Marija Skender was born in Podgorica-Montenegro. She acquired primary and secondary music education at the music school "Vasa Pavic", at the piano department in the class of Prof Lidija Ferdinandi Skender, as well as at the department of solo singing. From the year 2002 she studied piano at the Music Academy of Cetinje in the class of Prof Boris Kraljevic. She graduated and obtained a master degree at the class of Prof Svetlana Bogino. She also finished the specialization studies of contemporary music at the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe (Germany) in the classes of Prof Markus Stange and Prof Michael Uhde.

She took the first place (for solo piano) at the state competition in Bar in 2003. At the chamber music state competition in Kotor (2001) she won the first, in 2005 in Cetinje the second prize and in 2010 again the first prize at the POM-COM competition in performing music miniatures (solo piano) in Novi Sad.

She took part in master-classes of professors Vladimir Ovcinikov (Russia), Konstantin Bogino (Italy) and Georg Sava (Germany).

She has performed in Podgorica, Cetinje, Kotor, Ulcinj, Belgrade, Karlsruhe, as well as at the Cultural Center of Serbia and Montenegro and at the National Conservatory Sergie Pontoise, both in Paris. She has also performed at a summer music festival at the Pallazo Ducale in Lucca and at the Auditorium San Nicolo in Chioggia (Italy).

She teaches piano at the music school "Vasa Pavic" in Montenegro.