Maria Bj�rnson was a theatre designer. She was born in Paris to a Norwegian father and Romanian mother. Bj�rnson studied at the Byam Shaw School of Art and at the Central School of Art and Design. She designed sets and costumes for theatre, ballet and opera. She worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and designed Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which won her the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design, and the Trevor Nunn production of Aspects of Love. Bj�rnson was course director for Theatre Design at the Central School of Art and Design. She died in London on 13 December 2002. She was 53. In 2006, the refurbished Young Vic opened a new theatre named The Maria in her honour. The first performance in The Maria was Love and Money by Dennis Kelly, directed by Matthew Dunster and designed by Anna Fleischle. In the 2011 25th Anniversary Concert of The Phantom of The Opera, the chandelier, considered Maria's greatest stage triumph, was named Maria in honour of her with the name inlaid on the inside of the $2M set piece. 

February 16th, 1949 in Paris  /  Died:   Dec 13th, 2002 - aged 53, chickenpox