Maria was born in Holland and grew up in a small town outside of Amsterdam called Oegstgeest. After finishing high school in Holland, she graduated from The George Washington University with a BFA in Visual Communications, and worked for The Coca-Cola Company in Holland and the US. After she won the green card lottery (for real!), she left her job as Creative Director for Coke to write and draw for kids full-time. Maria lives in a creaky 100-year old yellow Victorian in San-Francisco with her husband Peter and their son Max Pelle.

Maria van Lieshout