‘The Long Island Lolita’.

Mary divorced Joey in 2003, before which the couple brought into the world two children, Jessica and Paul Buttafuoco. In 2007, all three members of the fatal love triangle came together for an interview. Mary tackled the media with all her grace and dignity and even stated to have forgiven Fisher. Sadly, Fisher seemed unaffected and made filthy statements of not having any sympathy for Mary. Mary appeared on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ in 2004 to discuss the aftermath and her facial reconstructive surgery.

Mary suffered from hearing impairment in one of her ears and one side of her face was paralyzed, which made it impossible for her to smile for 25 years. Even though she miraculously survived the close-range shot, she struggled with her deformed face for years. Her initial surgeries were too dangerous and risky, so doctors worked on her face while the bullet was still lodged in her neck. For years after the initial surgeries, she was completely on painkillers, which made her an addict. She showed up recovery when she was moved to the Betty Ford Center, where she had most of her surgeries. After several years, Mary recovered partially and was relieved from pain and blood clots. However, she was still disfigured and paralyzed.

Dr. Babak Azizzadeh, a plastic surgeon, saw her on the Oprah show and offered to treat her facial paralysis, but the ray of hope came with many challenges. Dr. Azizzadeh’s main challenge was contouring while maintaining the symmetry of her face. He started off with a facelift, an eyelift and by repairing some of the nerves that had kept her from smiling. Next, he focused on the surgery to widen the ear canal which improved her hearing and prevented further infections. The procedure was later documented in the journal, ‘Inside Edition’. She also underwent physical therapies to strengthen her facial muscles.

Mary broke her silence with the book, ‘Getting It Through My Thick Skull: Why I Stayed, What I Learned, and What Millions of People Involved with Sociopaths Need to Know’. In the book, she penned every bit of the experiences that she had gained to date. She even answered the much-asked question as to why she stayed back with Joey for so long even after the incident. Mary co-wrote the book with Amber Frey, a writer and also a victim of a similar crime. Apart from the incident, Mary has also revealed many things about her ex-husband. She has mentioned that Joey was a drug addict and had undergone several de-addiction sessions. Mary called him a sociopath and a liar.

Mary’s more than a decade long survival journey made her realize that people are still unaware and indifferent towards facial paralysis and towards people suffering from it. She used her story to educate many. She also participated in a walkathon to spread the awareness on facial paralysis. She also appeared on the premiere of the series, ‘Scandal Made Me Famous’, aired on the Reelz Channel. The show combined reenactments, exclusive interviews and never-before-seen photos and videos to narrate the story of the infamous crime. The show was hosted by People magazine’s senior writer, Steve Helling.

Tent City and Fremantle Media, North America, announced that they would make a documentary that would be released on the 25th anniversary of the infamous incident. The deal was brokered by Katie Zwick and Christina Kuo. Sharlene Martin of Martin Literary and Media Management, who also represents Mary, will serve as an executive producer with Ansaldi and Lisa Bourgoujian of Tent City Entertainment.

After Mary divorced Joey in 2003, she married Stu Tendle, a shop manager in Las Vegas, Nevada. The new-found love restored the courage to trust and to believe and with that, she once again found hope in a committed relationship.