Maria Viola Jefferson

Maria Viola Jefferson was born on April 8, 1976, in Pine Hill, New Jersey, to Sicilian immigrant parents. She discovered a love for writing and illustration in the third grade where she wrote her first book of original poems and entered into a contest. After high school, she went on to nursing school and, after an extensive career as a labor & delivery nurse in New Jersey for more than twenty years, her passion for writing and illustration resurfaced, leading to her first self-published children's book titled, "Lefty Lucy for President (2017)." In 2018, Maria met director Frank Lisi which led to her first written and produced multi-award-winning feature film, "Offstage Elements (2018)." Offstage Elements is currently streaming on demand and can be watched on Amazon Prime, Tubi, Plex, and Apple TV to name a few. Amongst co-writing comedic episodes for Palm Springs based television series, "Mark's Place," Maria continues writing screenplays and has just completed a sign-on deal with Genius Books & Media for her co-authored true crime book, "3 Decades Cold."