Ava Maria

Ava Maria was raised by her mother and spent her childhood in Washington state, Madera, CA and Tucson, AZ. At four years old, besides Disney animation, she loved watching Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, Jerry Louis and Shirley Temple films as well as musicals. Some other favorites included the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and Beetlejuice. It was clear, through acting and a great cinema team, whole new worlds were created and she wanted to act in these worlds. Ava was 7 when she was cast for her first play. From there she auditioned and was cast for a variety of school and community plays. Her mother directed Mouse Trap at a community college in Madera, CA and she remembers sitting in the audience during rehearsals and having the actors on stage playfully call out for their line to her and she would give them their line from memory. She moved with her mother to Seattle, WA so her mom could begin classes in astronomy. The school year had already begun, so they lived with her grandmother for a short while before moving to Wenatchee, WA where Ava took her first acting class in middle school and her mother completed her associates degree. After middle school, she moved with her mother to Tucson, AZ for high school. Education was a main focus in her household, so college was the natural next step in life. Ava completed a bachelors degree at the University of Arizona in International Studies. With financial assistance from her university, she traveled to Mauritania, Africa in order to complete research for her undergraduate thesis on the efficacy of theater for HIV/AIDS prevention for returnee women. This experience solidified her determination to act as well as some day open a non-profit organization. Immediately after graduation Ava jumped into the acting world. When her family had financial difficulty, she helped pay monthly bills with the money she earned as an actor for a non-profit theater. A couple years were spent working as a counselor in Tucson and Phoenix for a non-profit organization. Ava decided to stay in Phoenix to continue acting. She was given valuable auditioning advice from Casting Director Faith Hibbs-Clark and performed in lead theater roles for dramas, a period piece, and the musical Godspell. Eventually she made the decision to move to Los Angeles with her mother. After her first year she was found by a commercial agent and was cast in a commercial that aired in various states around the U.S. When the agency closed their commercial division, Ava decided to focus on training and getting into local films. She studied with director Ryan R. Williams, actor/acting coach Doug Warhit, and at Margie Haber Studios with actor/producer Diane Charles. The following years she was cast in supporting and lead roles.