Denise María Sanz Laurel (born September 30, 1987) is a Filipino actress and singer. She is of Filipino and Spanish descent. She is a granddaughter of former Philippines vice president

Salvador Laurel Salvador Roman Hidalgo Laurel (, November 18, 1928 – January 27, 2004), also known as Doy Laurel, was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the Vice President of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992 under President Cor ...

and great-granddaughter of former president

José P. Laurel José Paciano Laurel y García (March 9, 1891 – November 6, 1959) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, and judge, who served as the President of the Second Philippine Republic from 1943 to 1945, which was a Japanese ally during World War II. ...

on her father's side, while on her mother's side, she is the great-granddaughter of Don Francisco "Paco" Sanz, former governor of

Romblon Romblon (, , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. Its main components include Romblon, an archipelagic municipality of the same name that also serves as the provi ...

and

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

and the great-grandniece of former president

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines from 1946 until his death in 1948. He served briefly as the third and last President of the ...

. She is best known for her roles in various

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 ...

dramas, such as the '' Precious Hearts Romances'' series' '' Midnight Phantom'' and '' Kristine'', '' Dahil sa Pag-ibig'', '' Annaliza'' and most recently '' Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita''. She was also the grand winner of the second season of the Philippine edition of ''Your Face Sounds Familiar''. Laurel is a member of Star Magic and is a former

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), ...

artist.

Personal life

Laurel is the granddaughter of former Philippine

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

and Celia Díaz and the great-granddaughter of former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. She is the youngest daughter of David Laurel and Ruby Sanz. She has a son named Alejandro born in 2011. Laurel became engaged to professional basketball player

Sol Mercado Solomon Jemuel Rayos Mercado (born May 6, 1984) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known as the "Sol-Train", he had an impressive PBA rookie season and eventually became ...

in March 2014. However, on October 20, 2016, Laurel announced through her Instagram account that they had ended their relationship.

Career

Laurel started at 6 in a musical theater for ''Repertory Philippines''. She was discovered by Johnny Manahan at 9 and was later given a break to be part of ''Ang TV 2.'' She played

Ina Raymundo Rina Marie " Ina" Padilla Raymundo-Poturnak (born December 9, 1975) is a Filipino actress. She is best known for her appearance in the 1995 San Miguel Beer television advertisement "Sabado Nights" ( English: ''Saturday Nights''), and its 2017 re ...

's daughter in ''Pangako Sa ‘Yo''. She then made a name in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

when she was part of MTV Asia's ''Rouge'', which was shown all over Asia. Among the many who auditioned, she stood out and got the role of a smart lead vocalist named Pat. At the age of 16, her experience in working with other nationalities taught her things that helped her improve her craft. After a season in ''Rouge'', Laurel decided to concentrate on her local showbiz career.Two Filipinas Cast In MTV Asia's ''Rouge''
MTVAsia website After her return to the Philippines, she was part of the teen-oriented show '' Click'',

TAPE Inc. Television and Production Exponents, Incorporated (also known as TAPE, Inc. or simply TAPE) is a Philippine television production company. It was founded in 1981 by Romeo Jalosjos Sr. and Antonio "Tony" Tuviera. After the last episode of '' ...

's '' Walang Hanggan'' and ''Leya'', and two telefantasya's ''

Mulawin ''Mulawin'' is a Philippine television drama fantasy series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Don Michael Perez and Dode Cruz, it stars Richard Gutierrez, Angel Locsin and Dennis Trillo. It premiered on August 2, 2004 on the network's Tel ...

'' and ''

Encantadia ''Encantadia'' is a Filipino fantasy franchise produced and published by GMA Network. It consists of four television series that have run from 2005 to present and a single film. The first was shown in 2005 carrying the title alone and ended i ...

''. She went back to

, and starred in ''Abt Ur Luv'', and in the fifth season of ''Komiks'', where she played an ''engkantao''. In 2008, ABS-CBN started the ''

Precious Hearts Romances Presents ''Precious Hearts Romances Presents'' is a 5-day Philippine program broadcast on ABS-CBN. It mainly focuses on adaptations of the best selling paperbacks distributed by company holder ''Precious Hearts Romances''. Its first run was from May 4, ...

'' series in which Laurel was prominently featured. Thus far, she had starred in four of the series' adaptations: '' Bud Brothers'', ''

You're Mine, Only Mine ''You're Mine, Only Mine'' is a 2010 Philippine television drama series broadcast by ABS-CBN. The series is based on the Filipino pocket book novel of the same title created by Martha Cecilia, Martha Cecilla, the series is the seventh installment ...

'', '' Midnight Phantom'' and '' Kristine''. She started getting recognition when she did the series, most notably in ''Midnight Phantom'' and ''Kristine'' opposite her friend

Rafael Rosell Rafael Rosell IV (born November 10, 1982) is a Filipino actor. Early life Rafael Rosell IV was born in Stavanger, Norway on November 10, 1982, to Filipino people, Filipino parents; his father, Rafael Rosell III, is a geologist from Cebu, and hi ...

. Her team-up with Rosell had been a hit with the viewers, thus they were teamed up again in '' Dahil sa Pag-ibig''. After ''Dahil sa Pag-ibig'', Laurel starred in her fifth PHR series entitled ''

Pintada ''Pintada'' (International title: ''Painted Woman'') is a 2012 Philippine television drama series broadcast by ABS-CBN. The series is based on the Filipino pocket book novel ''Green Meadows'' by Arielle, the series is the seventeenth installment ...

'', where she played a teacher with a mysterious past. In 2013, Laurel played an antagonist role in the last PHR series '' Paraiso'', and later became part of the pre-primetime family drama series '' Annaliza'' that was aired until March 2014, portraying Isabel. She starred in the afternoon melodrama series '' Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita'' in 2015. The said series was set to replace ''

Faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

'' in the first quarter of the year on primetime, but it instead was an afternoon program. On the same year after ''NKNKK'', Laurel auditioned for the 2nd season of ''

Your Face Sounds Familiar ''Your Face Sounds Familiar'' ( Spanish: ''Tu cara me suena'') is a Spanish interactive reality television franchise series where celebrity contestants impersonate singers. The format, similar to Dutch television series '' Soundmixshow'', was ...

'', where she would go on to be titled as the grand winner. In 2025, she went back to GMA Network to play a major role in ''

Prinsesa ng City Jail ''City Jail'' ( / international title: ''The Jailhouse Princess'') is a 2025 Philippine television drama series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Jerry Lopez Sineneng, it stars Sofia Pablo in the title role. It premiered on January 13, 2 ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Non-album songs

*" I Will Take You Forever" with

Kris Lawrence Kristoffer Lawrence Cadevida (born September 1, 1982), commonly known as Kris Lawrence, is a Filipino-American singer-songwriter and actor. Early life and career Lawrence was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. His father is Loret ...

(

Christopher Cross Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1979), and " Arthur's Theme (Best ...

and

Frances Ruffelle Frances Ruffelle (born 29 August 1965) is an English musical theatre actress and singer. She won a Tony Award in 1987, and represented the United Kingdom in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest with the song " Lonely Symphony (We Will Be Free)", ...

cover) *" Head Over Heels" (

The Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American all-female Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar ...

cover) *"My Memory of Him" (single for '' Endless Love: Winter Sonata'') *"

If I Ain't Got You "If I Ain't Got You" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys for her second studio album '' The Diary of Alicia Keys'' (2003). Inspired by the 2001 death of singer Aaliyah, the September 11 attacks, and other events in the ...

" (

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

cover) *" Disco Lights" (

Ultrabeat Ultrabeat are a British electronic dance music group from Liverpool, England, formed in 2002. Originally consisting of vocalist and producer Mike "Re-Con" Di Scala and producers Ian Redman and Chris Henry, Ultrabeat emerged with their cover o ...

cover) *"Love You Anyway" (original song) *"Ligaw Na Bullet" (feat.

Skusta Clee Daryl Jake Borja Ruiz (born February 16, 1996), known professionally as Skusta Clee, is a Filipino rapper, singer-songwriter, actor and a member of the Filipino hip-hop collective Ex Battalion. He is known for his numerous hit singles "Zebbian ...

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laurel, Denise 1987 births Denise Filipino child actresses Filipino television actresses Living people Star Magic ABS-CBN people Tagalog people Your Face Sounds Familiar winners 21st-century Filipino singers Hiligaynon people 21st-century Filipino women singers Actresses from Manila Singers from Manila Filipino women pop singers Filipino film actresses