Maria grew up in the small town of Swedesboro in Southern New Jersey. Entering the theatre world early on, she attended the Southern New Jersey Academy of Performing Arts for high school then later got her BA in Theatre and Minor in Dance from Rowan University. Shortly after, she realized her passion for sketch comedy and ventured to Chicago to study the craft. There she was able to perform at various venues and graduated from the famed Second City's Conservatory Program. With all of this training under her belt, she felt it was time to finally make the big move to Los Angeles and transition into film and television to write, produce and act in projects with a strong female voice.