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Rachel Alejandro

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In this Philippine name for married women, the birth middle name or maternal family name is Jingco, the birth surname or paternal family name is Alejandro, and the marital name is Santa Maria.
Rachel Alejandro
Alejandro in 2021
Born
Rachel Jingco Alejandro

(1974-02-18) February 18, 1974 (age 50)[1]
Alaminos, Pangasinan, Philippines[1]
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actress
Years active1986–present
Spouse
Carlos Santa Maria
​
(m. 2011)​
Musical career
OriginPhilippines
Websiterachelalejandro.com

Rachel Jingco Alejandro (born February 18, 1974)[1] is a Filipino singer and actress.

Biography

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Early life

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Alejandro's mother and father separated when she was four. Her mother then remarried and moved to the United States. Together with her father Hajji and his new partner, Rio Diaz, Alejandro and her sister Barni spent time in Manila and the US.

Her theater experience began with The Sound of Music at eight years of age, then Peter Pan at 15, Noli Me Tangere at 18, then Alikabok at 21, followed by Sino Ka Ba Jose Rizal, Larawan, Fire Water Woman, and more recently

Career

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Rachel Alejandro first entered the world of showbiz at the age of 12, when she was a host on the popular TV show That's Entertainment. At 15 from Pangasinan Province, following her successful TV stunt, Alejandro recorded her first album, Just a Minute, for Alpha Records. The album spawned several hit songs including the No. 1 single "Mr. Kupido", as well as "K.S.P. (Kulang Sa Pansin)" and "Kay Tagal". The album went gold and Alejandro's recording career then took off. Her second album, Watch Me Now, featured a revival of "Nakapagtataka", the signature song of her father, pop icon Hajji Alejandro.

Her powerful rendition of the song earned her the Awit Award for Best Performance by a Female Recording Artist and the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Foundation Award for Best Female Singer/Entertainer. May Minamahal, which contained the award-winning single "Babalik-balikan", became Alejandro's first platinum album in 1992. That same year, her career got another boost when she competed at the Golden Stag International Song Festival in Brasov, Romania, winning the award for Best Interpretation of a Romanian Song. Her 1994 album, Sentimental, featured the multi-awarded song "Paalam Na" which Alejandro co-wrote with then-boyfriend Dingdong Avanzado.

In 1996, Alejandro celebrated her 10 years in showbiz by releasing an anniversary album and appearing in her first major concert, with guests Janno Gibbs, Ogie Alcasid and the Street Boys. As Alejandro said in an interview with Maryo B Labad, "In the past years, siguro halos lahat nasubukan ko na as far as the entertainment scene is concerned. And my efforts have paid off." Her album Tanging Pangarap, her first for Viva Records, was released in 2001. The carrier single was written by her longtime former boyfriend Lee Robin Salazar. It also contains the 2000 Metropop Song Festival winner "Forever and a Day" composed by Angelo Villegas. Recently, Alejandro released a self-produced album under a distribution agreement with Sony Music Philippines entitled Believe with original songs and cover songs from some of her stage musical projects.

Alejandro has also enjoyed success as an actress, appearing in films and theater productions. In 2001, she took the role of Mimi Marquez in a production of Rent that played in Manila and Singapore. A review from the Singapore Straits Times praised Alejandro's performance writing, "Alejandro’s Mimi sounds even better than Broadway’s Daphne Rubin-Vega. Her crystal clear voice is far stronger than the smokey whisper of Rubin-Vega".[2] She starred in a run of the musical comedy Xanadu in 2010.[3] In 2012, she starred in Atlantis Productions' Avenue Q which played at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. This was her fourth time doing the show as she had previously performed in several repeats of the musical in Manila.[4] She appeared in an Atlantis Production of Aida as Amneris in June 2011[5] and in July 2013, she accepted the role of Justice in a repeat run of Rock of Ages in Manila.[6]

In 2017, she starred in the musical film Ang Larawan, which she also was the executive producer, marking her comeback in film for the first time in 21 years.[7] Her last major movie before that was 1996's Mumbaki with Raymart Santiago and directed by Butch Perez for VIVA Films. She subsequently portrayed Aurora Quezon in the 2019 film Quezon's Game which garnered her several best actress awards.

On July 1, 2018, ASAP paid tribute to her and awarded her an ASAPinoy Plaque of recognition for her contributions to OPM. On that day she together with other performers such as Lyca Gairanod, Jona Soquite, and legendary singers Zsa Zsa Padilla, Martin Nievera, and her father Hajji Alejandro performed all her hit songs.[8] Alejandro currently stars in the Philippine-Australian jukebox musical All Out of Love: The Musical, which is based on the songs of Air Supply.[9]

On July 23, 2021, Alejandro became an artist for Star Magic and will star on her first teleserye called The Broken Marriage Vow.[10][11]

Personal life

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On April 9, 2011, Alejandro married Carlos Santa Maria.[12][13] She is currently residing in Makati.[14]

Discography

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Year Album details
1989 Just A Minute
1991 Watch Me Now!!!
  • Label: Alpha Records
  • Formats: LP, Cassette, CD
1993 May Minamahal
  • Label: Alpha Records
  • Formats: LP, Cassette, CD
1994 Sentimental
  • Label: Alpha Records
  • Formats: LP, Cassette, CD
1994 Paskung-Paskong Alpha All-Stars
  • Label: Alpha Records
  • Formats: LP, Cassette, CD
1995 Alikabok (An Original Pilipino Musical)
1995 Sa Araw Ng Pasko
  • Label: Alpha Records
  • Formats: Cassette, CD
1996 Perfect 10
  • Label: Alpha Records
  • Formats: Cassette, CD
1997 Mixed Emotions
  • Label: PolyGram TV
  • Formats: Cassette, CD
1997 The Very Best of Rachel Alejandro
  • Label: Alpha Records
  • Formats: Cassette, CD
1997 The Best Of Rachel Alejandro Volume 2
  • Label: Alpha Records
  • Formats: Cassette, CD
1999 Dito Sa Puso Ko
1999 All-Time Hits OPM Volume 1: The Hits of Rachel Alejandro and Richard Reynoso (Karaoke)
  • Label: Alpha Records
  • Formats: VCD
2001 Tanging Pangarap
2004 Heart's Desire
  • Label: Viva Records
  • Formats: CD
2010 Believe
2017 Ang Larawan (The Official Soundtrack)
  • Label: Star Music
  • Formats: LP, iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon.com MP3 Music format
2021 Takipsilim (single)
  • Label: Warner Music Philippines
  • Formats: Spotify

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Film production
1990 Hulihin si... Nardong Toothpick Sandra Viva Films
1991 Ang Utol Kong Hoodlum Rose
Angelito San Miguel: Ang Batang City Jail Rowena
Darna
Onyong Majikero Diana Golden Lions Films
1992 Blue Jeans Gang Viva Films
1993 Pita, Terror ng Kaloocan Estella
1994 Silya Elektrika Gina El Niño Films
1996 Mumbaki Dr. Nancy Madrid Viva Films
1998 Notoryus Star Cinema
2010 Take Note – episode #7: Rachel Alejandro & Geneva Cruz Herself CustomFlix
2017 Ang Larawan Paula Marasigan Solar Pictures
2019 Quezon's Game Aurora Quezon Star Cinema

Television

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Books

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  • Sexy Chef Cookbook (December 4, 2013)
  • Eat, Clean, Love (2015)
  • 21 Days to a Sexier You (2017)
  • Ang Larawan: From Stage to Screen (2017)
  • FHM (March 2018)
  • Liwayway Magasin (February 19, 2018)
  • Bannawag Magasin (May 7, 2018)
  • Liwayway Magasin (June 10, 2019)

Awards

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Year Award Giving Body Category Nominated Work Results
2000 Awit Awards Best Movie/TV/Stage/Theme Song Recording(shared with Wency Cornejo) "Ngayon Bukas Kahapon"(Warat) Won[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Date and place of birth of Rachel Alejandro.
  2. ^ Sarmiento, Adrienne V. "Rent makes Rachel a more convincing performer". Philstar.com. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  3. ^ Galura, Roda. "Skating sexy with Rachel Alejandro". Philstar.com. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  4. ^ "Loving life on Avenue Q". Rappler. September 28, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  5. ^ Abunda, Boy (October 4, 2019). "Hajji Alejandro and daughter Rachel Alejandro return onstage by musical 'Aida' - Pinoy Parazzi". www.pinoyparazzi.com. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  6. ^ "Rachel Alejandro joins the cast of 'Rock of Ages'". Philstar.com. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  7. ^ Interaksyon (October 25, 2017). "'Ang Larawan' actress-producer Rachel Alejandro attends opening of Tokyo festival". Interaksyon. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  8. ^ "ASAPinoy relive the songs of Rachel Alejandro". ABS-CBN News. July 1, 2018.
  9. ^ "Photo Flash: First Look At The Air Supply Musical ALL OUT OF LOVE in Manila". Broadway World. Wisdom Digital Media. October 19, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  10. ^ "STAR MAGIC". www.facebook.com. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  11. ^ "Rachel Alejandro stars in her 1st ABS-CBN teleserye". www.philstar.com. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  12. ^ "Rachel Alejandro to tie the knot this month". ABS-CBN News. April 4, 2011.
  13. ^ "Boracay Wedding of Rachel Alejandro and Carlos Santamaria". MyKiru. April 12, 2011.
  14. ^ Rachel Alejandro and her husband settle in Manila for good; she skips baby plans for now.
  15. ^ "13th Awit Awards Results". Archived from the original on March 2, 2006. Retrieved May 8, 2006.
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