Maia Nikiphoroff

Maia is originally from Paraguay with Russian and Italian descent. She speaks fluent Spanish, English and German. She started off as a dancer and before she studied at the Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theater in Los Angeles, she lived in Dubai where she worked as a flight attendant and got her BA in Marketing. On stage she has worked with award winning director Milton Justice in 'Middletown' and with acclaimed playwright Tim McNeil in 'Isaac Babel and the Black Sea' and 'Purplish'. Maia won Best Actress at the Hollywood Short and Sweet Film Festival in 2017 for her performance in 'Paloma' directed by Jean Lee. The short film also made it to the official selection of NALIP's 2017 Latino Media Fest. Maia's debut as a co-writer, producer and lead actor is on the feature film 'Pecado Original' (ORIGINAL SIN) directed and co-written by Jean Lee. Original Sin has premiered at Austin Film Festival (Comedy Vanguard Nomination), DTLA Film Festival (Best Foreign Film), Cardiff International Film Festival and Milan International Film Festival (Nominated for best Comedy, Best Leading Actress (Maia) and Best Supporting Actor. Maia is also a part time burlesque performer and her stage name is Gala Cruz.