Love Marie Payawal Ongpauco, better known in her stage name as Heart Evangelista, is a Filipina actress, singer, model and VJ.
Heart Evangelista |
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Biography
Childhood
She was born on February 14, 1985 to parents Reynaldo and Cecilia Ongpauco, she was the youngest in her family, with one brother (Miguel) and four sisters (Lisa, Marjorie, Michelle and Camille).
She comes from the Ongpauco clan of Barrio Fiesta fame. Her uncle (Rod Ongpauco) is the founder of the Barrio Fiesta restaurant chain while her father founded several Barrio Fiesta branches in San Francisco. She grew up and studied in the United States and her family moved back in her late toddler years to the Philippines.
Career
Arguably one of the most popular young stars in the Philippines, she was first discovered by a commercial agent while shopping at the mall with sister Camille. She signed up with Star Magic (formerly known as Talent Center) and was paired with John Prats in the show G-Mik. Her relationship with John Prats gained tremendous popularity, and they starred in several movies together—Trip, Ang Tanging Ina and My First Romance. They also starred in the popular teen-oriented show "Berks." After which their real and reel life romance fizzled.
Since then, Heart was paired with Geoff Eigenmann in the popular primetime soap opera "Hiram" which also starred Kris Aquino, Dina Bonnevie, John Estrada and Anne Curtis. This soap earned Heart a Star Awards Best Actress nomination at the age of 20.
She has also starred in an action-based show called Panday with her current boyfriend, Jericho Rosales.
Another notable achievement of Heart is winning best new female personality for both Star TV and Star Movie awards. She also won texter's and listener's choice at Himig Handog Awards for her single "Love Has Come My Way." Heart also released a single "Tell Me" in Australia which made it into the charts, peaking at number 18.
She is now managed by Manila Genesis Entertainment after her decision not to renew her contract with Star Magic (formerly Talent Center of ABS-CBN).
After taking almost a year off work and focusing mainly on hosting gigs and on her charitable foundation Heart Can, she has recently renewed her ties with mother station ABS-CBN and is now under a per project basis. She is set to do a a new sineserye for the station, a remake of the movie Hiram Na Mukha and a new variety show as well. She also has a new album coming out in 2007.
Romance / Controversy
Heart had an offscreen romance with onscreen partner John Prats. After this, she was linked to a non-showbiz political scion. She has since then confirmed these to be true. She was also linked to actor John Lloyd Cruz but she denied having him as a boyfriend but admitted to going out with him on several dates. She was also rumored to date Geoff Eigenmann probably because of their soap together (Hiram) and in MYX but these rumors proved to be false.
Currently, she is dating actor Jericho Rosales, her co-star in Panday. Another controversy that hounded Heart is the rumor of her being pregnant and having an abortion. She has since denied this and pointed out that her being in and out of the hospital was due to severe asthma. Although some have assumed that her trip to Hawaii during the controversy involved getting the rumored pregnancy aborted since Hawaii is one of the places in the world where you can get an abortion without parental consent, it is important to point out that she was in the country when the rumor started, even appearing in the ABS-CBN showbiz talk show The Buzz to disprove it. She then went to Hawaii for her birthday which unfortunately caused the rumors to worsen.
Another was an issue about fellow actor, a much older John Estrada whom she had worked with in the soap opera Hiram, trying to hit on her at a local bar. John, who has several children out of a previous marriage, claimed that nothing like that happened while Heart has vehemently denied having any kind of a relationship with him and declined to comment further on the issue "out of respect for his children."
Heart has also said that this controversy, as well as the others, did nothing to harm her and Jericho's relationship. Just recently, the rift between Jericho and John Estrada caused by the said issue, was ended. They made peace on a magazine publication's anniversary party that was well attended by famous celebrities.
Religion / Charity Work
Since early 2006, Heart has been very vocal about her conversion from Catholic to Born Again Christian. She attends the Victory Christian Fellowship. She has always stated that her conversion is the reason she moved from the Philippine's titanic talent organization/agency Star Magic (backed by mega-media-corporation ABS-CBN) to the small & independent religious/secular Genesis.
Since September 2006, Heart has started taking on a humanitarian role and founded Heart Can, a foundation to help children with respiratory diseases. The Heart Can foundation is taking her through a series of mall shows and has distributed several cans for donations in order to raise money for the young children to be benefited by the charity.
Even if her transfer from Star Magic to Genesis has caused her to lose projects and her popularity has declined from what it was before, Heart says she has no regrets because she needed the spiritual counsel that Genesis could provide her. She has also stated that she is very happy with her life, "not just working but having...living a life."
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Character/Role |
| 2007 | Sineserye Presents: Hiram na Mukha | (Coming Soon) |
| 2007 | Maalaala Mo Kaya: Singsing | Kaye Chua |
| 2006 | Philippine Idol | Herself (Host) |
| 2006 | Close Up To Fame | Herself (Host) |
| 2005 | Maalaala Mo Kaya: Painting | Emily |
| 2005 | Panday | Eden / Camia |
| 2004 | ASAP Fanatic | Herself (Host) / Performer |
| 2004 | Hiram | Margaret Benipayo |
| 2003 | Maalaala Mo Kaya: Ferry Boat | Danna |
| 2003 | Tanging Ina | Portia / Por |
| 2003 | Berks | Gwyneth |
| 2002 | MYX | Herself (Video Jockey) |
| 2002 | Arriba! Arriba! | Monina Arriba |
| 2002 | ASAP | Herself (Host) / Perfomer |
| 2000 | G-mik | Missy |
Movies
| Year | Title | Character/Role |
| 2007 | Ay Ayeng | Ayeng |
| 2004 | Bcuz of U | Cara |
| 2003 | My First Romance | Jackie ("One Love" Episode) |
| 2003 | AngTanging Ina | Portia/Por |
| 2002 | Jologs | Coffee Shop Passerby (cameo role) |
| 2001 | Trip | Faye |
Music videos
| Year | Song | Album |
| 2003 | One | Heart |
| 2002 | Love Has Come My Way | Himig Handog Love Songs |
Discography
| Year | Album |
| 2007 | (coming soon) |
| 2003 | My First Romance OST |
| 2003 | Heart |
| 2002 | Himig Handog Love Songs |
Awards and citations
| Year | Film Award/Critics | Award |
| 2006 | FHM Philippines 100 Sexiest Women | Rank #15 |
| 2005 | FHM Philippines 100 Sexiest Women | Rank #6 |
| 2004 | FAMAS Awards | German Moreno Youth Achievement Award |
| 2004 | Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation | Princess of RP Movies |
| 2004 | FHM Philippines 100 Sexiest Women | Rank #16 |
| 2003 | Awit Awards | Best Performance by a New Female Artist (Love Has Come My Way) |
| 2003 | Asia Pacific Excellence & Handog Kay Ina Awards | Youth Achiever for Arts & Entertainment |
| 2003 | Ivan Entertainment Productions: Circle of 10 Modeling Agency | Celebrity Endorser of the Year |
| 2003 | Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation | Most Popular Love Team of RP Movies |
| 2003 | Candy Rap Awards | Best Dressed Personality |
| 2003 | Album | Platinum Award (Himig Handog Love Songs Album) |
| 2002 | Himig Handog Lovesongs 2002 | Listener's Choice Award (Love Has Come My Way) |
| 2002 | Himig Handog Lovesongs 2002 | Texter's Choice Award (Love Has Come My Way) |
| 2001 | Star Awards | Best New Female Personality (TRIP) |