As her biography reveals, it was at college here that the casting director of As The World Turns spotted Maura in the University’s college production she was part of. She and her husband, Scott DeFreitas, have had four children together, the latest addition to heir household being Birdie West DeFreitas, and was born on June 16, 2009 at 5:33 P.M., weighing in at 7 lbs 13 oz and was 20 1/2 ins long. Is the youngest of four children. Gave birth to her third child and second with husband Scott DeFreitas - a daughter, Katherine Marie, who weighed in at eight pounds, ten ounces.

She was signed on for the role of Carly Tenney in As The World Turns. She candidly confessed of watching the show in high school and being a fan of Martha Byrne & Ben Hendrickson who were also on the show. Maura took on the role of Carly in 1995. Her portrayal of Carly, a fashion-designer by profession but a gold-digger at heart, along with being an envious sister, won her many accolades including two Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama series in 2007 & 2010. She has still garnered many nomination, being nominated year after year since 1999. At the 32nd Daytime Emmys, Maura along with Co-star Michael Park received the special nomination for being the Most Irresistible Combination. Their chemistry was a perfect match for the show, and has gained a lot of fans along the way.

She has mentioned the role has reminded her of several previous instances in her early years with relationship, so she has lots of real life experiences to draw upon and help bring that character to life. She has helped drive the shows story also, by incorporating her real life experiences directly into the show with the help of the writers.  Maura has mentioned that it is sometimes odd to see herself on screen in some of the situations because they are almost exactly how they were in real life just a short while ago.

Maura took charge of the role from April 1995 to May 1996 and took a short hiatus until September 1997 when she started her comeback. She successfully played the role, and helped to drive the storyline until the finale in 2010. The series, As The World Turns, is known as the 2nd longest running soap opera in the history of American Television, which aired for a strong 54 years from April 1956 to September 2010. She felt it was the actors such as herself that help to keep the series alive and popular, because compared to several other soap operas during the time, her rating had gone up and the interest improved.