Maria Sten

Danish actress and filmmaker (born 1990)

Maria Sten

Born|  (1989-10-29) 29 October 1989 (age 35)

Copenhagen, Denmark

Other names| Maria Sten-Knudsen
Occupation(s)| Actress, filmmaker, writer
Height| 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Beauty pageant titleholder
Title| Miss Denmark
Hair color| Black
Eye color| Brown
Major
competition(s)|

* Miss Denmark Universe 2008 (winner)
* Miss Supertalent of the World 2011 (top 7)

Maria Sten is a Danish actress, writer, director and beauty pageant titleholder born and raised in Denmark with Danish, Swedish and Congolese roots.[1][2] She was crowned Miss Denmark Universe 2008 and represented her country at Miss Universe 2008.

## Childhood

[edit]

Sten was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to Danish painter Nina Sten-Knudsen with Swedish heritage and a Congolese father. She has eight siblings: one brother, four sisters, two step-sisters and one unrelated sister. She grew up with only one of the sisters, an older sister who was her mother’s only other child.[3]

As a child, Sten often posed for her mother's art[4][5][6] and, as a child, she also started doing theater in school; participating in a youth acting program at Scandinavian Theater School.[7] Her other childhood activities included horseback riding, gymnastics, kickboxing, track and field and playing the piano.[8]

As she grew older, she grew taller and was convinced to try modeling. Sten moved to New York City in the United States when she was 18 years old to pursue a career in Performing Arts.[9]

## Career

[edit]

Sten competed in Miss Supertalent of the World 2011 and was placed in the top seven women among 50 candidates.[10]

### Writer

[edit]

In February 2017, Sten's submission "The Courier" was announced as a finalist for the second annual television writing program from the ATX Television Festival and The Black List.[9] Later in 2017, Sten was selected for the 2017 Black List x WIF Episodic Lab.[11] Sten has also written two episodes of David E. Kelley's series Big Sky, and wrote, directed, and produced the short films Wild Things Run Free and When It Burns.[1][12] In 2018 Sten was named to the Tracking Board's Young & Hungry List, which showcases the top 100 new writers as voted on by Hollywood's most influential.[1]

### Actor

[edit]

As an actor, Sten played the lead role of Jillian Hope Hodgson in the fourth season of the television show Channel Zero: The Dream Door. She portrayed Liz Tremayne in the DC Universe television series Swamp Thing, which also starred Crystal Reed.[13]

Since 2022, she has starred as the character Frances Neagley in the Amazon Prime Video series Reacher.[14]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2014  | I'm Good | Kia  | Short film
2015  | Straight Outta Compton | Girlfriend  | Uncredited
Mellow Peaches |  | Short film
The Comments | Woman in Pool  | Short film
Dream... | The Boss  | Short film
2016  | When It Burns | Kate  | Short film; also Director, executive producer and writer
Kessi Blue | Robin C.  | Short film; also Line producer
2017  | Wild Things Run Free | The Woman  | Short film; also Director, producer and writer
Book Trader | Cassandra  | Short film
2019  | Emmanuel and Me | Christina  |

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2012  | The Doctors | Woman in Bedroom  | Episode: "Secrets to Look & Feel Better Naked"; as Maria Sten-Knudsen
Eros.Emmanuel and Me | Christina  | Television mini-series
2014  | Celebrity Crime Files | Angela Davis  | Episode: "The Black Panthers"
Out the Box | Maria  | Episode: "These Hands"
2018  | Channel Zero: The Dream Door | Jillian Hope Hodgson  | Main role; 6 episodes
2019  | Swamp Thing | Liz Tremayne  | Main role; 10 episodes
2021  | Big Sky | —  | Writer; Episode: "The Wolves Are Always Out for Blood"
2022–present  | Reacher | Frances Neagley  | Main role; 12 episodes

### Web

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2015  | Persuasion | Terry  | Main role; 9 episodes
2022  | Narcissa | Andie  | Main role; 8 episodes[15]

### Producer

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Notes

|
|

2015  | In the Still of the Night | Short film

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Exclusive Interview with Maria Sten of 'Swamp Thing'". 5 July 2019.
2. ^ "10 Things You Didn't Know about Maria Sten". 12 October 2020.
3. ^ Sanogo, Linda (21 October 2013). "A Great Danes in The States – Maria Sten-Knudsen". wordpress.com. WordPress. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
4. ^ Ish. "Maria Sten's 8-Figure Net Worth Comes From Her Movies and TV Shows". glamour buff.com. Glamour Buff. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
5. ^ Sten-Knudsen, Nina. "Nina Sten-Knudson". Instagram.com. Instagram. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
6. ^ "Exclusive Interview: Maria Sten Chats Reacher, Creating Inclusive Stories, and More". Pop-culturalist.com. Pop Culturalist. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
7. ^ "Maria Sten". listal.com. Listal. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
8. ^ Bonnet, Alexandra. "Maria Sten From Amazon's Hit Series "REACHER"". Bellman.com. Bello. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
9. ^ a b Wegmeister, Elizabeth. "Finalists Announced for ATX-Black List Second Annual TV Writing Program". Variety.com. Variety. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
10. ^ Tamrakar, Yunil (23 March 2022). "Maria Sten". biography host.com. Biography Host. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
11. ^ Halpern, Megan. "Meet the Alumni from our Fall 2017 Writers Labs". blackklist.com. The Black List. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
12. ^ "INTERVIEW WITH SERINDA SWAN, SHAUN SIPOS AND MARIA STEN". tvmeg.com. TVMEG. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
13. ^ "'Swamp Thing': Maria Sten to Co-Star as Liz Tremayne in DC Universe Series". 7 September 2018.
14. ^ "'Reacher': Bruce McGill, Maria Sten, Hugh Thompson Join Alan Ritchson in Amazon Series". 19 May 2021.
15. ^ Wiseman, Andreas. "Glee' Star Dianna Agron & 'Reacher' Actress Maria Sten To Lead QCode Sci-Fi Podcast 'Narcissa". Deadline Hollywood. Deadline. Retrieved 15 January 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Maria Sten on Instagram
* Maria Sten at IMDb