Mary Aiko Shimoji Melendez (born December 16, 1975), known professionally as Aiko Melendez (), is a

Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...

actress and politician. Her father, Jimmy Melendez (born Jim Shinoji), was an actor. Her half-brother, Jam Melendez (son of Jimmy Melendez and Deborah Sun), also entered showbusiness. Aiko Melendez started as a child star in the early '80s under Regal Films among them, ''Santa Claus is Coming to Town'' in 1982 and she was billed simply as Aiko. In the late '80s, the same movie outfit, launched her together with

Ruffa Gutierrez Sharmaine Ruffa Rama Gutierrez (born June 24, 1974) is a Filipino model, beauty queen, host and actress. She was the 1992 Look of the Year - Philippines, Binibining Pilipinas World 1993 and Second Runner-up to Miss World 1993. Career Gutier ...

and Carmina Villaroel as teen actresses. From the late '80s through '90s, she became a blockbuster leading lady to big actors such as

Richard Gomez Richard Frank Icasiano Gomez (; born April 7, 1966) is a Filipino actor, television presenter and director, politician, and épée fencer. He has been serving as the Representative of Leyte's 4th district since 2022, and was mayor of Orm ...

Jomari Yllana José María "Jomari" Garchitorena Yllana (born August 16, 1976) 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 ...

and

Aga Muhlach Ariel Aquino Muhlach"Aga Muchlach biography"
''IMDB''. Retrieved June 13, 2014. (; born August ...

. She received multiple awards for ''May Minamahal'' in 1993 and ''Sa 'yo Lamang'' in 1995. Her 1997 film, ''Kahit Kailan'', received several awards at the

Metro Manila Film Festival The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is an annual film festival held in Metro Manila, Philippines. The festival, which runs from December 25 (Christmas) through New Year's Day and into first weekend of January in the following year, focuses on ...

(MMFF). The movie was produced by

Lily Monteverde Lily Yu Monteverde, nicknamed Mother Lily (born August 19, 1938), is a Filipina film producer and businesswoman. She is the first and many Filipina Movie producers who produced the boom of blockbuster films in different genres in the 70s and 80 ...

. In the late 2000s, she starred in TV shows. In 2017, she garnered praises for her work in ''

Wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...

'', a primetime soap opera.

Career

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 production company based in Pasig. It was founded by Lily Monteverde on August 19, 1962. It has produced movies of all genres; and is the oldest ...

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

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was fou ...

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 06/06/2008Aiko makes comeback with May-December affair in 'Your Song'
ABS-CBN. 08/30/2008 She ran for vice mayor of Quezon City in 2010 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 (born Maria Josefina Tanya Go Belmonte; March 15, 1970) is a Filipinos, Filipina politician who has served as the 11th mayor of Quezon City since 2019. A member of the local List of political parties in the Philippines#Local%20par ...

. She did several shows on

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

but most often appeared on

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Philippine commercial broadcast network that serves as the flagship property of ABS-CBN Corporation, a company unde ...

. In 2011, Aiko returned to ABS-CBN for an episode of '' Maalaala Mo Kaya'' and '' Reputasyon''. In 2013, she was part of the TV series '' Apoy Sa Dagat''. In 2015, Melendez played the role of Fionna Vargas in ''

Inday Bote ''Pablo S. Gomez's Inday Bote'' () is a 2015 Philippine fantasy comedy-drama television series based on the local comic book of the same title created by Pablo S. Gomez. Directed by Malu Sevilla and Jon Villarin, it is topbilled by Alex Gonzaga, ...

''. In 2017, Melendez played the role of Emilia Ardiente in Wildflower. In 2018, Melendez played the role of Matadora/Bighani in Bagani. In 2019, Melendez returned to

to play a role in ''

Prima Donnas ''Prima Donnas'' () is a Philippine television drama series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Gina Alajar, it stars Jillian Ward, Althea Ablan and Sofia Pablo in the title roles. It premiered on August 19, 2019, on the network's Afternoon ...

''. Melendez ran for Quezon City councilor in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, 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 column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

district, and won.

Personal life

Melendez was married to actor

from 2000, but got separated after a year. They have a son named Andrei. Their marriage was annulled in 2004. In 2006, 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 ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...

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

Born Again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sep ...

ity.

Filmography

Television

Movies

TV commercials

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

Awards

*Best Actress for Maalaala Mo Kaya, FAP Luna Awards 1995 *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 *Best Drama Supporting Actress for

31st PMPC Star Awards for Television The 31st PMPC Star Awards for Television ceremony was held at the Henry Lee Irwin Theater in Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City on November 12, 2017 and was broadcast over ABS-CBN on November 19, 2017 (on Sunday's Best). The ceremony is hos ...

*Best Supporting Actress for Rainbow's Sunset, 44th Metro Manila Film Festival *Pinakapasadong Katuwang na Aktres for Rainbow's Sunset, 21st Gawad PASADO Awards *Favorite Kontrabida for

, RAWR Awards 2020 *Best Drama Supporting Actress for Prima Donnas,

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

References

External links

- Official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melendez, Aiko 1975 births Living people Filipino film actresses Filipino television actresses That's Entertainment (Philippine TV series) Filipino television personalities Filipino people of Japanese descent That's Entertainment Monday Group Members Filipino people of Spanish descent People from Quezon City Quezon City Council members Metro Manila city and municipal councilors Actresses from Metro Manila Nacionalista Party politicians Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino politicians 20th-century Filipino actresses 21st-century Filipino actresses Actresses of Japanese descent Converts to evangelical Christianity from Roman Catholicism Filipino Christians Filipino evangelicals Filipino actor-politicians GMA Network personalities ABS-CBN personalities