Maria Torres

One of the most important characters in the history of Sunset Beach was Maria Torres Evans. She was presumed dead in 1993 and although she never appeared on-screen until 1998, a lot of characters were connected through her. Her husband Ben Evans married Maria whilst she was still a teenager. After her death during a boating trip in a storm, he spent years grieving, and many people suspected that Ben was the one that killed her. Meanwhile, Ben found love in arms of another woman, Meg Cummings. Maria's friend, Annie Douglas Richards tried to play with Meg's mind by forging Maria's diary into thinking that Ben killed Maria, but eventually Annie's plot was discovered. That's when Maria was finally left in peace. In the summer of 1998, Meg befriended an amnesiac woman named Dana in a hospital, who had no idea who she was. It was later discovered by Annie and Tim Truman that Dana is actually Maria. The two plotted to get Maria on the wedding ceremony.

After Meg and Ben got married, "Dana" stormed into the room and surprised everyone who knew her. Ben was shocked to see his wife alive. Maria didn't know anything about the past and she constantly tried to convince everyone that she knows what happened to her, but it was yet in 1999 when she learned more about her past. Maria was the reason why Ben couldn't move on with Meg, and they eventually broke up, although Maria didn't want to be with Ben. In 1999, Maria, Ben, Meg and other were surprised when Tess Marin arrived in Sunset Beach with Benjy Evans, who turned out to be Maria and Ben's son. However, neither of them knew that Benjy was actually Tess' son with Derek Evans, Ben's evil twin brother. Derek returned in 1999 and pretended to be Ben, while he held Ben captive. He slept with Maria. His wrath was discovered and he was killed, while Tess ended up in prison. During the last few episodes, Maria decided to let Ben and Meg be happy, and she met a new man in her life, named Ross English. She also decided to adopt Benjy.