Early life

Rachel's mother and father separated when she was 4. Her mother (Myrna Jingco) remarried (now Myrna J. Demauro) and moved to the US. Together with dad Hajji and his new partner, the late Rio Diaz

Rio Diaz

Rio Diaz-Cojuangco was a former beauty queen, TV Host and actress born in the Philippines. She was the sister of former Miss Universe Gloria Diaz. Rio was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer in December 1998. She was given three months to live then, but she lived for six more years...

, Rachel and her sister Barni spent time in Manila and the U.S.

Her theater experience began with The Sound of Music at 8 years old, Peter Pan at 15, Noli Me Tangere 18, Alikabok, 21, followed by many more Sino Ka Ba Jose Rizal, Larawan, Fire Water Woman,and more recently Rent, Avenue Q, and Xanadu for Atlantis Productions. She is slated to appear in an Atlantis Production of Aida as Amneris in June 2011.

Career

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, following her successful TV stint, Rachel recorded her first album, Just A Minute, for Alpha Records. The album spawned several hit songs including the #1 single "Mr. Kupido," as well as "K.S.P. (Kulang Sa Pansin)" and "Kay Tagal." The album went gold and Rachel's recording career was off and running. Her second album, "Watch Me Now," featured a revival of "Nakapagtataka," the signature song of her father, pop icon Hajji Alejandro

Hajji Alejandro

Angelito Toledo "Hajji" Alejandro is a Filipino singer and actor, who was a major pop star in the 1970s and 1980s. He is the father of singer Rachel Alejandro, and Delara drummer Ali Alejandro...

. Rachel's 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 Rachel's first platinum album in 1992. That same year, Rachel's 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 Rachel co-wrote with then-boyfriend Dingdong Avanzado. By 1996, 22-year-old Rachel had already been in showbiz 10 years. She celebrated by releasing an anniversary album and appearing in her first major concert, with guests Janno Gibbs

Janno Gibbs

Janno Ronaldo Gibbs is a Filipino singer and actor–comedian. He is a regular host of GMA Network television shows SOP Rules , Nuts Entertainment, Eat Bulaga, Kakasa Ka Ba Sa Grade 5?, and Power of 10 . He played as Geron Agular in Codename: Asero...

, Ogie Alcasid

Ogie Alcasid

Herminio Jhay Alcasid, Jr., more popularly known as Ogie "Eric Ordoñez" Alcasid , is a Filipino singer, songwriter, composer, television presenter, comedian, parodist, actor, and entrepreneur.-Recording career:...

and the Street Boys. As Rachel 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." Rachel's "Tanging Pangarap" album, her first for Viva Records, was released in 2001. The carrier single was written by her longtime boyfriend Lee Robin Salazar (whom Rachel has just split up with). It also contains the 2000 Metropop Song Festival winner "Forever And A Day." Recently, Rachel 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.

Rachel has also enjoyed success as an actress, appearing in many movies and theater productions. Her last major movie was MUMBAKI with Raymart Santiago and directed by Butch Perez for VIVA Films. But she considers herself more of a singer than an actress. She is therefore looking forward to recreating her stage role of Paula in a movie version of the musical LARAWAN sometime this year.

TV shows

• That's Entertainment (GMA Network)
• Saturday Entertainment (GMA Network)
• Sang Linggo NAPO Sila (ABS-CBN)
• Maala-ala Mo Kaya (ABS-CBN)
• Pinoy Dream Academy (ABS-CBN)
• Singing Bee (ABS-CBN)
• Showtime Hurado (ABS-CBN)

External links

• Official Website