Born in Providence, R.I., United States. She studied at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington D.C. and then at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. Since 1972, after studying and painting in Paris, she continued her work in Tunisia. In 1976, she received the Lincoln-Juárez scholarship from the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs to study muralism at the National School of Painting, Engraving and Sculpture "La Esmeralda" for three years. Upon completion in 1979, she studied engraving at the Molino de Santo Domingo in Mexico City. In 2000, she received the grant from the National System of Art Creators (FONCA), which she held until 2006. In 2012, she received it again.

Throughout her artistic career, Mary Stuart has developed her work in a figurative and abstract manner, based on issues related to spirituality, nature, aesthetic beauty, and everyday life, using different artistic techniques. She has created work through oil painting, gouache, engraving, bronze sculpture, collage with paper and plaster, clay fragments, carpet design (woven in Oaxaca); in addition, she has produced a wide series of art objects inspired by fans, made through organic objects, natural materials, and amulets.

Her work has been exhibited nationally in various states of Mexico including Mexico City, Aguascalientes, Querétaro, Oaxaca, Guanajuato, and Baja California. She has also developed her career internationally in countries such as the United States, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Brussels, Switzerland, and Australia. Among the spaces where she has presented her work, the following stand out: Museum of Modern Art (Mexico City), Museum of Contemporary Art of Oaxaca (Oaxaca, Mexico), Mexican Art Gallery (Mexico City), OMR Gallery (Mexico City), Banamex Gallery (Mexico City), Bancomer Cultural Foundation (Mexico City), José Luís Cuevas Museum (Mexico City), ZONA MACO (Mexico City), Susan Blanchard Gallery (New York), Casa de España (New York), Tresart Gallery (Miami), Espace Medicis (Brussels), and Rahn Gallery (Switzerland).

She currently lives and develops her artistic projects from her studio in Mexico City, creating large-format oil paintings on linen, art objects, and bronze sculptures primarily.