What happened to Mary Kay Letourneau? Everything you need to know about the inspiration for ‘May December’

The new movie May December, which debuted on Netflix on December 1, received rave reviews and captivated audiences. The film tells the story of actress Elizabeth Berry (played by Natalia Portman), who travels to Georgia to meet Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Juliana Moore) to prepare for a role based on Gracie’s infamous life, specifically her relationship with her husband Joe Yoo (Carlos Melton) when he was just 13 years old.

The film is loosely based on the real life of the sex offender and former teacher. Mary Kay Letourneau, who was convicted of two counts of second-degree rape of a child in 1997 after having a sexual relationship with her 12-year-old student VIII Fualaau. Her story, including her subsequent marriage to Vili, fascinated tabloid readers in the 1990s and beyond. He find out more about Mary Kay and her life here.

Mary Kay’s crime and arrest

Born Mary Schmitz in 1962, she married Steve Letourneau, whom he met at Arizona State University in 1984. They had four children together Arrest. During her first marriage, she became a teacher at Shorewood Elementary School in Seattle. In 1991 she began to work closely with her student Vili and began teaching him the piano. She became his student again when he was in sixth grade. “There was a connection that was pretty instant. “It was the kind of feeling you get with a brother or sister: the feeling that they will be part of your life forever,” she said. The Seattle Times in 1997.

During the summer of 1996, their relationship turned sexual. At the time, Mary was 34 and Vili was 12. In June 1996, the two were caught by police while they were in a parked car. Although Vili lied about her age and each gave false names, they were taken in for questioning but were released when it was discovered that they had not had any physical contact during the meeting. In February 1997, Steve discovered letters written between Mary and her student and reported his wife to the school and Child Protective Services. Mary was arrested in March 1997.

During the case, Mary became pregnant with Vili’s child and was seven months pregnant at the time of his arrest. She was released on bail and gave birth to a daughter in May that year. In August of the same year she received a seven-and-a-half year suspended prison sentence. She was ordered to spend only six months in prison, enter a sex offender treatment program, take medication for bipolar disorder and stop contact with Vili, according to reports. People.

Mary violated her parole in 1998 and saw Vili again. They had sex and she became pregnant with their second daughter, who she gave birth to in prison in October 1998. Mary was sentenced to serve the remaining seven years after being caught.

Mary Kay’s release from prison and her marriage to Vili

In August 2004, Mary was released from prison and registered as a sex offender. After her release, she and Vili (who was 21 when she was released) filed petitions to have the no-contact order revoked, and the two married in 2005. The two spoke about their marriage in a 2006 interview with People. “I think, what would my life have been like if I had never messed with Mary?” Vili said at that moment. “What if I kept it as a passion and left it there? Where would I be and where would she be? What would life be like?

The couple sat down for a 20/20 Interview with Barbara Walters in April 2015, after 10 years of marriage. In this interview, Mary said that marriage was always on her mind when she started her relationship with Vili. “We always planned this and it hasn’t changed,” she said, off ABC7 News.

After 12 years of marriage, Vili filed for separation from her former teacher in 2017. They attempted to reconcile, but separated again in 2019 and filed for divorce.

How did Mary Kay die?

Mary died in 2020 at age 58 after a brief battle with stage 4 colon cancer. After her death, Mary’s attorney Giuliana Wang counted Hollywood life exclusively that Vili helped her while she battled cancer. “Mary Kay informed me that Vili had been staying with her in Seattle for several months. And he supported, helped and cared for her during her illness. “I have the impression that the two were very close to each other, despite the separation,” she said.

Two years after Mary’s death, her youngest daughter announced that Vili had another daughter with a new woman in November 2022.