She was a daughter of Jacob Kettler, Duke of Courland and Semigallia and Margravine Louise Charlotte of Brandenburg.

Maria Amalia was a daughter of Jacob Kettler, Duke of Courland and Semigallia (1610–1681) and his wife, Princess Louise Charlotte of Brandenburg (1617–1676).

From 1658 to 1660, during the Northern Wars, Maria Amalia and her family were kept as prisoners by the invading Swedes in Riga and later in Ivangorod.

She was then engaged to William's younger brother and heir, Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (1654–1730), whom she married on 21 May 1673 in Kassel.

The Marmor fountain in the park contains a medallion by the French sculptor Pierre Etienne Monnot depicting Maria Amalia.