Maya Avant is an aspiring actress/singer from Evanston, Illinois, who, years earlier, had gone to Los Angeles to pursue a career in show business. Maya had a daughter she gave up for adoption when she was convicted for a crime she didn't commit; Dayzee Leigh, who worked with the less fortunate on Skid Row, helped place Maya's baby with a good family. After Maya was released from prison, she demanded that Dayzee get her baby back. Maya was horrified to learn that her daughter died with her adoptive parents in a car wreck, but seemed to find peace when she visited the girl's extended family.

Singing open mic at Dayzee's coffee house, Maya met Rick Forrester, mistaking him for one of the waiters. Maya could tell Rick was unhappy with his socialite girlfriend, Caroline Spencer, but felt played after discovering the supposedly poor Rick was heir to fashion house Forrester Creations. Maya accepted a date with Carter Walton, who took her to a dinner party at the Forrester mansion; Maya was uncomfortable seeing Rick with Caroline, who purposely made romantic displays in front of Maya.

Despite Dayzee warning Maya to stay away from Rick, and Caroline constantly getting Maya's name wrong, Maya and Rick grew closer. Maya thought she won a movie role, but it was actually a porn scene Caroline arranged to make Maya look bad. Maya was happy but insecure when Rick offered her a modeling gig at Forrester. Maya sensed Rick was interested, though when Rick delayed breaking things off with Caroline, Maya told him he had to choose between them.

After Maya won Rick, Caroline's uncle, publishing magnate Bill Spencer, photographed Maya's run-in with ex-boyfriend (and babydaddy) Jesse Graves, whom she had gone to jail for; Maya uncomfortably informed Jesse that their child had died though she knew a restraining order prevented her from coming within 500 feet of him. Maya forced herself to break up with Rick when Bill threatened to go to the police, then backpedaled and told Rick about Bill's blackmail. Having endured Caroline embarrassing her by making her model prison-themed garments on a mock jail set, Maya smiled as Rick locked Bill in the fake cell to teach him a lesson.

Maya was cast in web series Room 8 opposite Carter, becoming uncomfortable as her "Scarlett" and Carter's "Lance" had to perform increasingly sexy scenes. Maya stayed true to Rick when Carter told Maya he wanted to make love for real, but Maya soon discovered that Caroline knew the producer and was changing the show's content to make Rick jealous. Maya and Rick affirmed their love, and Maya and Carter were allowed to reshoot using the original scripts.

Maya was upset when Rick's problems at Forrester caused him to miss the premiere of Room 8. Maya kissed Carter, who respectfully slept on her couch, but dumped Rick when he retaliated by sleeping with Caroline. Maya moved on with Carter, whose idea for a Room 8 script was really Carter's unique way of proposing. Maya accepted and seemed at ease watching Rick marry Caroline at the Forresters' big Thanksgiving dinner, though she repeatedly put off Carter's requests for a wedding date.

While waiting for a stuck elevator at Forrester, Maya received a kiss from house photographer Oliver Jones, which she secretly enjoyed. Maya later learned that Oliver was interested in young Aly Forrester, presumably because Aly's Forrester name would provide job security. Maya secretly recorded one of their conversations on the subject, which Carter reminded Maya was illegal. Suddenly deciding she wanted Rick back, Maya seductively cornered Rick in the Forrester steam room, then played him the recording of Oliver discussing Aly to keep from being replaced as spokesmodel for the Hope for the Future line. Maya continued to pursue Rick after a disgusted Carter broke off their engagement.

Noticing Caroline was working closely with Ridge Forrester, who had sustained slight brain damage falling out of a helicopter, Maya planted seeds of doubt in Ridge's fiancée, Katie Logan, then stopped Ridge's promotion to CEO by announcing she had seen Caroline kissing Ridge. Maya began a secret affair with Rick when he pretended to reunite with Caroline to acquire the CEO chair himself. Maya enjoyed the fancy penthouse Rick bought for their trysts, then moved into the Forrester mansion after Rick tricked his father, Eric Forrester, into signing a document that kept him in power for a year. Maya even saw her portrait replace that of departed Forrester matriarch Stephanie Forrester.

After Rick finally professed his love for her, Maya reveled in her power at Forrester and supported Rick as he ran roughshod over his employees -- until Rick made young Aly Forrester rub Maya's feet, then shot at Caroline and Ridge. When Maya's little sister, Nicole Avant, came to town confronting Maya with her birth certificate, Maya was forced to admit she had been born Myron Avant and that she had undergone gender reassignment surgery. Maya explained that she had been the legal guardian of the daughter she gave up for adoption but that the girl's father had been a troublemaking boyfriend (presumably Jessie). Maya was surprised to learn that, while she was in jail, Nicole had transferred money by hacking into her account. But Maya had to secure Nicole a modeling gig to prevent her sister from telling Rick she was transgender.

Maya did damage control as news of her gender identity leaked to Carter, then Ridge, then Rick's mother, Brooke Logan. Maya made good on her promise to tell Rick if he proposed; with Rick on one knee at the Forrester cabin in Big Bear, Maya explained her transition to Rick, misunderstanding when Rick used the word "disgraceful" to describe Bill's exposé on her. Maya moved back to her old apartment above Dayzee's when she thought Rick hung up on her, but melted when Rick dressed as a waiter to recreate their first meeting, after which Maya and Rick reunited.

After Rick was forced out as CEO, Maya was intrigued when Ridge wanted Maya to headline a fashion show featuring her and other transgender models; Maya agreed on the condition that Rick be rehired at Forrester. Guests included Maya's parents, Julius and Vivienne Avant, who had come to Los Angeles to take Nicole back with them. Maya accepted Rick's proposal on the runway, but blanched to discover that Aly, who had a history of mental illness stemming back to the childhood death of her mother, targeted the collection as filth and blacked out Maya's pictures on a "hate board." Maya apologized to Aly for her poor treatment of her, but it did little good.

Maya was hopeful when the intolerant Julius hugged her, but on her wedding day she heard Julius calling the ceremony a "freak show" and ordered Julius out, feeling validated when Vivienne expressed regret for turning her back on her. Maya and Rick honeymooned in Copenhagen, then began exploring ways to have a baby. Maya raised the ire of her parents when she asked Nicole to carry a baby for her and Rick as a surrogate. Maya supported Nicole when her boyfriend, Zende Forrester Dominguez, had a problem with Nicole's pregnancy; Maya also slipped money into Vivienne's purse when she and Julius moved to town.

Maya felt caught in the middle when Ridge put Stephanie's portrait back up at the mansion and Rick responded by moving Maya and Nicole to Brooke's, where Maya got to know Rick's visiting sister, Bridget Forrester. Hearing Ridge had a secret vasectomy, Maya helped Rick search Ridge's office for more secrets but came up empty. Maya laid into Zende after he dumped Nicole for her childhood friend, Sasha Thompson, then reeled to learn Sasha was really her half-sister through Julius cheating on Vivienne long ago.

Maya welcomed baby Elizabeth, reluctantly placing her in Julius' arms to keep the peace. Then Sasha announced being pregnant by Zende just as he reunited with Nicole, so Maya dared Sasha to take a pregnancy test, discovering later that Sasha faked a positive result. Maya took part in a family meeting Julius called to implore his loved ones to forgive each other for their transgressions and later happily attended little "Lizzy"'s christening, which included Sasha. Months later, Maya could barely contain her joy when she got a chance to sing the national anthem at a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game courtesy of Rick.

Maya joined Rick in boycotting Eric's wedding to Quinn Fuller, a woman with a criminal past, but felt guilty afterwards, especially when an enraged Eric collapsed from a brain hemorrhage. Afterwards, Maya and Rick asked Nicole if she'd carry a second baby for them; Maya felt bad when Nicole ultimately declined, and more so because Nicole's near-acceptance had caused Zende to sleep with Sasha again. With Quinn acting as interim CEO at Eric's instruction, Maya balked at having to model Quinn's jewelry alongside Sasha at a fashion show, but sucked it up for the good of the company. Later, Maya shared Rick's anger that he was denied sharing a co-CEO position with Ridge's daughter, Steffy Forrester, but happily helped Zende win Nicole over with an extravagant horse-and-carriage proposal, then served as Nicole's maid of honor at her wedding. Maya also attended a party for Steffy and her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Liam Spencer, who were marrying in Australia; Maya hungrily asked Rick for details when Eric checked in from Down Under.

Maya and Rick hitched a ride to Paris with the honeymooning Brooke and Bill as Rick had business fires to put out and Maya was scheduled for an important photo shoot. The distracted Maya worried about Lizzy and felt bad for asking Nicole and Zende to sit with her, but Maya decided to extend her trip when she was asked to take part in a career-boosting modeling gig in other European locales. Upon returning, Maya couldn't understand Nicole's coldness until she learned Nicole had been told it wasn't likely she could have another baby. Maya was sure Nicole would sign Lizzy's new adoption papers since the initial ones contained a clerical error; when Nicole hesitated and considered keeping Lizzy, Maya was angry but came to empathize with her sister. Despite Julius badgering Nicole to tear up the papers and his insistence that Maya wasn't meant to be a mother, Maya breathed a sigh of relief when Nicole eventually finalized Lizzy's adoption.

Maya modeled alongside Nicole, Rick, and Carter for a Forrester calendar teasing a swimsuit fashion show in Monte Carlo, where she represented Forrester in a fashion duel with rival design house Spectra Fashions. Maya celebrated at a club, where she was accosted by a bigot who harassed her about being transgender; grateful that Zende stood up for her, Maya decided not to tell Rick or Nicole about the incident. Later, after hearing Lizzy call Nicole "mama" instead of her, Maya arranged to have Nicole and Zende work at Forrester International in Paris to put distance between Nicole and Lizzy. Maya was thrilled when Nicole visited at Thanksgiving and spent the holiday with her and their parents at the Forrester's Thanksgiving feast.

Maya received a shock when Carter admitted he still had feelings for her; she gently told Carter she was very happy with Rick but considered Carter a friend. Maya became concerned when Forrester receptionist Pam Douglas, who was on medication for bipolar disorder, came to work in the same clothes she'd worn the day before just as Bill had been shot in the back. Maya briefly worried that Rick might be the shooter after he expressed hatred for Bill over his one-night stand with Steffy. With her loved ones of the hook, Maya attended Brooke and Ridge's remarriage ceremony, which went through, and Hope's wedding to on-again-off-again love Liam Spencer, which didn't.

Maya arranged an internship at Forrester for her cousin Alexander "Xander" Avant, an aspiring graphic designer. Maya jokingly predicted that Xander would be "a handful", but soon became dubious about his attraction to Emma, a fellow intern who idolized Hope. Maya fumed when she caught Emma innocently taking pictures of Forrester designs and learned that her uncle was Justin Barber, Bill's right-hand man. Maya became disgruntled when Hope Logan didn't want Maya to be the lead model in the upcoming Hope for the Future reboot showing; soon after, Hope received threats on HFTF's web site and it seemed Maya could be responsible; however, the real culprit was Zoe Buckingham, Xander's ex-girlfriend from London who was trying to spook Emma. Maya advised Xander to convince new rivals Emma and Zoe to get along when Zoe was hired on at Forrester as a model.

Maya joined Rick on Forrester business trips; this was confirmed at Thanksgiving 2018 when Brooke said that Maya and Rick were letting Rick's half-brother, R.J. Forrester, stay with them in Paris. However, Maya came home solo and explained that she and Rick were divorcing, though she didn't get into details as to why. As Lizzy was named for Rick's grandmother, Beth Logan, Maya happily agreed to share the namesake when Hope wanted to name her baby after Beth as well. Maya was last seen discussing Hope's post-miscarriage annulment from Liam with Xander and Zoe, saying that, if she had lost Lizzy, she would have gone into a room and never reemerged.