Maria Naganawa is a Japanese female voice actress born on August 5, 1995, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. She is affiliated with the talent agency I'm Enterprise. Standing 154 cm tall, she is known for her distinctive, high-pitched voice, which she has leveraged to portray a wide array of young, often adorable characters.

Naganawa's path to becoming a voice actress began during her middle school years when she participated in an anti-smoking campaign. A passerby complimented her voice, noting that it was "very good," an experience that made her aware her voice was not ordinary. She enrolled in the basic course at the Japan Narration Acting Institute, and during a advancement screening audition, she was successful and subsequently joined I'm Enterprise. She made her debut as a voice actress in 2014. Naganawa has cited veteran voice actresses Ikue Ohtani, known for her role as Pikachu, and Rie Kugimiya, famous for her tsundere character portrayals, as her inspirations. In a 2016 interview, she expressed her aspiration to take on roles as mascot characters, a goal she has since realized numerous times throughout her career.

Naganawa's career features a significant number of prominent and beloved roles. One of her earliest leading roles was as Theiamillis Gre Fortorthe in the 2014 anime Invaders of the Rokujyōma!?. She gained widespread recognition for her portrayal of the adorable dragon child Kanna Kamui in the 2017 hit series Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, a role she has reprised in subsequent sequels and OVAs. Another career-defining role came in 2018 when she was cast as the Platelet in the immensely popular educational anime Cells at Work!. Her performance as the tiny, cheerful, and hardworking cell captured the hearts of audiences worldwide and became one of her signature characters.

Her repertoire also includes the lazy but powerful destroyer Laffey in the Azur Lane anime series and its spin-off Azur Lane: Slow Ahead!. In the comedy series Wasteful Days of High School Girl, she voiced the character Saku Momoi, nicknamed "Loli" for her childlike appearance and personality. Her film work includes the role of Komekko, the little sister of the protagonist Megumin, in the movie KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! Legend of Crimson. In 2020, she took on the role of Nazuna Hiwatashi in the studio Trigger's original anime BNA: Brand New Animal. A major milestone in her career was being cast as the lead, Komugi Inukai / Cure Wonderful, in the 2024 long-running and prestigious magical girl franchise Wonderful Precure!. Other notable roles include Shizuka Yoshimoto in The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You, Ilma in Magatsu Wahrheit -Zuerst-, Kibushi in In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki, Sam in Back Arrow, Serura Dobe in Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki, Blanche de Médicis in Parallel World Pharmacy, Mito Fujimori in Yuki Yuna is a Hero: Churutto!, Alicia in The Detective Is Already Dead, Tirara in iii icecrin, Maruteese in ESTAB LIFE: Great Escape, Snow McRain in the Battle Spirits franchise, Yae Niizuma in World Dai Star, Yuki Musume in Kiitaro's yokai picture diary, Amy Gilliam in Kōkaku no Pandora, Shia "Nomu" Nomura in High School Fleet, and Yuzu in Mahjong Soul Kan!!.

Beyond anime, Naganawa is also active in the video game industry. She has lent her voice to numerous popular mobile and console games. Notable game roles include Weedy in Arknights, Huohuo in Honkai: Star Rail, Lydie Marlen in Atelier Lydie & Suelle, Pulao in Punishing: Gray Raven, Wamdus in Granblue Fantasy, Mary Anning in Fate/Grand Order, and Natsu in Blue Archive, among many others.

Naganawa is known to have a close friendship with her fellow voice actress and contemporary from the same agency, Ari Ozawa. She also formed strong bonds with co-stars Nichika Omori, Eri Suzuki, and Masumi Tazawa through their work together on Invaders of the Rokujyōma!?. Her talents include speaking in the Mikawa dialect, a local dialect from her home region, and she has listed her favorite foods as rice crackers and snacks.