A Southern California native, Maureen was "discovered" at age 11 while on the beach with her father by an advertising agent from Mattel.  She never got to do commercials for the makers of Barbie, but she continued to pursue acting and later that same year made her television debut in a guest starring role in an episode of "Highway to Heaven." Two years later, Maureen was starring in her own sitcom, "Out of This World," in which she played Evie Garland, a teenager with powers she inherited from her extraterrestrial father. Her film credits include playing Bonnie in the Trimark feature "Teenage Bonnie and Clepto Clyde" with Scott  Wolf and Angela in "Goodbye America" with Michael York.
    Once "Out of This World" ended, after a successful eight-year run, Maureen decided she wanted to pursue acting as a career and began to study her craft at the University of Southern California, where she majored in theater. During her four years there, she appeared in productions of "Macbeth," "The Crucible" and "The Cave Dwellers" and tried her hand at directing with a production of Beth Henley's  "Am I Blue?" While honing her acting skills, she also kept up with her love for sports as a member of USC's ski team.