Maria Cândea (Romanian pronunciation: [marja ˈkɨnde̯a]; October 2, 1889 – April 16, 1974) was a Romanian French language and literature teacher, Doctor of Letters, who founded and led as School director the Queen Marie Normal School for Girls in Ploiești.

[1] Born Maria Antoniade, she graduated from the Sorbonne in Paris with a Doctor of Letters degree, then worked as a French language teacher.

[1] This educational unit was transformed into the Queen Marie Normal School for Girls in 1919, and in 1920 it moved to Ploiești under the leadership of Cândea to the place where it still operates today as the Queen Marie National Pedagogical College.

[2][3] She was married to Constantin Cândea, a professor of Chemistry and Rector at the Polytechnic University of Timișoara.

[4] She died on April 16, 1974, at the age of 84 and was buried in the Bellu Cemetery, figure 4, in Bucharest.