Maria Esposito

Raised in the Quartieri Spagnoli, Esposito grew up in a family with a working-class father and a stay-at-home mother,^[1] and at thirteen she unsuccessfully auditioned for the television series My Brilliant Friend;^[1] she then decided to study acting under the guidance of actor Biagio Manna.^[1] In 2021, she joined the cast of the drama The Sea Beyond, where she played Rosa Ricci in the final two episodes of the second season. Her character was retained for subsequent seasons, quickly becoming a fan favorite.^[1][2]

After having enrolled in the Drama Academy of Naples,^[3] since 2023 Esposito has been part of the cast of Mare fuori – Il musical, the theatrical show based on the TV series and directed by Alessandro Siani.^[4] In the autumn of the same year she joined the singer-songwriter Ultimo in the music video for his single "Occhi lucidi".^[5] In February 2024 she starred in the music video for the single "I p' me, tu p' te" by the Neapolitan rapper Geolier^[6] and, in the same year, she published her autobiography entitled Una luce tra i vicoli with Mondadori^[7] and played Margherita in Criature, the debut feature by director Cécile Allegra.^[8]

In 2025, Esposito reprised the role of Rosa Ricci on television in the fifth season of The Sea Beyond, and in the spin-off film Io sono Rosa Ricci, directed by Lyda Patitucci.^[9] In October, it was announced that she will play Melania Rea in the HBO miniseries.^[10]

She has been romantically linked to actor Antonio Orefice,^[11] bartender Rocco De Angelis,^[12] and TikToker and singer Silvia Uras.^[13]

• Una luce tra i vicoli (2024), Mondadori.^[2]