Mary Woronov was born on December 8, 1943, at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, to a surgeon's family. Raised in Brooklyn Heights, she pursued a major in sculpting at Cornell University. A life-changing experience awaited her during a class trip to Andy Warhol's Silver Factory, where she joined Warhol's entourage and starred in several of his underground films.
As a go-go dancer, she appeared in the Velvet Underground's Exploding Plastic Inevitable shows, but her life took a darker turn as she became addicted to methamphetamine. After recovering, she spent two years in Europe with a friend, only to return to a changed Factory environment following Valerie Solanas' shooting of Warhol. Without a clear path forward, Woronov turned to off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway theater to support herself.
She eventually got married to director/producer Theodore Gershuny and appeared in three of his films, including Kemek (1970),Deathhouse (1972),and Sugar Cookies (1973). After the marriage ended, Woronov moved to Los Angeles at the invitation of friend Paul Bartel, where she landed roles on the daytime soap Somerset (1970) and in Bartel's Death Race 2000 (1975).
Her breakout role came in 1982 with the part of Mary Bland in Bartel's black comedy Eating Raoul (1982),cementing her status as a cult figure in the world of acting. Moreover, Woronov is a talented painter and writer, having published three books: Wake for the Angels: Paintings and Stories, the autobiography Swimming Underground: My Years in the Warhol Factory, and the novel Snake.
