Maria Yakovlevna Chambers-Bilibina was a daughter of James Stephen Chambers from Ireland and Elizaveta Mary Page. She was the sister of Vladimir Yakovlevich Chambers. In the 1890s she studied at the Drawing School of the Society for Encouragement of Artists and under Ilya Repin at M. K. Tenisheva’s School. In 1896 she visited England for the first time. In 1902–1911 she was married to the artist Ivan Bilibin and gave birth to their children Alexander (1903–1972; artist) and Ivan (1908–1993; a famous British journalist).
In the 1900s -1910s she illustrated books for Petersburg publishing houses, designed postcards and ex-librises, and was into easel graphic art and painting. Maria Chambers-Bilibina illustrated Selected Works by Mikhail Lermontov (1914–1915, Moscow). She participated in exhibitions of the New Artists Society (SPb., 1909, 1913), the World of Art Association (SPb., 1912, 1913; M, 1912; Kiev, 1913), Salon of V. A. Izdebsky (1909/1910), etc.
In May, 1914 Maria Chambers-Bilibina left to Switzerland for medical treatment of her eldest son suffering from total hearing loss and remained abroad because of the war. From 1917 she lived in England and went on painting. In 1931 she participated in an art exhibition of the Russian Group in Prince Vladimir Galitzine’s Gallery. Her works are kept in the family collection.
Maria Chambers-Bilibina was buried at a church cemetery in Kidmore End, Oxfordshire.