Remember from The ?
Irish supermarket worker was the same year the likes of and appeared on ’s singing show, while ultimately took the crown.
It’s almost impossible to believe that was 14 years ago, and Mary looks very different these days.
Now aged 64, has not only had a change in appearance but also a career change.
These days, Mary looks as she’s ditched her famous brunette locks and poker-straight fringe for a blonde do.
Having undergone a total image revamp, the singer sports a cropped hairdo with a sweeping fringe and has also lost six stone.
Mary previously revealed that she ‘lost half a person’ in weight, which subsequently boosted her mental health to the point where she was able to stop taking antidepressants.
She admitted she reached 21 stone while she was on The X Factor.
Mary added: ‘It has happened gradually over the decade [so] I guess I haven’t noticed it as much but yes, it is a shocking amount of weight loss.’
She said that she hoped to lose two more stone in the future, but that she wanted to take time to realise ‘how far she has come’.
As for how she earns a living, she may not have won The X Factor all those years ago, but she’s still performing to crowds with a one-woman show.
In tribute to her days on the till, the show is named Check Me Out and takes to the stage at Dublin’s The Civic Theatre.
Inspired by her time as a Tesco employee, Mary uses the show to take loyal fans on a trip down memory lane, from Tesco, to TV, and beyond.
Mary’s new show premiered on January 29 this year and runs until February 3, with more dates to be announced.
But this is far from her first time on stage post-X Factor, oh no.
She previously performed in Menopause: The Musical alongside Linda Nolan.
As well as that, Mary has starred on Mediterranean cruises with Sir Cliff Richard.
With regard to her own music, Mary has released three albums and currently working on a new record of 60s hits.
Meanwhile, she’s continued to make headlines, mot recently in sharing how she lost her virginity.
Speaking on-stage in Tallagh, she confessed that her first time having sex was with a previous boyfriend, who she began dating aged 16, in a churchyard.
‘I’m still on good terms with him,’ she admitted.
Mary also detailed her current romantic status, revealing she had been casually seeing a man from Cork for the past few months and describing them as ‘friends with the odd benefit.’
In an interview with , Mary spilled the beans on a two-year relationship she had with a woman.
Mary recalled: ‘It happened once, I had a relationship. I know myself I’m not gay. That doesn’t mean none of us can fall in love with the same sex. Everybody has that tendency.
‘You want to find somebody who’s kind and gentle to them, it doesn’t matter what sex they are. Love is love, it doesn’t matter who you are. I do not regret my lesbian relationship.
‘I do not regret it all. It was part of me and it made me grow.’
Mary made it all the way to live shows on ITV’s The X Factor, after wowing the panel at her first audition.
She first appeared on our screens in front of judges Simon, Louis Walsh, Cheryl, and Katy Perry with an incredible rendition I Who Have Nothing by Sir Tom Jones.
Mary garnered votes from the public week after week, resulting in her finishing in fifth place.
