Maria Sten

Biography:

Maria Sten is a Danish actress, writer, director, and beauty pageant champion who was born on October 29, 1989. She represented her nation at Miss Universe 2008 and was crowned Miss Denmark Universe 2008. In the action series Reacher (2022) on Prime Video, she plays Frances Neagley.

Sten was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to a Congolese father and a Swedish-born Danish painter named Nina Sten-Knudsen. One brother, four sisters, two step-sisters, and one unrelated sister make up her eight siblings. Her mother’s only other kid was an older sister, who was the only sibling she had growing up.

Sten began practicing theater in school as a youngster, taking part in a youth acting program at Scandinavian Theater School, and she frequently posed for her mother’s artwork.  She also participated in track and field, gymnastics, kickboxing, horseback riding, and piano playing as a child.

She became taller as she got older and was persuaded to give modeling a try. When she was eighteen, Sten relocated to New York City, USA, to pursue a career in the performing arts. She participated in Miss Supertalent of the World 2011, placing in the top seven female contestants out of fifty.