Born and raised in Lismore, she began her career on Australian television, playing lead roles in Mortified (2006–2007), Trapped (2008–2009) and Castaway (2011).

Returning to Australia in 2022, she played Lady Belle Fox in the Disney+ historical comedy series The Artful Dodger (2023).

She was discovered by talent agencies and got her big break at age 12, when she was cast as Brittany Flune in the Australian children's television series Mortified.

[10] During the show's fifth and last season, it was announced that Mitchell and Cierra Ramirez would be spun off into their own series,[11] titled Good Trouble which premiered in January 2019.

[12] She received critical acclaim for her performance in the series, with Brad Newsome of The Sydney Morning Herald calling her "a standout", writing "Young Australian Maia Mitchell is terrific again in this sequel series to The Fosters [...] The hugely likeable Mitchell continues to grow as a perceptive, multi-faceted actor whose best work is yet to come.

The show follows Jack "Artful Dodger" Dawkins years after the events of Charles Dickens' novel, Oliver Twist (1838).

In 2022, Mitchell announced that she had temporarily moved back to her native Lismore, Australia, to be with her family amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 Australian flood crisis.