Maria Isabel Lopez
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Maria Isabel Pagunsan Lopez-Melrod (born 14 September 1958) is a Filipino actress and beauty pageant titleholder. Lopez won the Binibining Pilipinas Universe 1982 and represented the Philippines in the 31st Miss Universe Pageant in
Lima, Peru Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
. She became known as the first beauty queen and actress appearing in
Sex in film Sexual content has been found in Film, films since the early days of the Film industry, industry, and the presentation of aspects of human sexuality, sexuality in film, especially human sexuality, has been controversial since the development of the ...
. Lopez was married to Hiroshi Yokohama, and then later married Jonathan Melrod in the
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. She is a mosaic artist and has appeared in various roles in Philippine cinema and television.


Pageantry

Lopez was born in
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to Benjamin Lopez and Crescencia Pagunsan. She was baptized at the Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral. She had three immediate siblings and was later raised in
Sampaloc, Manila Sampaloc is a district of Manila, Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of is ...
by a
single mother A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...
due to her father having a mistress and extramarital children. Before joining beauty pageants, she worked as a fashion designer at The SM Store and
Rustan's Rustan's is a Philippine chain of upmarket department stores owned by the Rustan Group of Companies (RGOC). Rustan's Department Store is the flagship brand of the Rustan Group of Companies and has five major branches, three boutiques and an on ...
department store. She also modeled for various fashion salons, including that of
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
fashion designer, Mr. Rodolfo Fuentes (1950–2011), who encouraged her to join Binibining Pilipinas. In 1982 (aged 24), she joined the pageant as candidate number #15 and won the Binibining Pilipinas Universe title. She was almost dethroned of her title because of the eventual discovery her previous work as a
lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...
sexy model in a ''Girard Peter'' fashion show by the clothes designer Mr. Gerardo Reyes, which accordingly violated an
immorality Immorality is the violation of moral laws, norms or standards. It refers to an agent doing or thinking something they know or believe to be wrong. Immorality is normally applied to people or actions, or in a broader sense, it can be applied to ...
clause set by pageant director Stella Araneta. Lopez maintains that she was pressured to resign but she refused to do so, citing the assistance of her personal manager and
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to counteract dethronement. During her national competition, Lopez gained notoriety when she was asked (mistakenly) about
virginity Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereo ...
by Philippine judge and actress Margarita “Rita” Gomez (1935–1990). In actuality, the question was given for Janet Sales of Manila and was falsely spread in association to Lopez. During her national competition, she was asked by American drummer Alphonse Mouzon regarding the independence of women. At her coronation night, her name was initially mispronounced as ''Maricar Isabel Lopez'', later corrected.


Film work

Lopez became controversial when she appeared in highly sexualized roles in movies, which was not usually expected of a beauty queen titleholder. Her first movie ''Sana, Bukas Pa ang Kahapon'' (English: "Hoping Yesterday is still Tomorrow") in 1983, starred
Hilda Koronel Hilda Koronel (born Susan Reid; January 17, 1957) is a MMFF, FAMAS, Luna and Urian award-winning Filipino actress. Born to a Filipino mother and an American father who was a serviceman in Clark Air Base, she has starred in around 45 films, m ...
,
Lorna Tolentino Victoria Lorna Perez Aluquin-Fernandez (born December 23, 1961), better known by her stage name Lorna Tolentino, sometimes known as ''L.T.'', an abbreviation of her screen name, is a Filipino actress, model, film producer and television persona ...
, Dindo Fernando, and Jay Ilagan, and was directed by Romy Suzara. She was in the original cast of ''Working Girls'' (1984), a comedy film directed by National Artist
Ishmael Bernal Ishmael Bernal (September 30, 1938 – June 2, 1996) was a Philippines, Filipino filmmaker, stage and television director, actor and screenwriter. Noted for his melodramas, particularly with feminist and moral issues, he directed many landmark ...
, where she starred as a young office worker who entered
sex work Sex work is "the exchange of sexual services, performances, or products for material compensation. It includes activities of direct physical contact between buyers and sellers as well as indirect sexual stimulation". Sex work only refers to volun ...
at night to gain more income. In 1988, Lopez was hired as a commercial sexy model for ''White Castle Whiskey''. During the height of her popularity, Lopez appeared in more sexual and romantic movies, including the following: *'' Silip: Daughters of Eve'' — by Elwood Perez (1985) *''Isla'' (English: "Island") — by Celso Ad Castillo (1985) *''Hubo sa Dilim'' — (English: “Naked in the Dark”) (1985) *''Mga Nakaw Na Sandali'' — (English: “Stolen Moments”) (1986) *''Dingding Lang ang Pagitan'' — (English: “Only Thin Walls in Between”) (1986) She won the Golden Screen Award Best Supporting Actress Award for ''Kinatay'' (English: “Butchered”) (2009). Lopez walked the red carpet at the Cannes International Film Festival in
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for Brilliante Mendoza's award-winning film, ''Kinatay'' (2009). Lopez again walked the red carpet at the Cannes International Film Festival in
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for Brilliante Mendoza's award-winning film, ''Ma'Rosa'' (2016). Lopez was the line producer for ''Tulak'' (2009), and ''HIV: Si Heidi, Si Ivy at Si V'' (2010). She was cast again in the 2010 remake of Working Girls, produced by GMA Films under the helm of Jose Javier Reyes. Lopez was one of the castaways in
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), ...
's Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Doubles Showdown (2011–2012), in tandem with her daughter,
Mara Lopez Mara Isabella Yokohama (born May 20, 1991), known professionally as Mara Lopez, is a Filipino actress. She is a member of Star Magic Batch 13. Early life Lopez was born on 20 May 1991 in San Pablo, California, United States. She is the daughter ...
, who was also an actress. She played the mother of
Sid Lucero Timothy Mark Pimentel Eigenmann (; born March 12, 1983), known professionally as Sid Lucero (), is a Filipino actor and model. He won the 31st Gawad Urian Best Actor award for his role in ''Selda''. Career Tim's stage name, Sid Lucero, is ta ...
in GMA-7's prime time series, ''Legacy'' (2012).


List of controversies

In 2009, Lopez became the center of controversy when she was not given a complimentary ticket for the Binibining Pilipinas 2009 pageant, an oversight she strongly resented in public. During this year, the 18th Miss Universe gave her a pageant entrance ticket though she was not designated to sit in the reservation box allotted to former beauty titleholders. In 2010, Lopez became involved in a conflict with various Philippine journalists, including Ricky Lo, who implied in tabloid newspapers that Lopez strongly desired the passing of Stella Araneta. Lopez vehemently denied the allegation, but maintained the accusation that Araneta is an elitist who refuses to address people of impoverished backgrounds due to her grandiose ego. Lopez maintains that Araneta has never forgiven her for making sexualized films after her reign as Miss Philippines 1982. In 2016, Lopez gained notoriety for a green pageant gown she wore in the 2015
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because she compared her evening gown to the one used by the 64th Miss Universe. In January 2017, Lopez revealed on the morning show ''
Unang Hirit () is a Philippine television news broadcasting and talk show broadcast by GMA Network. Originally hosted by Ryan Agoncillo, Lyn Ching-Pascual, Arnold Clavio, Suzi Entrata, Mickey Ferriols, and Miriam Quiambao, it premiered on December 6, ...
'' the strong discrimination against dark-skinned contestants during her time as a beauty queen. She noted that during the Miss Universe 1982 visit at the Presidential Palace in
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, the former first lady Pilar Nores de García was dismissive of the dark-skinned contestants, namely Miss
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and
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. In November 2017, Lopez was penalized for removing
traffic cone Traffic cones, also called pylons, witches' hats, road cones, highway cones, safety cones, caution cones, channelizing devices, construction cones, roadworks cones, or just cones, are usually cone-shaped markers that are placed on roads or footpa ...
s and illegally driving on the lane reserved for the delegates of the 31st ASEAN Summit that was hosted in the Philippines. She posted her actions on Facebook, which prompted the
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to recommend to the
Land Transportation Office The Land Transportation Office (LTO; ) is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Transportation (Philippines), Department of Transportation responsible for all land transportation in the Philippines. Functions of the LTO ...
to suspend or cancel her driver's license. Lopez later claimed that seeing other vehicles using the ASEAN lane prompted her to drive on it as well. The office later revoked her license and barred her from reapplying and reacquiring her license for the next two years. She was also fined ₱8,000 (US$160) for ignoring traffic signs, reckless driving, and violating the Anti-Distracted Driving Act. Lopez accepted the charges and issued a public apology.


Personal life

Lopez first married Hiroshi Yokohama, a former
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executive in 1990. The couple wed and lived in
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,
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then later moved to the Philippines. They separated in 2006 due to claims of abuse and infidelity which later resulted to a marital
annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning alm ...
formalized in 2010. They have two children,
Mara Lopez Mara Isabella Yokohama (born May 20, 1991), known professionally as Mara Lopez, is a Filipino actress. She is a member of Star Magic Batch 13. Early life Lopez was born on 20 May 1991 in San Pablo, California, United States. She is the daughter ...
, an actress, and Kenyo Yokohama, a civil engineering graduate of
De La Salle University De La Salle University (), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private, Catholic coeducational research university run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools with main campus in Taft Avenue, Malate, Man ...
. On 9 June 2019, Lopez married a Jewish—American former human rights lawyer, Jonathan Melrod and now residing in
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. Lopez studied at the Holy Trinity Catholic school in
Sampaloc, Manila Sampaloc is a district of Manila, Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of is ...
and later studied
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at the
University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...
. She is a member of the
National Commission for Culture and the Arts The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines (NCCA; , ) is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. It is the overall policy making body, coordinating, and grants giving agency for the preservation, d ...
. She served as Secretary of the Committee on Visual Arts in 2011–2013. Lopez also completed art classes in the Chicago Mosaic School and the Institute of Mosaic Art in
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. In 2015, she toured
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Italian mosaics in
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as part of her interest in mosaics.


Selected filmography


Film


Television


See also

* Binibining Pilipinas * Miss Universe 1982 * Philippines at major beauty pageants


References


External links

*
"Former Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Maria Isabel Lopez attacks BPCI head""Maria Isabel Lopez admits past relationships with politicians and lesbians""Maria Isabel Lopez's career blooms anew after Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Doubles Showdown"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Maria Isabel 1958 births Living people ABS-CBN people Actresses from Misamis Oriental Binibining Pilipinas winners GMA Network (company) people Miss Universe 1982 contestants People from Cagayan de Oro Survivor Philippines contestants University of the Philippines Diliman alumni