Olivia Anne Maxwell is the daughter of a talented painter, Lydia, from Slovakia, and Ron Maxwell, her father, who directed the cult hit film "Little Darlings" and the historical epic "Gettysburg". Olivia grew up in New York City, attending The Hewitt School after her parents' custody battle and long-lasting divorce.
Her brother, Jonathan Maxwell, is a successful chess player and the youngest player to ever write the most advanced book on chess blitz, as part of "Blitz Theory". Olivia graduated from Berkshire School in 1990, exceling in cross-country running, skiing, and track and field, earning the trifecta and MVP award in all three sports each consecutive year.
Olivia went on to attend Bennington College and Marymount Manhattan University, but lost interest in school and instead became a set production assistant on her father's film "Gettysburg", where she was cast as the Taneytown girl and gained fame for having the only female line in the film. She later moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career but became disenchanted with the "scene" and relocated to Shepherdstown, West Virginia in 1998.
In Shepherdstown, Olivia learned to play the guitar and write songs, and in 2002, Frank Murray, the manager who discovered "The Pogues", heard a demo she recorded with Terry Tucker and signed her. Frank Murray and Olivia had a romantic relationship that began after their day in Woodstock, New York, in the recording studio with Levon Helm, who played on Olivia's song "Sara James", which she wrote about a ghost she felt during her childhood visits to civil war battlefields with her father and brother.
Olivia released her E.P. "Paso Robles" in 2013, produced by Eric Ambel and Frank Murray, her manager at the time. In 2016, she appeared in the supporting role of "Witch" in "Macbeth Unhinged", directed by Angus MacFadyen, who was so impressed by her acting abilities that he gave her all the lines of the witches. In 2022, a remake of "Macbeth Unhinged" was made, titled "The Curse of the Macbeth's", in which Olivia starred alongside Angus MacFadyen, who directed the film based on William Shakespeare's "Macbeth".
Olivia is currently filming "Gene of Nam", her directorial debut about the Vietnam War, starring herself, Olivia A. Maxwell, and actor Justin Lazard.
