Higgins was born on 25 November 1990 in County Longford, Ireland. She has two siblings of which one, younger sister Becki, is also involved in modelling. Higgins worked for some time as a Monster Energy girl. She was noticed by modeling agencies whilst working as a ring girl during boxing and wrestling matches. Recalling her early modelling work, Higgins stated that she "worked with athletes and people who’ve been in the public eye" and also claimed that she "did a visual shoot for Liam Payne as well".
Career
''Love Island''
In 2019, Higgins became a contestant on the fifth series of Love Island. She entered the villa on Day 10 alongside fellow contestant Elma Pazar. Over the course of the series, she became known for her distinctive style of walking or 'strut'. Higgins had success during the series, and made it to the final, where she finished in fourth-place alongside Curtis Pritchard. Higgins and Pritchard continued their relationship for 8 months after the series ended, splitting in March 2020. Higgins proved a controversial figure during the series, with some viewers viewing her as "embarrassing", "desperate", "predatory", "possessive" and a breaker of "girl code".
Other television appearances
Following her stint on Love Island, Higgins became a regular presenter on This Morning, where she presents an agony aunt segment, answering viewers questions. She has also made guest appearances on shows such as Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, Celebrity Juice, Jeremy Vine, Loose Women, Supermarket Sweep and I'll Get This.
After finishing fourth on Love Island in July 2019, Higgins began a relationship with Curtis Pritchard. They split up in March 2020. Higgins has previously stated that she has never identified as a feminist.
Controversies
During her time on Love Island, Higgins was the subject of considerable criticism. At one point, she was criticised for a past social media post, where she made a reference to a quote from the 2009 filmThe Hangover, which contained a homophobic slur. The show's management responded by stating "we speak to all of the islanders to remind them of what we condone to be acceptable behaviour during their time on the show". Despite the use of this slur, Higgins herself stated during the series that she had engaged in same-sex sexual activities in the past. During her first week in the villa, Higgins was criticised by some viewers for making unwanted sexual advances towards male contest Tommy Fury, and her behaviour caused many to demand her expulsion from the show. Regulator Ofcom received 486 complaints regarding the unwanted sexual advances made by Higgins toward Fury, but they determined that the incident would not be investigated further, as it didn't breach TV's "generally accepted standards", stating "While we recognise that many viewers disapproved of a contestant's behaviour in this episode, we took into account the context in which it occurred, including the nature of Maura and Tommy's relationship, before and after,". It was noted that Higgins' alleged "predatory" behaviour may have been perceived more negatively if it was displayed by a male individual.
