Maria Bayankina was born in the village of Zyryanovsky, Sverdlovsk Oblast, and spent her childhood in Izhevsk.
Graduated from the vocals faculty of and completed a postgraduate study at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music (class of Evgenia Shevelyova). During her years as a student she collaborated with the Petit Opera artistic group, participating in performances of Purcell’s operas King Arthur, The Tempest, Dido and Aeneas and The Fairy-Queen. In 2011 she was awarded a grant from the Wagner Foundation, which affords young artists the opportunity to visit Bayreuth. That same year, she became a soloist with the Mariinsky Academy of Young Opera Singers.
In January 2013 she made her Mariinsky Theatre debut as Tsaritsa Militrisa in the opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan.
Since the 2019–2020 season she has been a soloist with the Mariinsky Opera.
In November 2019 she made her company debut at the Bolshoi Theatre in the opera The Idiot.