Maura Higgins
Irish television personality (born 1990)
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Maura Higgins (born 25 November 1990) is an Irish reality television personality, presenter and model.[1] 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–present) and Love Island Games: Aftersun (2025-present).
- Television personality
- model
- presenter
Maura Higgins | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 November 1990 Ballymahon, County Longford, Ireland |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Television | |
Early life
Maura Higgins was born on 25 November 1990 in Ballymahon, County Longford to Sharon and Seamus Higgins.[2][3] She has two sisters and a brother.[4][5] A former pupil of Forgney N.S, she then attended Ballymahon Vocational School.[6][7] After leaving school she went on to study hairdressing in Athlone, before working at a salon in her home town.[8][9]
Career
Modelling and promotions
Prior to appearing on television, Higgins worked as a grid girl and appeared in numerous modelling campaigns.[10] In 2014, she began working for Monster Energy. At the end of 2017, as a Monster girl, she travelled to Abu Dhabi for the 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.[11][12] In 2017, Higgins appeared in the visuals of Liam Payne's hit song "Get Low".[13] In 2019, she worked as a ring girl for several professional boxers, including Anthony Joshua.[14] In August 2019, she launched her first collection of luxury tan with Bellamianta, which was followed by a second collection in 2021.[15][16][17] In October 2019, Higgins launched a clothing collection with Boohoo.com and regularly hosted their first ever podcast called "Get the Scoop".[18] In November 2019, Higgins launched her first lingerie collection with Ann Summers and has since done several collections.[19][20]
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.[21] In June 2020, she launched a 34-piece makeup collection with Inglot Cosmetics.[15] In September 2020, Higgins collaborated with Just Eat to promote Greggs being delivered via roller skates in the UK.[22] In December 2020, Higgins launched her own False eyelashes brand called "False Flutters" exclusively to Primark.[23] In November 2021, It was announced that Higgins signed with Elite Model Management in order to further her modelling career.[9] 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.[24] In January 2025, Higgins became the face of MAC Cosmetics UK and Ireland, fronting their new make-up campaign called "I Only Wear MAC".[25][26]
Television
In June 2019, Higgins entered the Love Island villa for its fifth series.[27] She entered the villa on Day 10 as a bombshell, reaching the final alongside Curtis Pritchard and finishing in fourth place.[28][29] After leaving the villa, she began appearing regularly on This Morning, presenting an agony aunt segment.[30] She also presented a two part series called "Maura's Ireland", which saw her travelling around Ireland showcasing the beauty of Ireland.[31] 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 panellist on Love Island: Aftersun.[32][33] In the same month, Higgins was a contestant on the twelfth series of Dancing on Ice partnered with Alexander Demetriou.[34][35][36] She was eliminated in week 7 after losing the skate-off to Libby Clegg.[34] In July 2020, Higgins fronted her own show on ITV2 titled Maura Higgins: You're Joking Me!.[37] She was a guest panellist on Loose Women.[38] Her other television appearances include on The Late Late Show in Ireland[39][40] and Jeremy Vine.[41] 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.[42][43][44][45]
In September 2021, it was announced that Higgins would be presenting the Irish version of Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star.[46][47] In April 2022, Higgins won "Best Female TV Presenter" and "Most Stylish Lady" at The Gossies Awards held by Goss.ie.[48] The same year, Higgins was a contestant on the second series of Cooking with the Stars.[49] She reached the semi-final and was the fifth celebrity to be eliminated, finishing in fourth place overall.[50] In October 2022, she appeared in an episode of Shopping with Keith Lemon.[49][51] In July 2023, Higgins was announced as social media presenter for the fifth series of Love Island USA.[52] She also appeared on the show to guest host a challenge.[53] In September 2023, Higgins announced that she was set to make acting debut in a film titled The Spin, written by Colin Broderick, directed by Michael Head and produced by Edward McCaffrey, in which she portrays a character named Rose. It was filmed in Northern Ireland and was scheduled for release in 2025.[54][55][56] In 2024, The Spin film won Best Irish Feature Film Award at Dublin International Film Festival.[57] It has also won Best Feature Film at Istanbul International Film Festival.[58] The film is scheduled to premiere in cinemas from October 2025.[59] 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.[60] In 2024, Higgins began presenting Love Island USA: Aftersun and also guest presented two episodes of the main show during the sixth season.[61] 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.[62] 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.[63] In June 2025, she was confirmed for the fourth season of The Traitors US,[64] ultimately finishing as the runner-up to winner Rob Rausch.[65]
Personal life
Higgins resides in Essex, having moved there in 2020 whilst training for Dancing on Ice.[1] In October 2024, she confirmed she purchased her dream home there.[66]
In late 2019, Higgins briefly dated Curtis Pritchard, after reaching the final of Love Island together. She announced the breakup early March 2020.[67] Higgins was previously in a relationship with Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice. The relationship ended in October 2021.[68][69] Between 2023 and 2024, Higgins was in a relationship with Chris Hemsworth's stunt double Bobby Holland Hanton.[70][71]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Love Island | Contestant | Series 5; finalist |
[29] |
| This Morning | Agony aunt | Segments | [72] | |
| This Morning | Presenter | 2 episodes | [73] | |
| Supermarket Sweep | Special guest | Cameo | [74] | |
| Jeremy Vine | Guest panelist | 1 episode | [41] | |
| The Late Late Show | Guest | Irish talk show | [39] | |
| Celebrity Juice | Guest panelist | Series 22; episode 3 | [44] | |
| Love Island: Aftersun | Guest panelist | Spin-off | [33] | |
| Loose Women | Guest panelist | 2 episodes | [75] | |
| 2020 | Love Island: What Happened Next? | Herself | Series 1; Episode 3 | [76] |
| Dancing on Ice | Contestant | Series 12; 6th place | [35] | |
| Maura Higgins: You're Joking Me! | Herself | Main role | [77] | |
| I'll Get This | Guest | Christmas special | [42] | |
| The Wheel | Celebrity expert | Series 1; Episode 3 | [43] | |
| Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow | Herself | Celebrity special | [45] | |
| 2021 | Glow Up | Presenter | Irish version; 8 episodes | [78] |
| On Yer Bike | Herself | Charity cycling series | [79] | |
| 2022 | Cooking with the Stars | Contestant | Semi-finalist | [80] |
| Shopping with Keith Lemon | Guest | Series 3; Episode 8 | [81] | |
| 2023 | The Late Late | Guest | Valentines special | [40] |
| Love Island USA | Social presenter | Season 5 | [52] | |
| Guest presenter | [53] | |||
| Love Island Games | Social presenter | Season 1 | [60] | |
| Guest presenter | 3 episodes | |||
| The Late Late Show | Guest | Christmas special | [82] | |
| 2024–present | Love Island USA: Aftersun | Presenter | Spin-off show | [61] |
| 2024 | Love Island USA | Guest presenter | 2 episodes | |
| 2024 | I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! | Contestant | ITV1; series 24 |
[83] |
| 2025-present | Love Island Games: Aftersun | Presenter | Spin-off show | [84] |
| 2025 | Love Island Games | Guest presenter | Episode 13 | [85] |
| 2026 | The Spin | Rose | Irish comedy movie | [55] |
| 2026 | The Traitors US | Contestant | Season 4; Runner up | [64] |
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Gossies Awards | Television Personality of the Year | Love Island | Won | [86] |
| 2020 | VIP Style Awards | Most Stylish Newcomer | N/a | Nominated | [87] |
| 2021 | Extra.ie | Irelands top Influencer | Social media | First place | [88] |
| 2022 | VIP Style Awards | Most Stylish Woman | N/a | Nominated | [89] |
| 2022 | Gossies Awards | Best Female TV Presenter | Glow Up | Won | [48] |
| Most Stylish Lady | N/a | Won | |||
| 2024 | Most Stylish Lady | Nominated | [90] | ||
| 2025 | Best Female TV Presenter | Love Island USA: Aftersun | Nominated | [91] | |
| TRIC Awards | Social Media Broadcaster | Social media | Longlisted | [92] | |
| National Television Awards | Reality-competition | I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! | Won | [93] | |
| 2026 | Gossies Awards | Most Stylish Lady | N/a | Nominated | [94] |
Discography
| Title | Year | Artists | Album | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Get Low | 2017 | Zedd and Liam Payne | LP1 (Liam Payne album) | [95] |