Mari Keiko Gonzalez was born and raised in New York City. Her father is a civil rights attorney who represented the trans activists at The Stonewall Riots and her mother was a Broadway and television actor, teacher, and playwright, best known for the iconic 1970s Calgon commercial, “Ancient Chinese Secret.” Mari studied at The School of American Ballet and performed in The Nutcracker with Mikhail Baryshnikov at Lincoln Center. She was a champion equestrian who attended The High School of Music and Art and later went on to study medicine at The University of Pittsburgh. In the early 90s, Mari wrote, directed and edited the experimental short films: The Love Thang Trilogy, Target, and X-Girl, which focused on identity, sexuality, and race. They screened at film festivals worldwide and remain in several permanent collections at Brown University, New York University, SUNY New Paltz, UC Berkley, Yale University, and The New York Public Library.

Mari went on to become an award-winning editor and worked at Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video and at Sony Music Studios until their doors closed in 2007. She continued to focus on music, live performances, concerts and documentaries for many artists including: Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, Lauryn Hill, John Legend, Paul Simon, John Mayer, Wynton Marsalis, Parliament Funkadelic, Ziggy Marley, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Russell Crowe, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Billy Porter, Mariah Carey, and Alicia Keys. In 2015 she edited the documentary, Live From New York!, which looked at 40 years of comedy, music, politics and pop culture through the lens of Saturday Night Live. It was the opening night film at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.

She was the editor of Jimmy Carter Rock and Roll President, which was also the opening night film for the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival; and Tom Petty Somewhere You Feel Free, which won the audience award at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival and a PGA Award for Outstanding Producer of Televised or Streamed Motion Pictures.

Mari produced, directed and edited The Music Never Ends, about The Mambo Legends Orchestra, formerly The Tito Puente Orchestra, which will be released in 2023. She is currently editing a 4 part docuseries about James Brown produced by Mick Jagger, Questlove, and Peter Afterman.