Bono, Mary, 1961-

Mary Bono (née Whitaker and formerly Mary Bono Mack, born October 24, 1961) is an American politician, businesswoman and lobbyist who served Palm Springs and most of central and eastern Riverside County, California as a Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1998 to 2013.

Born Mary Whitaker in Cleveland, Ohio, her family moved to South Pasadena, California in 1963. Whitaker graduated from the University of Southern California in 1984 with a bachelor of arts in art history. She was an accomplished gymnast in her youth and worked as a cocktail waitress during her early twenties. In 1986, she married Sonny Bono; the two moved to Palm Springs, California thereafter. Mary Bono worked as a personal fitness instructor and helped manage her husband’s businesses. From 1988 to 1992, Bono served as the first lady of Palm Springs, California, while her husband was mayor. During that time, she also served on the board of the Palm Springs International Film Festival. In 1994 Sonny Bono was elected to the U.S. House as a Republican in a district encompassing the city of Palm Springs.

On January 5, 1998, Sonny Bono died in a skiing accident in South Lake Tahoe, California. Citing a desire to continue her husband’s work, but also to recycle grief into action, Mary Bono announced in early February that she would run in the April 7 special election to fill her husband’s seat. She easily prevailed with 65 percent of the vote. In the following November, she won for a full term in the 106th Congress (1999–2001), this time with 60 percent of the vote. During her time in Congress, Bono became one of Congress’s strongest advocates for mental health and substance addiction treatment. While conservative in many respects, she differentiated herself from many in her party on issues concerning access to abortion and in her support for LGBTQ+ rights. After marrying Florida Congressman Connie Mack, IV in 2007, she changed her name to Mary Bono Mack. With her district becoming more Hispanic and Democratic over time, Bono Mack eventually lost her bid for re-election in 2012.

In March 2013, Bono Mack became a senior vice president at the Washington, D.C.-based federal affairs firm Faegre Baker Daniels Consulting, two months before announcing her divorce from Connie Mack, IV. In October 2018, following the Michigan State University sex abuse scandal, Bono was briefly named interim president and chief executive officer of USA Gymnastics. In 2018, she founded the political affairs consulting firm Integritas by Bono, where she serves as CEO. Currently, she is also on the board of directors for Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and Verde Technologies.