Mary Cosby
American television personality (born 1972)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mary Martha Cosby (née Jefferson, formerly Harris;[1] born October 17, 1972)[2][3] is an American television personality. She is best known as an original cast member of the Bravo reality television series The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.
October 17, 1972
Mary Cosby | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mary Martha Jefferson October 17, 1972 |
| Occupation | Television personality |
| Known for | The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City |
| Spouses | Dana Harris (div. 1998)Robert C. Cosby (m. 1998) |
| Children | 1 |
Early life and career
Cosby is the youngest of her siblings.[1] Her father was originally from Milwaukee.[4] Her grandmother, Rosemary "Mama" Cosby, founded Faith Temple Pentecostal Church in 1968.[5]
In September 2020, Cosby was announced as a cast member of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.[6] Noah Samton, an executive at NBCUniversal, stated that the show was conceived after they discovered Cosby, and eventually found other personalities for a full The Real Housewives installment in Salt Lake City.[7] However, having missed the second season's reunion special, she did not return for the show's third season.[8][9] She later returned as a friend of the show in its fourth season and was promoted back to a full-time cast member in the fifth season.[10][11]
Personal life
Cosby married Dana Harris, but they divorced in September 1998.[12] Following her grandmother Rosemary Cosby's death in January 1997,[13][14] Cosby married Bishop Robert C. Cosby, her step-grandfather, in September 1998;[1] they have one son, Robert Jr.[15] Cosby has described her marriage as an "arranged marriage" and has stated, "It was kind of in my grandma's will for us to marry."[16] Through her marriage, she became the First Lady of Faith Temple Pentecostal Church in Salt Lake City.[17][18] The marriage exacerbated existing controversy between Robert and Rosemary's children from a previous marriage—specifically Rosalind Cazares, Mary's mother—over the division of Rosemary's assets, which included a printing company, day care, beauty salon, record store, and Gospel radio station.[19][20][21] Because of the marriage, Cosby was estranged from her mother, who died in January 2025.[1][22]
In September 2024, Cosby sued two executives of United Security Financial, accusing them of embezzlement.[17]
On February 23, 2026, Cosby's son, Robert Cosby Jr., died at the age of 23.[23][24]
Controversies
Cosby has been the subject of allegations that Faith Temple Pentecostal Church is a cult, particularly from former church members and several of her fellow The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast members.[8][25][26][27][28] She has denied the allegations, calling them "false" and "ridiculous".[29] The allegations were the subject of a three-part TLC docuseries, titled The Cult of the Real Housewife.[30][31]
In April 2021, she was charged with unlawfully providing shelter to a runaway and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She pled not guilty to the charges in August 2021, and the charges were dropped in September 2022.[32][33]
