Who is Maura Higgins? Early days growing up in Longford to Love Island fame

Model, TV personality and known for her witty comments in her stand-out accent, Maura Higgins from Ballymahon is a true Longford gem. 

Growing up with two sisters, Becki and Louise and one brother, the Forgney native’s parents, Sharon and Seamus, welcomed Maura into their life just two days after Sharon turned 21. 

As a child, Maura attended Forgney NS and then Ballymahon Vocational School. 

She trained to be a hairdresser after school and worked in local salon Halo Hair Design. From 18-years-old, she started modelling on a part-time basis. 

In 2012, Maura was a finalist in the Miss Sunday World pageant. She then began working for Monster Energy as an ambassador and promoter, which saw her appear in an advert in 2018 as she drove a car on a race track in Abu Dhabi.

Leaving Ireland to pursue a career in other things, Maura tried her hand at being a ring girl and featured in boxing matches, including for Anthony Joshua's fight with Alexander Povetkin in 2018. 

She also appeared in screen visuals on a track by ex-One Direction singer Liam Payne, entitled ‘Get Low’.

“Through my modelling work, I've worked with athletes and people who've been in the public eye. I did a visual shoot for Liam Payne as well,” she was once quoted as saying.

So what turned this small-town Irish beauty into an internationally known personality?

Well, season five of Love Island in 2019 was the seed that first planted a fruitful career for Maura. 

Being in the eyes of the public from 2019 on, the now 33-year-old social media star rose to fame for her brash sayings and indecent, yet endearing humour. 

Widely-known for the infamous ‘fanny flutters’ phrase, Maura placed fourth in the Love Island final with then-love interest and professional dancer, Curtis Pitchard.

She has since gathered a following of over 3.8 million people on Instagram, has strutted elaborate gowns on multiple red carpets and, is best friends with globally famous with Tommy Fury's fiancée, Molly Mae Hague, who she shared her time with on Love Island.

Shooting to fame following her Love Island popularity, Maura went on to appear on other TV roles including taking up a presenting role with popular UK breakfast show, This Morning. 

Fresh from her time in the villa, Maura joined the show as an agony aunt, giving viewers her advice on their relationship problems. She also hosted a segment called Maura's Ireland, which saw her travel round her home country and visit beautiful locations.

Leading on from this she appeared on Dancing On Ice in 2020 and in July 2020, Maura Higgins: You're Joking Me! aired on ITV2. The show was a documentary, which followed Maura's journey as she prepared to compete in the Spartan Race, a 5km extreme obstacle course.

In June 2021, Maura became the main presenter for Ireland's edition of make-up show, Glow Up and in November 2021, Maura signed a deal with the prestigious model agency Elite Model Management.

In terms of fashion, she landed her own clothing edit with Boohoo, and modelled her own campaign for lingerie brand, Ann Summers.

Most recently, Maura has featured in a new collection with popular fashion brand Oh Polly.

In July 2023, to the delight of fans worldwide, Maura returned to her roots and became a face of the USA version of Love Island. She has also thrown her hand at snagging the role of social host for Love Island Games, which aired in November 2023.

News that Maura will be making her acting debut in a film called The Spin shocked fans, as she is playing a character called Rose. The movie, filmed in Northern Ireland, is due to be released this year.

Between a mix of modelling, beauty, fashion, TV roles and now, taking a go at cracking the acting and film scene, one thing is for certain: this won’t be the last we see or hear of Longford native, Maura Higgins!