Naman Shrestha
Directed by Heather Hawthorn Doyle, Lifetime’s ‘I Am Mary Jo Buttafuoco‘ is a biographical crime drama movie that is a dramatized account of the life of Mary Jo Buttafuoco, who suffered life-altering injuries after she was shot in the head by a 17-year-old girl named Amy Fisher. The teenager was having an affair with Mary’s husband, Joey, at the time of the shooting. Featuring in the movie, the survivor recounts her experiences and narrates her story of survival.
Mary Jo Buttafuoco Was Shot by a Teenager With Whom Her Husband Was Having an Affair
Mary Jo Buttafuoco (née Connery) was born on May 15, 1955, in New York, where she was raised in a seemingly loving and supportive household. In high school, she crossed paths with Joey Buttafuoco, whom she began dating. Following her graduation, she landed a job at a bank in Suffolk County. After dating each other for about five years, Mary and Joey made their relationship official in the eyes of the law by tying the knot in 1977. By 1986, the couple had welcomed two children into the world — Paul and Jessica Buttafuoco — and moved into a new house in Massapequa in Nassau County, New York. Mary’s marriage with Joey began deteriorating when the latter began having an affair with a teenager named Amy Fisher in July 1991. Mary didn’t know about the affair until Amy confronted her at her house on May 19, 1992.
Amy reportedly posed as her own fictitious sister and showed her one of Joey’s T-shirts to give her proof of the affair. As the confrontation became heated, Mary reportedly asked Amy to leave. That’s when the teenager shot her in the face with a .25 caliber semiautomatic pistol. Although she survived the shooting, her face was partially paralyzed, and she was deafened in one ear. For the crime, Amy Fisher was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Joey served four months behind bars for one count of statutory rape. Despite her husband’s disloyalty, Mary stayed with him for several years as they relocated to Southern California. She also stood by his side when he was arrested for sexual solicitation of an undercover Los Angeles Police Department officer in 1995.
Finally, on February 3, 2003, Mary Jo Buttafuoco filed for divorce. A few years later, in 2006, she underwent multiple surgeries, including a facelift and eyelift procedures, and a procedure to widen her injured ear canal to improve her hearing. In July 2009, she published her memoir titled ‘Getting It Through My Thick Skull: Why I Stayed, What I Learned, and What Millions of People Involved with Sociopaths Need to Know,’ which explores not only the shooting incident but her entire life. Through her story of survival, she also began raising awareness of facial paralysis.
Mary Jo Buttafuoco is Leading a Single and Peaceful Life in California TOday
Mary Jo Buttafuoco gave love another chance and got married to a man named Stu Tendler in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unfortunately, her second marriage lasted only six years as Stu passed away due to cancer in 2018. She continues to maintain a good relationship with her children, Paul and Jessica. In fact, the NY Times best-selling author is also a doting grandmother. Still residing in California, Mary has also founded The Facial Paralysis and Bell’s Palsy Foundation. Drawing on her experiences for inspiration, she also does motivational speaking. In her free time, she watches football and supports the New York Giants. During a conversation with People in January 2026, Mary talked about how she felt about her ex-husband and Amy Fisher.
She stated, “To carry hate, to carry anger, it’s so debilitating. I did. I had that for a long time. Forgiveness isn’t about saying, ‘It’s okay what you did to me,’ because it’s not. It’s more saying, ‘You did this to me, but I’m not going to let you ruin the rest of my life.'” She claimed that she was not in touch with Joey anymore, but her son had been. At times, she still wonders how she is still alive after getting her carotid artery severed in the shooting. The survivor also spoke about celebrating her 70th birthday, stating, “There’s issues that come with 70, but I’m grateful to be alive for all of them. I’m content. You think, ‘How much time do I have left? 10 years maybe?’ And if that’s the case I want to enjoy myself. I’ve never felt so good mentally and emotionally.”
Read More: Lifetime’s I Am Mary Jo Buttafuoco True Story, Explained
