[2][3][4] Max's parents are from Albania; her father, Paul (anglicized from Pavllo),[5] is from Qeparo and her mother, Andrea, is from Sarandë.

[6][7] In 1991, her parents fled Albania after the fall of communism in the country, and lived at a Red Cross supported church in Paris for a year.

While living in Virginia, she competed in numerous Radio Disney singing competitions at Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake and debuted at the NorVa in Norfolk when she was 10 years old as an opening act, where she performed Whitney Houston's 1987 song "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)".

[3] Max often traveled to Florida in order to perform in singing competitions,[9] and began releasing music under the moniker Amanda Kay,[13] including a 2008 extended play.

[4][14][15] Max adopted the stage name Ava at the age of 14,[11] and moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a music career at the suggestion of her mother, but was constantly rejected for being underage.

[3][8][9] Max relocated to South Carolina a year later, where she began writing songs about relationships she had observed, including those of her brother.

[4] During her time in South Carolina, Max attended Lexington High School for a year, after being previously homeschooled, and she recalled being constantly bullied there.

Max's difficulty in searching for producers and songwriters alone caused her to spiral "down a really bad path", which led her to drink at an early age and survive on 20 dollars a week.

[26] Max sang "Happy Birthday" to him,[16][27][28] which led both musicians to work together, writing hundreds of songs and releasing "Anyone but You" on SoundCloud in July 2016.

[3][23] Max acknowledged that working with Cirkut changed her life, as she considered leaving the music industry after being creatively stifled.

[40] Max was also featured on the Vice and Jason Derulo song "Make Up" on October 23, 2018,[41] and made an appearance on David Guetta's 2018 studio album 7 on the track "Let It Be Me".

[59][60] On March 12, 2020, Max released "Kings & Queens" as the fifth single from her then-unreleased debut studio album Heaven & Hell (2020).

[78][79] In February 2022, Max hinted at a new project by replacing her 'Max Cut' hairstyle with cherry-red shoulder-length hair and emphasizing a red and pink appearance on her social media accounts.

[80][81] While interviewed at the Billboard Women in Music event in March 2022, she acknowledged that her second studio album was written the previous year during a personally difficult time.

[98][99] The incident occurred two days after American singer Bebe Rexha was hit by a smartphone thrown by a concert-goer during her New York concert.

[104] On January 19, 2024, Max and Norwegian DJ Kygo released their collaboration "Whatever",[105] which peaked at number one in Norway[106] and reached the top 10 in Belgium,[107] Bulgaria,[108] Croatia,[109] and Sweden.

[121] Max grew up listening to artists including Alicia Keys, Norah Jones,[16] Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, Fugees,[122] Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.

[123] She also cited Beyoncé,[122] Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Fergie, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Gaga as some of her influences.

[123] Max stated that Carey was the biggest influence on Heaven & Hell and recalled how she grew up listening to her music on loop,[124] such as "Vision of Love".

Max has often been compared to Lady Gaga for her music and "ostentatious presentation",[38] which includes her platinum blonde hair, persona, and stage name.

[4][125][126] Chris DeVille of Stereogum criticized Max's music for being too similar to Gaga, stating that it "falls short in terms of lyrics, production, melody, dynamics, personality, and every other conceivable metric", despite recognizing that the latter was also highly compared to Madonna.

[127] Max acknowledged that she often goes against the grain while making public appearances, often seeking designers who are overlooked, and wearing outlandish outfits, as she wants "to give people an experience".

[116] However, Max preferred making music in the studio than appearing in public, stating that she did not like the attention of the fashion and cameras on the red carpet.

[16][128] While interviewed by Audacy in 2020, Max described her hair as "symbolic of having the freedom to do your own thing" and a "visual representation of her self expression", stating that it was an escape from conformity.