People described Maria as a pretty, flirtatious girl. She was plump, with light brown hair and big blue eyes that her family called "Marie's saucers". Her French teacher Pierre Gilliard said Maria was tall and healthy, with rosy cheeks. Tatiana Botkina thought Maria's eyes were "soft and gentle." While her elder sister Tatiana was considered the most elegant, Maria was thought to be the beauty of the family. When she was a baby, people compared her to one of Botticelli's angels. Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia called her "The Amiable (Good-hearted) Baby".