Mark Wright is best known for appearing as a cast member on the first three series of The Only Way Is Essex. Wright gained more popularity after appearing on the eleventh series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! where he finished as runner-up, and the twelfth series of Strictly Come Dancing, where he finished in fourth place.
He started his senior career with Southend United, but moved into nightclub promoting and playing only semi-professionally. In November 2006, he was loaned from Grays Athletic to fellow Conference National side Crawley Town. On 27 January 2007, he scored the only goal of a 1–0 win at Tamworth. In March that year, he was lent to Rushden & Diamonds for the rest of the season. Wright played once for the England national football C team, playing in a defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina B on 16 September 2008.
Wright made his return to professional football on 14 December 2020, signing for League Two side Crawley Town on a non-contract basis. He made his professional debut at the age of 33 in the third round of the FA Cup, coming on as a 90th minute substitute as Crawley won 3–0 against Premier League side Leeds United on 10 January 2021.
In October 2010, Wright was one of the original cast members in the ITV reality programme The Only Way is Essex. He announced his departure from the show on 23 October 2011, near the end of the third series. He later returned for a cameo appearance in the sixth series and also, for the 2012 Christmas special.
In November 2011, Wright took part in the eleventh series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. He was the runner-up, losing to McFly bassist Dougie Poynter.
In 2014, Wright fronted his own ITV2 reality show entitled Party Wright Around The World. In the same year, Wright was one of the celebrities competing in the twelfth series of Strictly Come Dancing. He was paired up with professional dancer Karen Hauer. The couple made into the final in which they came fourth.
In January 2021, Wright featured in a BBC iPlayer mini-series, Mark Wright: The Last Chance, about his efforts to revive his professional football career with Crawley Town.