Maria "Lvovna" Breyman was born to a Jewish family in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). Her mother, Anna, was a physics teacher and her father, Lev, was a real estate business owner and poet. Shortly after moving to USA, Maria's parents opened a child day care business and wanted Maria to take after her mother and grandmother and become a teacher. Maria wanted to act and model, but she was viciously bullied in school for looking like a boy with short curly hair and big glasses, so for many years she did not pursue that dream. When she went to high school and embraced her feminine side, her looks started to drastically change. She started getting hired by photographers for commercial, fashion and editorial shoots, and it helped her throughout college. She got a dual Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Communication and a Master's Degree in Secondary Education. However, after appearing in a featured background role in Silver Linings Playbook, she fell in love with the set and quit teaching. She started to fight her way into the Screen Actors Guild Union and got her membership within a year. After that she participated in over 40 different productions, wrote and produced a number of projects, had her screenwriting work featured in film festivals, performed with her poetry and inspirational speaking, and organized multiple charitable fundraisers. Show less «