Her father, Luis Cerqueira, was an actor and encouraged his daughter to audition for stage roles.

[4] In 1980, at the age of 30, she was awarded a scholarship to study theatre at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, and took a 2-year leave of absence from her position.

[3][5] On leaving the National Theater in 1998, Maria found herself without regular work and decided to invest in plays herself.

[3] Maria purchased the rights to a play by Eve Ensler, The Vagina Monologues and had it translated into Portuguese.

She secured a director, Celso Cleto, a venue, the Estoril Casino, and debuted in the play in October 2000.