Mary Aiko Shimoji Melendez (born December 16, 1975), known professionally as Aiko Melendez (), is a Filipino actress and politician. She began her career as a child actress and later became a romantic lead in the 1990s. She achieved newfound fame playing secondary dramatic roles in film and television in the succeeding decades and has since garnered various accolades including a

Luna Award The Luna Awards are awards given annually by the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) to recognize the outstanding achievements of the Filipino film industry. The first awards were presented in 1983 in Pasay. It is considered to be the Philipp ...

and two

Manila Film Festival The Manila Tagalog Film Festival, also known as the Manila Film Festival, was a film festival organized in the city of Manila, Philippines. It is considered as the precursor to the Metro Manila Film Festival. History Then- Manila Mayor Antoni ...

Awards, in addition to nominations for five

FAMAS Awards The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards, or simply the FAMAS Awards, are the annual honors given by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), an organization composed of writers and movie columnists, for achieveme ...

. She currently serves as a

councilor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regio ...

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

from the

5th district District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

since 2022, a position she previously held from the 2nd district from 2001 to 2010.

Career

MOA signing between Aiko Melendez and FREP Diagnostic Lab

Melendez was discovered in the late 1980s and signed a contract with

Regal Films Regal Entertainment Inc. (formerly and more commonly known as Regal Films) is a Philippine film, television production and distribution headquartered in New Manila, Quezon City. It was founded by Lily Monteverde on August 19, 1962. Regal Enter ...

, becoming one of their 'Regal Babies'. In 2001, Melendez ran for councilor of the 2nd district of

and won. She was reelected in 2004 and in 2007 and remained in office for 9 years until 2010.Aiko open to TV project with ex-hubby Jomari
ABS-CBN June 6, 2008Aiko makes comeback with May-December affair in 'Your Song'
ABS-CBN. August 30, 2008 She ran for vice mayor of Quezon City in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

as the running mate of

Mike Defensor Michael Tan Defensor (, born June 30, 1969) is a Filipino politician who most recently served as the Party-list Representative for Anakalusugan from 2019 to 2022. He is also the CEO of Pax Libera Mining, Inc. Defensor began his political ca ...

, but lost to

Joy Belmonte Joy Belmonte-Alimurung (born Maria Josefina Tanya Go Belmonte; March 15, 1970) is a Filipino politician who has served as the 11th mayor of Quezon City since 2019. A member of the local Serbisyo sa Bayan Party, Belmonte previously served as ...

. She did several shows on

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

but most often appeared on

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

. In 2011, Aiko returned to ABS-CBN for an episode of ''

Maalaala Mo Kaya (, abbreviated as ''MMK'') is a Philippine television drama anthology series broadcast by ABS-CBN and Kapamilya Channel. Hosted by Charo Santos-Concio, its first iteration was aired from May 15, 1991 to December 10, 2022. It is the longest ...

'' and ''

Reputasyon ''Reputasyon'' () is a Philippine television drama action series broadcast by ABS-CBN. Directed by Mervyn B. Brondial, Jeffrey R. Jeturian and Rechie A. Del Carmen, it stars Cristine Reyes, Rayver Cruz, Jason Abalos, Aiko Melendez and Jaclyn Jose ...

''. In 2013, she was part of the TV series '' Apoy Sa Dagat''. In 2015, Melendez played the role of Fionna Vargas in ''

Inday Bote ''Inday Bote'' () is a 2015 Philippine television drama romance series broadcast by ABS-CBN. The series is based on the local comic book of the same title created by Pablo S. Gomez. Directed by Malu L. Sevilla, Jon S. Villarin and Manny Q. Palo ...

''. In 2017, Melendez played the role of Emilia Ardiente in ''

Wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, rather than being intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is any different from the native plant, eve ...

''. In 2018, Melendez played the role of Matadora/Bighani in Bagani. In 2019, Melendez returned to

to play a role in '' Prima Donnas''. Melendez ran for Quezon City councilor in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, this time at the

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

district, and won.

Personal life

Her father, Jimmy Melendez (born Jim Shinoji), was also an actor. Her paternal half-brother, Jam Melendez, also entered showbusiness. Melendez was married to actor

Jomari Yllana José María "Jomari" Garchitorena Yllana (born August 16, 1973) is a Filipino actor, model, racing driver, concert producer, promoter, and politician. He rose to fame as one of the members of 1990s teen group ''"Gwapings"'' together with Mark ...

from 2000 but separated after a year. They have a son named Andrei. Their marriage was annulled in 2005. In 2005, Melendez married Martin Jickain, with whom she has a daughter named Marthena. However, their marriage was annulled in 2010. Melendez is currently dating

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales (; ; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is Iba, Zambales, Iba, which is located in t ...

's 1st district representative Jefferson "Jay" Khonghun. In 2013, Melendez converted to

Born Again Christian To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

ity.

Filmography

Film

Television

TV commercials

*Rexona (May 1994) *Pigromix (August 1984)

Accolades

*Celebrity Inductee, Eastwood City Walk of Fame Philippines 2014 - Won *Best Supporting Actress for ''Iadya Mo Kami'', 15th Gawad Tanglaw Awards 2017 *Pinakapasadong Katuwang na Aktres for ''Iadya Mo Kami'', 19th Gawad PASADO Awards *Pinakapasadong Katuwang na Aktres for ''Rainbow's Sunset'', 21st Gawad PASADO Awards *Favorite Kontrabida for '' Prima Donnas'', RAWR Awards 2020 *Best Drama Supporting Actress for ''Prima Donnas'',

34th PMPC Star Awards for Television The 34th PMPC Star Awards for Television honored the best in Philippine television programming from 2019 until 2020, as chosen by the Philippine Movie Press Club. The ceremony was held virtually on October 17, 2021, and broadcast on STV at 6: ...

Notes

References

External links

- Official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melendez, Aiko 1975 births Living people 20th-century Filipino actresses 21st-century Filipino actresses ABS-CBN people Actresses from Quezon City Actresses of Japanese descent Comedians from Quezon City Converts to evangelical Christianity from Roman Catholicism Filipino actor-politicians Filipino Christians Filipino evangelicals Filipino film actresses Filipino people of Japanese descent Filipino politicians of Japanese descent Filipino people of Spanish descent Filipino sketch comedians Filipino television actresses Filipino television personalities Filipino women comedians GMA Network (company) people Radio Philippines Network personalities TV5 Network people Metro Manila city and municipal councilors Nacionalista Party politicians Politicians from Quezon City Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino politicians Quezon City Council members Bubble Gang cast members