Maria Dubrovina was born in Igumnovskaya village of Arkhangelsk region. In 1948, she graduated from Krasnoyarsk Pharmaceutical College, then moved to Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

In Sterlitamak, she met Aleksandr Shutov—a young man working at a construction site. He was interested in sculpture, and Dubrovina in drawing. Soon, they got married and moved to Salavat, where Dubrovina worked at a pharmacy. In 1963, the family moved to Ufa.

Later Dubrovina started studying at her husband’s sculpture workshop. In 1974, she first showed her sculptural portrait Ramil to the public.

The artist’s models were usually people whom she knew well, understanding and feeling them deeply. She preferred ceramics: in her opinion, the chance to work with colors (through using metal salts and impurities or variations of glazing techniques) was better suited to her ideas.

Some of the artist’s works, such as the Song figurine, were included in the mass production plan of the October Porcelain Factory.

In 2008, Dubrovina’s husband Aleksandr Shutov passed away, and in 2009 she moved to Krasnodar. She died in 2010.