Actress and physician Dr. Maria Furtwängler has been active in medical charities for many years. She is president of the board of trustees of the international organization "Doctors for Developing Countries". She has also taken part in many relief missions in crisis zones. In this capacity, she has worked as a physician in Kenya, India and the Philippines. She uses her popularity as an actress to draw attention to problems in the developing world.

In Germany, Maria Furtwängler is heavily involved in charity work on behalf of children. She sits on the board of the "Bündnis für Kinder - Gegen Gewalt" foundation (Alliance for Children - Against Violence). The organization's goal is to have young people grow up free from violence in a child-friendly society.

Maria Furtwängler has garnered many awards for her acting achievements, including a Bambi (2007), the Deutscher Fernsehpreis (German television award, 2007), the Goldene Kamera (2008) and the Romy, an Austrian television award (2009). For her work with the "Doctors for Developing Countries" organization, she received Germany's Federal Cross of Merit in 2003 and the Bavarian Order of Merit in 2007.