# Maria Sten

Maria Sten (born 29 October 1989) is a Danish actress, writer, director and beauty pageant titleholder born and raised in Denmark with Danish, Swedish and Congolese roots. She was crowned Miss Denmark Universe 2008 and represented her country at Miss Universe 2008. She portrays Frances Neagley in the Prime Video action series Reacher (2022).

## Childhood

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

## Career

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

### Writer

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. Later in 2017, Sten was selected for the 2017 Black List x WIF Episodic Lab. 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. 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.

### Actor

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

## Filmography
### Film

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

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2012 | The Doctors | Woman in Bedroom | Episode: "Secrets to Look & Feel Better Naked"; as Maria Sten-Knudsen |
| 2012 | Eros.Emmanuel and Me | Christina | Television mini-series |
| 2014 | Celebrity Crime Files | Angela Davis | Episode: "The Black Panthers" |
| 2014 | 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 |
| TBA | Neagley | Frances Neagley | Filming |

### Web

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2015 | Persuasion | Terry | Main role; 9 episodes |
| 2022 | Narcissa | Andie | Main role; 8 episodes |

### Producer

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2015 | In the Still of the Night | Short film |