Mariel Rodriguez

Mariel Rodriguez (born Maria Erlinda Lucille Termulo on August 10, 1984) is a Filipina commercial model, endorser, TV host, former MTV VJ and actress. Most notable for being one of the versatile hosts in Philippine television, she first started as an MTV VJ. Currently, she co-hosts the popular noontime variety show Wowowee; E Live, the Saturday entertainment show; and during its run, she has been the host for the reality franchise Pinoy Big Brother, which starts its new season this September.

Starting her career as a model for Clean&Clear facials, she was brought in by GMA-7. Later she decided to switch to GMA's rival station ABS-CBN due to an Exclusive contract offered in early 2005. She is currently in a relationship with Erwin Ilano.

Mariel can now be seen as Betsey (Betchay) in theBud Brothers Series, an adaptation of the best-selling novels. She is paired with Rafael Rosell, and together their "Chapter" in the show has garnered such high ratings and positive response that they their characters have a "Part 2" storyline.

Biography

Born as Maria Erlinda Lucille Termulo, she garnered the nickname 'Mariel' as a child.

Her parents abruptly filed for divorce when she was a young girl and her grandparents raised her and her older sister. She is very close with her grandparents because she believes that they have made her who she is today. Her dad is now remarried, and has since resided in New Jersey. She is in good terms with her father and his family. Her mom resides in Japan.

Mariel graduated from De La Salle University with a Bachelor's degree of Arts in Organizational Communication.

Her sister, Kaye Termulo-Garcia is a model who is famous for her Close-Up commercial, and is a successful designer, running Hot Pink Lingerie - which Mariel endorses.

While in Singapore, she learned three languages, including German.

Career

Mariel is known to be the kind of person with such an alluring and bubbly personality that she is often asked to host many TV shows and events,and is publicly mentioned by the likes of Kris Aquino and Boy Abunda - two very respected personalities in the industry - to be their 'favorite'.

She started her career at the age of 15, modeling for many commercials and ads. Her big break came when she was cast in MTV Asia's TV show Rouge. Introducing herself through the webcam, she flew to Singapore for an audition and got the part. Her role in the show caught the eye of MTV Philippines executives and was made an VJ in December of 2004. She left MTV in April of 2006 due to her booming career.

GMA-7 also noticed the new VJ in the cool stints of MTV and signed her as one of their stars. While in the network, she became one of the regular hosts of Extra Challenge. She has also appeared on several shows, such as Love to Love. In 2005, ABS-CBN offered her an even more exclusive contract which she accepted. She has been in the channel ever since.

Chosen to be the host for a new show and future smash hit on Philippine television, Pinoy Big Brother made her recognizable for its millions of viewers.. Wowowee - a national and international game-show favorite and ratings-topper - then brought her in as a host once the PBB season ended and she immediately delighted the audience with her energetic streak and lovable quality. Willie Revillame, the main host, often comments about Mariel's natural talent in hosting. She has tagged the now-famous quote in the Philippines during the "hep-hep-hooray" portion of the show; "Happiness and Energy is the key to success."

Mariel has often repeated that her dream was always to become a dramatic actress - which she hasn't exactly explored much as of yet, but she says that there's always time for her to fulfill that dream. People often tell her that she's "better for comedy," and she seems to be okay with that as well.

She has endorsed many products and clothing lines, such as Meg Clothing, Zen Zest, Hot Pink Lingerie, and many others. Before she got her big break she was known to be in many commercials including Close-Up, Rexona, Clean&Clear, and Pizza Hut.

She is one of the busiest talents of ABS-CBN today,that she rarely has time to do any other work. She has given many offers in TV series such as Habang May Buhay. Piolo Pascual has admitted to her that she was the top choice to be considered in Paano Kita Iibigin, but he was told that she was too busy with Wowowee.

Pinoy Big Brother

Mariel has been the host of the leading reality show Pinoy Big Brother. Throughout the franchise Mariel has done her duties as a host, and became known for her segments such us "PBB Uber", "What's the Word, That's the Word!", and the now defunct but wildly popular "PBB: Uplate" - a show she credits most for making her ultimate break into the industry.

During PBB: Celebrity Edition 2 in 2007, Mariel was shocked (along with the entire country) on Day 4 when escorting housemate to-be Jon Avila into the house, Big Brother "declared" her as a houseguest. She was trapped inside.

This came as a shock to her, as she wasn't prepared. On live television, she broke into tears, as she wasn't emotionally and materially prepared. Her manager Boy Abunda sent in a taped video message telling her that he thought it would come in as a "good experience" for her. She was relieved when her sister had packed her necessities for her. Big Brother had made her the "Big Sister", or the eyes and ears of the house.

She has been the longest-staying houseguest and left on Day 49 when Toni Gonzaga was ordered by Big Brother to be the next houseguest. However, during Day 59, she accepted Big Brother's invitation to be in the House once again, having missed the housemates.

It was also during this edition when the "loveteam" between her relationship with Jon Avila started. It is also known and mentioned that Mariel was only to stay in the house for a mere week, but producers decided to extend her stay in the house, further growing speculation that Mariel was only put in the house to keep the high ratings. She is known by her quote "Hapiness and energy is the key to success."

Personal Life

She is currently in a relationship with actor, Zanjoe Marudo. She is bestfriends with co-hosts, Toni Gonzaga and Bianca Gonzalez.

Movies

• Agent X44 (2007) .... Mary Grace / Agent 690
• Umaaraw, umuulan" (2006)

TV Shows

Men's Magazine Covergirl

• Maxim (June 2007)
• FHM (December 2008)