Raelene Elaine Villania(born June 29, 1986), known professionally as Iya Villania-Arellano (), is a
Filipino-Australian
Filipino Australians (Filipino: ''Mga Australyanong Pilipino'') are Australians of Filipino ancestry. Filipino-Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Filipino diaspora. At the 2021 census, 408,836 people stated that they had ...
singer, television presenter, and actress. She has been widely known for her work as a VJ in the music channel
MYX
Myx (, stylized as MYX or myx) is a Philippine pay TV channel based in Quezon City, owned by Creative Programs Inc., a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corporation. The channel is targeted to youth audiences and primarily airs music videos.
It was intr ...
.
Early and personal life
Raelene Elaine Ebaler Villania was born and raised in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
to
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
parents, Ray Villania and Elena Nada Ebaler. The youngest of three siblings, she has two older sisters named Rhoda and Sheila. Villania's interest in music started when her father sang karaoke when she was a child. She used to be a member of a touring band in Australia called Iron & Clay that address issues in schools and churches such bullying, drunk driving, and self-esteem. Later, she returned to the Philippines and attended high school at
Colegio San Agustin in
Makati
Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines.
Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...
, graduating in March 2004. She attended college at
De La Salle University – Manila majoring in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
and graduated on December 16, 2008.
On January 31, 2014, Villania married
Drew Arellano, her boyfriend and a television host. Their wedding was held in
Nasugbu, Batangas
Nasugbu, officially the Municipality of Nasugbu ( tgl, Bayan ng Nasugbu), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popul ...
. They have four children with him: Antonio Primo (born 2016), Alonzo Leon (born 2018), Alana Lauren (born 2020), and Astro Phoenix (born 2022).
Villania is an advocate for
abstaining from sex before marriage. She divulged that she had not had sexual intercourse before marrying Arellano, who himself was supportive of her decision. Although she does not necessarily condemn women who has had intercourse, she remarked that
virginity
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
is "something that a girl can be proud of". She was raised in the
Seventh-day Adventist
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...
faith, but has since been excommunicated. In January 2022, Villania, alongside Arellano and their three children, tested positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
Career
Villania's first television appearance in the Philippines was in 2003 on the
IBC IBC is an initialism that can stand for:
Broadcasting
*Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation, Channel 13, Philippines
* International Beacon Project, Worldwide network of radio propagation beacons
*International Broadcast Centre
*International ...
interactive program "Game Channel". After she gained a "cult" following, the management team of
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 ...
took notice and cast her in the daytime drama ''
Walang Hanggan''. She then played the role of Sydney Torres in the third and fourth seasons of the iconic teen series ''
Click''.
In 2004, she moved to GMA's rival network
ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...
and was announced as one of the new VJ's for their subsidiary music channel
Myx
Myx (, stylized as MYX or myx) is a Philippine pay TV channel based in Quezon City, owned by Creative Programs Inc., a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corporation. The channel is targeted to youth audiences and primarily airs music videos.
It was intr ...
. She would remain in the job for 10 years. Subsequently, she was regularly featured in the variety show ''
ASAP''. Villania's feature film debut was in the 2004 drama "A Beautiful Life" alongside acclaimed actresses
Gloria Romero Gloria Romero may refer to:
*Gloria Romero (actress)
Gloria Anne Borrego Galla (born December 16, 1933), known professionally as Gloria Romero (), is a multi-awarded Filipino actress, regarded as the “Queen of Philippine Movies”, her care ...
,
Dina Bonnevie
Geraldine Schaer Bonnevie-Savellano (, formerly Sotto and Penson; January 27, 1961), known by her stage name Dina Bonnevie, is an actress in the Philippines. Before joining Philippine showbiz, Bonnevie was first runner-up in the Miss Magnolia 19 ...
and
Amy Austria
Esmeralda Diaz Tuazon (born December 13, 1961), known professionally as Amy Austria-Ventura, is a Filipino film and television actress.
Austria is recognized as one of the defining actresses in Philippine cinema. She has won a FAMAS Award, 2 ...
. In the same year, Villania appeared in the critically acclaimed historical film ''
Aishite Imasu 1941: Mahal Kita''. Her run as host on ABS-CBN included briefly co-hosting the noontime game show ''
Wowowee
''Wowowee'' () is a Philippine noontime variety show that was broadcast by ABS-CBN from 2005 to 2010. The show premiered on February 5, 2005, and aired live on weekdays and Saturdays. The show was also broadcast worldwide through ABS-CBN's The ...
'' in 2005, the two seasons of the reality dance competition show ''
U Can Dance
Season 1
Iya Villania and Derek Ramsay were the hosts of ABS-CBN's new dance reality competition, which aired every Sunday night. The show has two contests, Sayaw Baranggay, wherein two dance groups from different barangays dance their way into wi ...
'' in 2006 and 2007, the reality show ''
I Dare You'' in 2011 and her two-year stint on ABS-CBN's morning show ''
Umagang Kay Ganda
''Umagang Kay Ganda'' (, also known as UKG) was a Philippine Breakfast television, morning show that aired on ABS-CBN from June 25, 2007, to May 5, 2020. Prior to ABS-CBN franchise renewal controversy, broadcast stoppage and the COVID-19 pand ...
''. Villania also hosted the Studio 23 lifestyle program
Us Girls
''Us Girls'' is a BBC television sitcom about the culture gap among three generations of West India
Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of its western part. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Counc ...
from 2006 to 2012. In 2008, she released her first album, ''
Finally!
''Finally!'' is the first and only album by Filipino TV personality and actress, Iya Villania
Raelene Elaine Villania(born June 29, 1986), known professionally as Iya Villania-Arellano (), is a Filipino-Australian singer, television presenter, ...
'' under
Viva Records
Viva may refer to:
Companies and organisations
* Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator
* Viva Air, a Spanish airline taken over by flag carrier Iberia
* Viva Air Dominicana
* VIVA Bahrain, a telecommunication company
* ...
.
After signing an executive contract with GMA Network in October 2014, Villania made a part of ''
Sunday All Stars
''Sunday All Stars'' is a Philippine television variety show broadcast by GMA Network. It premiered on June 16, 2013 on the network's Sunday afternoon line up replacing ''Party Pilipinas''. The show concluded on August 2, 2015 with a total of 10 ...
'' (2013–2015), a variety show. She became the ''Chika Minute'' segment anchor of ''
24 Oras'' in June 2015, replacing
Pia Guanio
Liana Pia Coronado Guanio-Mago (; born October 24, 1974) is a Filipina actress and television presenter. She is head anchor for the entertainment program '' Showbiz Central''. She is also the former showbiz segment anchor for the GMA Network ...
.
Popular culture
She accidentally popularized a now very common Filipino slang greeting "haller/heller" in place of "hello". This was credited to her distinctive and then-unfamiliar Australian twang in her early showbiz career years. On her show, Game Channel - Filipino viewers misheard her intro greeting as though she's saying "Heller!".
Discography
* ''
Finally!
''Finally!'' is the first and only album by Filipino TV personality and actress, Iya Villania
Raelene Elaine Villania(born June 29, 1986), known professionally as Iya Villania-Arellano (), is a Filipino-Australian singer, television presenter, ...
'' (2008)
Filmography
Television
Films
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villania, Iya
1986 births
Living people
Filipino film actresses
Filipino television actresses
Filipino female models
Participants in Philippine reality television series
Australian emigrants to the Philippines
Australian people of Filipino descent
Actresses from Sydney
People from Metro Manila
Australian female models
Models from Sydney
VJs (media personalities)
Filipino television variety show hosts
GMA Network personalities
GMA Integrated News and Public Affairs people
ABS-CBN personalities
Star Magic
De La Salle University alumni
Viva Records (Philippines) artists
21st-century Filipino singers
21st-century Filipino women singers
Former Seventh-day Adventists