Biografia
Maria was born in Barcelona, Spain, and moved to the United States at age six with her mother, a single parent and two-time immigrant from the former Soviet republic of Georgia. At eight, Maria was accepted into the School of American Ballet in New York City, where she trained in classical ballet for five years, performing in over 150 New York City Ballet productions. She danced the role of Marie/The Little Princess in George Balanchine's THE NUTCRACKER for three holiday seasons. After attending an open call for the RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR, Maria secured her first professional role as Clara in the show's Northeastern tour with the Rockettes. She later auditioned for BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL on Broadway and was cast as an immediate replacement, performing as a ballet girl and understudying the role of Debbie Wilkinson until the show's 2012 closing. In 2013, Maria appeared in the 29-hour readings of Susan Stroman's LITTLE DANCER as Young Charlotte—a role created for her—and portrayed Young Anastasia in ANASTASIA alongside Angela Lansbury, Lynn Ahrens, and Stephen Flaherty. Transitioning into film and television, Maria has appeared in numerous national commercials, web, and print campaigns for brands including Verizon, Canon, Tampax, Cheerios, and Stouffer's. She featured in several episodes of ABC's hidden camera series WHAT WOULD YOU DO?, hosted by John Quiñones, and originated the voice of Hop the Squirrel in Season 1 of Nick Jr.'s ZACK AND QUACK. In 2015, Maria received a Best Lead Actress nomination for a Short Film at the International Filmmaker Festivals of World Cinema in London and Madrid for her role as Young Abigail in the Holocaust short film IF THE TREES COULD TALK, directed by Michael Weinstein. The following year, she portrayed Young Maria opposite Shannen Doherty in the feature film BACK IN THE DAY, directed by Paul Borghese and starring Alec Baldwin, Mike Tyson, and Danny Glover. Most recently, Maria completed a co-starring role in Sara Bareilles and J.J. Abrams' musical dramedy for Apple TV, directed by WAITRESS book writer Jessie Nelson. Fluent in English, Spanish, and Georgian, Maria is a member of Actors' Equity, SAG-AFTRA, and AGVA. She plays piano, acoustic and electric guitar, ukulele, djembe, basic drums, and violin, and has been composing music for over five years.
