Maura Higgins facts for kids

Maura Higgins (born 25 November 1990) is an Irish television personality, model and presenter. She rose to prominence in 2019, when she was a finalist on the fifth series of ITV2 reality series Love Island. Since then, Higgins has collaborated with numerous fashion and makeup brands and went on to present the Irish version of the reality television competition Glow Up. She has also appeared as a contestant on Dancing on Ice (2020), Cooking with the Stars (2022) and I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2024). She was the social media presenter for Love Island USA and Love Island Games (2023), before going on to present Love Island USA: Aftersun (2024).

Early life

Higgins was born in Ballymahon, County Longford to Sharon and Seamus Higgins. She has two sisters and a brother. A former pupil of Forgney N.S. She then attended Ballymahon Vocational school. After leaving school she went on to study hairdressing in Athlone and then worked in a salon in Ballymahon for some time. In 2014, Higgins then started to work for Monster Energy. At the end of 2017, as a Monster girl, she travelled to Abu Dhabi for formula 1 finale and in 2018, she went viral with a video of her drifting a car for Monster Energy in Abu Dhabi to inspire women there to drive.

In 2017, Higgins appeared in the visuals of Liam Payne's hit song "Get Low".

In 2019, before appearing on the Love Island (2015 TV series, series 5), she also worked as a ring girl for several professional boxers, including Anthony Joshua.

Career

Modelling and promotions

Prior to appearing on television, Higgins worked as a grid girl and appeared in numerous modelling campaigns. In 2014, she began working for Monster Energy. At the end of 2017, as a Monster girl, she travelled to Abu Dhabi for formula 1 finale and in 2018, she went viral with a video of her drifting a car for Monster Energy in Abu Dhabi to inspire women there to drive. In 2017, Higgins appeared in the visuals of Liam Payne's hit song "Get Low". In 2019, she worked as a ring girl for several professional boxers, including Anthony Joshua. In August 2019, she launched her first collection of luxury tan with Bellamianta, which was followed by a second collection in 2021. In October 2019, Higgins launched a clothing collection with Boohoo.com and regularly hosted their first ever podcast called "Get the Scoop". In November 2019, Higgins launched her first lingerie collection with Ann Summers and has since done several collections.

In April 2020, Higgins launched a 15 piece shoe and bag collection with EGO shoes, where she did a video shoot in Dubai for a TV-commercial. In June 2020, she launched a 34 piece makeup collection with Inglot Cosmetics. In September 2020, Higgins collaborated with Just Eat to promote Greggs being delivered via roller skates in the UK. In December 2020, Higgins launched her own False eyelashes brand called "False Flutters" exclusively to Primark. In November 2021, It was announced that Higgins signed with Elite Model Management in order to further her modelling career. In November 2022, Higgins paired up with Kim Kardashian's make-up artist Mario Dedivanovic for a series of videos and reels for Social media promoting his new range of make-up products.

Television

In June 2019, Higgins entered the Love Island villa for its fifth series. ..... After leaving the villa, she began appearing regularly on This Morning, presenting an agony aunt segment. She also presented a two part series called "Maura's Ireland", which saw her travelling around Ireland showcasing the beauty of Ireland. In January 2020, Higgins won "TV Personality of the Year" at the Gossies Awards, held by Goss.ie. She was then announced as the red carpet host for The National Television Awards and was a guest panelist on Love Island: Aftersun. In the same month, Higgins was a contestant on the twelfth series of Dancing on Ice partnered with Alexander Demetriou. She was eliminated in week 7 after losing the skate-off to Libby Clegg. In July 2020, Higgins fronted her own show on ITV2 titled Maura Higgins: You're Joking Me!. She was a guest panelist on Loose Women. Her other television appearances include on The Late Late Show in Ireland and Jeremy Vine. She has also appeared on several celebrity game shows including Supermarket Sweep, Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow, Celebrity Juice, I'll Get This and The Wheel.

In September 2021, it was announced that Higgins would be presenting the Irish version of Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star. In April 2022, Higgins won "Best Female TV Presenter" and "Most Stylish Lady" at The Gossies Awards held by Goss.ie. The same year, Higgins was a contestant on the second series of Cooking with the Stars. She was the fifth celebrity to be eliminated, finishing in fourth place overall. In October 2022, she appeared in an episode of Shopping with Keith Lemon. In July 2023, Higgins was announced as social media presenter for the fifth series of Love Island USA. She also appeared on the show to guest host a challenge. In September 2023, Higgins announced that she was set to make acting debut in a film titled The Spin, written by Colin Broderick and produced by Edward McCaffrey, in which Higgins portrays a character named Rose. It was filmed in Northern Ireland and was scheduled for release in 2024. In October 2023, Higgins was announced as the social media presenter for Love Island Games, a global spin-off show, which saw her guest present three episodes. In 2024, Higgins began presenting the American version of Love Island: Aftersun, and also guest presented two episodes of the main show during the sixth season. In November 2024, Higgins was a late arrival in the twenty-fourth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. She joined camp on Day 5 alongside Rev. Richard Coles. Higgins was the sixth celebrity to be voted out of the camp on 5 December, in a double elimination alongside Barry McGuigan, ultimately finishing in seventh place.

Personal life

Higgins resides in Essex, having moved there whilst training for Dancing on Ice.

In late 2019, Higgins briefly dated Curtis Pritchard, after reaching the final of LoveIsland together. She announced the breakup early March 2020. Higgins was previously in a relationship with Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice. The relationship ended in October 2021. Between 2023 and 2024, Higgins was in a relationship with Chris Hemsworth's stunt double Bobby Holland Hanton.

Filmography

As herself

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2019	Love Island	Contestant	Finished in 4th place; Series 5
	This Morning	Agony aunt	Segments
	This Morning	Presenter	2 episodes
	Supermarket Sweep	Special guest	Cameo
	Jeremy Vine	Guest panelist	1 episode
	The Late Late Show	Guest	Irish talk show
	Celebrity Juice	Guest panelist	Series 22; episode 3
	Love Island: Aftersun	Guest panelist	Spin-off
	Loose Women	Guest panelist	2 episodes
2020	Love Island: What Happened Next?	Herself	Series 1; Episode 3
	Dancing on Ice	Contestant	Finished in 6th place; Series 12
	Maura Higgins: You're Joking Me!	Herself	Main role
	I'll Get This	Guest	Christmas special
	The Wheel	Celebrity expert	Series 1; Episode 3
	Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow	Herself	Celebrity special
2021	Glow Up	Presenter	Irish version; 8 episodes
	On Yer Bike	Herself	Charity cycling series
2022	Cooking with the Stars	Contestant	Finished in 4th place; TV series
	Shopping with Keith Lemon	Guest	Series 3; Episode 8
2023	The Late Late	Guest	Valentines special
	Love Island USA	Social presenter	Season 5
		Guest Host
	Love Island Games	Social presenter	Season 1
		Guest presenter	3 episodes
	The Late Late Show	Guest	Christmas special
2024	The Spin	Rose	Film in post-production
2024	Love Island USA: Aftersun	Presenter	Spin-off show
	Love Island USA	Guest presenter	2 episodes
	I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!	Contestant	ITV1; series 24

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Awards and nominations