about me
Maria was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Venezuelan immigrants and later moved to Leesburg, Virginia, where she was grew up. Her first foray into the arts was through the piano; she learned to play her favorite songs by ear, prompting her parents to enroll her in piano lessons. While she enjoyed playing Bach, she discovered a passion for playing pop songs, which ignited a dream of becoming a pop star like Katy Perry or Lady Gaga. In the same year, her middle school announced a production of Grease, and her parents took her to see the national tour of Mamma Mia!. The experience left her forever changed, and a newfound ambition took root as a tween Maria belted out “Beauty School Dropout,” setting her sights firmly on a future in performing.
Maria is a performer and model based in NYC. She recently graduated from New York University Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Theatre and a minor in Producing. She spent the entireity of her training in the Meisner Studio under the direction of Vicki Hart and Nate Flower. Her last year at NYU was spent in front of the camera, writing, and completing internships with talent managment & film production companies. Her craft focuses on the raw female experience in today’s world, with a focus in shaping the Latiné diaspora in the United States. As the first American-born citizen in her family, she finds her upbringing in the states a rare but universal experience. Maria believes unearthing our vulnerability paves the way for self-discovery of not just ourselves, but the communities around us. Performing is the most creative, addictive form of exploration and keeps our hearts & souls alive.
favorite food: my mom’s pollo guisado con arroz y frijoles negro (chicken stew with rice & black beans)
favorite movie: it changes like all the time but right now, Mystic Pizza (fyi the pizza at the real restaurant is really good, it’s not a tourist trap!) JULIA ROBERTS IS MOTHER
favorite show I’ve seen: very few shows have come close to topping the 2017 Once on This Island Revival... Cats: The Jellicle Ball is still fiighting fo the top spot...
favorite play right now?: I recently saw The Hills of California which I loved, but reading wise, Torera by Money Hurst-Mendoza.
favorite genres music?: (according to my spotify) pop, art pop, dance pop, metropolis, trap latino, urbano latino, reggaeton, candy pop, post-teen pop, Broadway, boy band
favorite food to make?: tostones, aka fried plantains. they are easy and and you get to use a mallot! hard!
favorite tv show?: it ranges from The Suite Life of Zach & Cody to Forensic Files to Big Little Lies to the Great British Baking Show to the Mare of Easttown to The Nanny.
favorite lip product?: rare beauty lip oil in delicate. selena did that.
10 people you could have a dinner party with (alive or dead): Natalie Wood, James Dean, Patti Lupone, Ariana Grande, Alicia Machado, Ana Maria Polo, Michelle Obama, Michael Jackson, Briney Spears, Heath Ledger.
favorite color?: um, it’s not really obvious, but pink :)
favorite store?: Costco, I grew up behind one.
favorite type of french fry: the smile one.
brats or barbies?: brats, duh.
current favorite nintendo switch game: Kirby and the Forgotten Land
maria in a nutshell (like a coco de mer):