After graduating, Thattil did a lot of contract work, including HR roles, until she won a corporate role as a "talent acquisition partner" at the
Victoria State Government's North East Link Project. and was placed in the top 10 of the global competition as only the third woman of colour to represent Australia. She said that she had entered the competition partly "to redefine Australian beauty standards" in Australia, which were focused on tall white women (she is just 5'3"), and to defy bullies and trolls who had targeted her on social media. Upon winning the competition, she was only the third woman of colour to win in its nearly 70-year history. She was interviewed by media and it started conversations about racism, as well as barriers for women and young people. While in the jungle, she came out as
bisexual. In 2023 she began making occasional appearances as a co-host on
Network 10's current affairs news show
The Project. In July of that year, she became the host of her own podcast
The Maria Thattil Show.
Acting In August 2023 Thattil made her acting debut in a guest role in the reboot of
Mother and Son on ABC Television. In December 2023, Thattil joined the cast of
Neighbours in the guest role of
Amira Devkar, the first ever South Asian queer character in the show. She made her first appearance in May 2024, and appeared in six episodes of the show. She has created a series on
TikTok called
Lets Get Ducking Famous!, in which her character, Naomi, and her friend try to make their duck famous on social media. It is describes the book as "part memoir, part inspiration", and is grounded in academic research. ==Other activities==