Maria Sargent was born in Brazil, in 1958 as Maria E. Dublon. She and her family moved to the United States when she was 7 years old. She graduated from high school and enrolled in a private college but dropped out after 2 years. She married Larry Sargent and came to work at A Christmas Place with him as a secretary. She takes care of simple book-keeping tasks and general management of David's office.