Maria Sten

Maria Sten is a Danish actor, writer, director, and former beauty pageant contestant. She gained widespread recognition for starring as Frances Neagley in the Prime Video action television series Reacher, which began airing in 2022.

Sten was born on October 29, 1989, in Copenhagen, Denmark, to a Congolese father and Nina Sten-Knudsen, a Danish artist with Swedish heritage. Raised alongside an older sister—her mother's only other child—she belongs to a larger family of eight siblings, including a brother, four sisters, two step-sisters, and an unrelated sister. During her youth, Sten regularly modeled for her mother's paintings and developed an interest in the arts through school theater and a youth program at the Scandinavian Theater School. Her early interests also encompassed piano, gymnastics, track and field, kickboxing, and horseback riding. After growing taller, she ventured into modeling and relocated to New York City at age 18 to pursue a career in the performing arts.

Sten's early public exposure included pageantry. She earned the title of Miss Denmark Universe 2008 and subsequently represented Denmark at the Miss Universe 2008 pageant. In 2011, she reached the top seven in the Miss Supertalent of the World competition among 50 participants.

Alongside her acting, Sten established a career behind the camera as a writer, director, and producer. In February 2017, her project The Courier reached the finals for the second annual ATX Television Festival and The Black List TV writing program. Later that year, she was chosen for the Black List x WIF Episodic Lab. Her screenwriting credits include penning two episodes of David E. Kelley's drama series Big Sky. Additionally, she wrote, directed, and produced the short films Wild Things Run Free and When It Burns. Her industry recognition as a writer expanded in 2018 when she was named to the Tracking Board's Young & Hungry List, an industry feature highlighting 100 top emerging writers.

In television acting, Sten secured prominent roles across several genres. She starred as Jillian Hope Hodgson in the fourth season of the anthology series Channel Zero: The Dream Door. She also played Liz Tremayne in the DC Universe television series Swamp Thing, appearing alongside Crystal Reed. Since 2022, she has continued her main role as Frances Neagley in the series Reacher.