Maria Pinsent, Actor

Personal Bio

Maria is the 7th of 10 surviving children (six girls and four boys) born to Haig and Faith Pinsent. Although her parents are Canada natives, Maria was born in Great Falls, Montana while her father, a Master Warrant Officer in the Canadian Air Force, was stationed there. Haig is brother to Canadian actor and icon Gordon Pinsent.  From a very young age, Maria felt a kinship with her “Uncle Gord” and knew that one day she would be an actor just like him.  Before that would happen, however, she also knew she wanted to be just like her mother, albeit with far fewer children.  So she put professional acting aside to focus on raising a family. 

As a child, Maria performed in her first production in Grade 3 as the lead in “Hand-Me-Down Hildy” at school, and remained involved in theatre virtually non-stop ever since, including a stint at Missouri Valley College where she majored in Theatre and Directing.  Additionally, Maria began writing songs around the age of 7 when, in the absence of a piano, she used glasses filled with varying levels of water to bring to life the original songs that played loudly and incessantly in her head.  This lead to a prolific adolescence, particularly after the age of 16 when her older brother bought a second-hand piano for the family.  She has scores of songs in her repertoire, including a reader’s theatre musical which was performed many times around the Akron area (Maria moved there in 1990) and beyond.

Eventually, after her beloved daughter and son were older and independent, Maria packed up a few belongings–including her extensive credits and actor’s toolkit–into her Hyundai Sonata, and took them to Los Angeles to finally pursue her dream of being a working actor.  After landing in California and renting a guest house in L.A. in June of 2019, Maria quickly immersed herself one the area, starring in five student films in two months, and she remains on a patient-but-urgent path forward in her acting career.  To pay the bills, Maria is an Administrative Coordinator, working from home.  When she isn’t working, she is singing, songwriting, and studying movies and television shows on her with her Apple TV, iPhone, Dell laptop, Fire tablet, or wherever and whenever she gets a chance.

Resume / CV