Maria was born on June 14th, 1899 (Gregorian calendar). Although the family (and all of Russia) had been wishing for a son, Nicholas and Aleksandra were nonetheless overjoyed. As her nanny, Miss Eager, said "She was born good, I often think, with the very smallest trace of original sin possible."As well as being born good, Maria was also born cheerful, a happy child who almost never fussed. Nicholas joked that he "was always afraid of the wings growing".
However, Maria was often picked on by Olga and Tatiana, as Miss Eager recounts. "She (Maria) was constantly held up as an example to her elder sisters. They declared she was a step-sister. Vainly I pointed out that in all fairy tales it was the elder sisters who were step-sisters and the third was the real sister. They would not listen, and shut her out from all their plays." Finally, the two accepted her, as well as Anastasia and Aleksey, who were born in 1901 and 1904 respectively. By then Maria was a pretty and bubbly toddler, as well as sweet and loving. In one case, when Anastasia had the whooping cough, Maria put her face close to her younger sister's and said "Baby, darling, cough on me." When Miss Eager asked her what she meant, Maria replied "I am so sorry to see my little sister so ill. I thought if I could take if from her she would be better." And when Nicholas nearly died from typhoid fever, Maria would sit in the nursery, right beside the locked door, and listen. If she heard him she would cry "Papa, Papa!" until she was allowed to see him. And when the Empress happened to be wearing a brooch with a miniature of Nicholas, Maria, in the midst of her sobs, covered it in kisses - from then until the Tsar got better she would not go to bed before kissing the brooch.
	Maria's signature trademark was her beautiful eyes - called Marie's Saucers by her family. Pierre Gilliard said "Maria was a fine girl, tall for her age, and a picture of glowing health and colour. She had large and beautiful grey eyes. Her tastes were very simple, and with her warm heart she was kindness itself." As she grew up Maria became a beauty - and a terrible flirt. She was a romantic dreamer, and although smart and relatively good at school, Mashka, as she was nicknamed, was also a bit lazy and a daydreamer. But she was kind and loving, doting, like everyone did, on her younger brother Aleksey. When World War One began and Aleksandra, as well as the "Big Pair", became nurses, Maria and Anastasia were told that they were too young. Still, the two younger sisters visited the hospital every day to talk to the soldiers - Maria especially liked to hear about their family. Maria came to like one young soldier during the war  - Nickolai "Kolya" Dmitrievich Demenkov. She would jokingly sign letters to her father as "Mrs. Kolya Demenkov".
In 1917 Maria accompanied her parents to Ekaterinburg, leaving her siblings behind. She wrote to them "Everything was in a terrible state... even the inside of the suitcases: dust and filth, everything disturbed and destroyed.... I really have nothing to write to you about... The dining room is dark... There is dust everywhere, we can't figure it out, since there aren't any carpets... Even this paper is dirty: all our stationary was soiled on route... Everyone who comes into the house inspects our rooms. Every time Mama has to get out of bed and greet them in her dressing gown... It's difficult to write about anything cheerful, because there's all to little cheerfulness here. On the other hand, God doesn't abandon us. The sun shines, the birds sing, and this morning we heard the bells sounding matins... Oh, my darlings, how I long to see you!" At only 19, Maria died.