Lourna Jane Pujeda Reyes (born December 25, 1987), known professionally as LJ Reyes, is a

Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

. She is best known as one of the Final Four in the second season of the widely acclaimed GMA reality TV show, '' StarStruck''. She won Best Actress at the 39th Gawad Urian Awards.

Life and career

LJ Reyes was born in Fairview,

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

. She spent her high school days at

St. Stephen's High School St. Stephen's High School () is an Episcopal Church in the Philippines, Episcopalian school, located in the Binondo, Manila, Binondo district of Manila. It is considered the first Christian Chinese school established in Luzon. The school offers ...

. In 2004, Reyes auditioned for the second season of '' StarStruck'' where she ended up as First Princess. Her first show was ''Now and Forever:'' '' Mukha'', where she worked with ''StarStruck'' runners-up and winners Ryza Cenon,

CJ Muere Caesar Joseph L. Muere (born February 18, 1988), popularly known simply as C. J. Muere, is a former Filipino actor. He is best known for being in the Final Four of '' StarStruck'' season two and portraying Ding in the 2005 television series o ...

and

Mike Tan Jan Michael Silverio Tan (born December 31, 1986), is a Filipino actor. He became famous after he became the Ultimate Male Survivor in the second batch of the reality show '' StarStruck'' aired on GMA Network. Personal life Tan is of Chinese de ...

. Aside from acting, she is also a good dancer, performing with Cenon,

Mark Herras Mark Angelo Santos Herras (born December 14, 1986) is a Filipino film and television actor. He won in the reality talent show '' StarStruck'' aired in GMA Network. He also appeared in ''Forever in My Heart'', ''Encantadia'', ''SOP'', and ''I Lu ...

Marky Cielo Mark Angelo Cadaweng Cielo (May 12, 1988 – December 7, 2008), better known as Marky Cielo, was a Filipino actor, dancer, and the first known Igorot in Philippine showbiz. He was notable for his win in the reality talent competition '' StarSt ...

among others. She is involved mostly in supporting roles on

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 ...

shows. Reyes had her biggest break as a lead villainess in '' Zaido: Pulis Pangkalawakan'' then, playing one of the leading ladies to

JC de Vera John Carlo de Vera (born March 10, 1986), better known by his screen name JC de Vera, is a Filipino actor, host and model. Personal life De Vera was offered a basketball scholarship in Colegio de San Juan de Letran after he graduated from high ...

in '' Babangon Ako't Dudurugin Kita''. Reyes had another break by joining the cast of ''

Una Kang Naging Akin ''Una Kang Naging Akin'' (International title: ''When You Were Mine'' / ) is a 2008 Philippine television drama romance series broadcast by GMA Network. Based on a 1991 Philippine film of the same title, the series is the tenth instalment of '' ...

'', another Filipino soap opera. Reyes was given many praises by critics for her outstanding role in ''Una Kang Naging Akin'' which made her rise to fame. She posed for the local FHM magazine in December 2009 where she was also the cover girl. In 2010, she formed a trio called SH3, with Ryza Cenon and

Chynna Ortaleza Lara Serena Roque Ortaleza-Cipriano (born December 6, 1982), professionally known as Chynna Ortaleza, is a Filipino actress, television host, and model. She is currently a contract star of GMA Network. Career Ortaleza landed her first TV gig a ...

, and they performed on the Sunday variety show ''

SOP Rules ''SOP'' is a Philippine television variety show broadcast by GMA Network. It premiered on February 2, 1997, replacing ''GMA Supershow''. The show concluded on February 28, 2010, with a total of 672 episodes. It was replaced by '' Party Pilipina ...

'' until the group disbanded because of plagiarism issues. She won the 2010 Cinemalaya Best Supporting Actress for her role in the indie movie ''The Leaving''. Reyes was baptized in August 2015 as a Born Again Christian. After 14 years, Reyes ended her GMA Artist Center contract with her last series appearance ''

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

''.

Personal life

She dated

Paulo Avelino Michael Paulo Lingbanan Avelino (born May 13, 1988) is a Filipino actor, singer, model and a movie producer. Regarded as the "Prince of Philippine Teleserye", he is best known in television series such as '' Walang Hanggan'' (2012), ''Bridges of ...

, a fellow GMA artist who was a contestant in the fourth season of StarStruck. On July 24, 2010, she gave birth to their son, Ethan Akio Reyes. She dated

Paolo Contis Paolo Enrico Tusi Contis (born March 14, 1984) is a Filipino actor host singer and comedian of Italian descent. Contis debuted as a child actor in the ABS-CBN show '' Ang TV'' during the 1990s. A GMA Network artist for 17 years, he has won s ...

from 2016 to 2021. On January 4, 2019, she gave birth to their daughter Summer Ayana Reyes Contis. On September 1, 2021 she confirmed that she and

were no longer together.

Filmography

Drama television shows

Film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

L.J. Reyes
a
iGMA.tv
*
gmanews.tv/video, LJ Reyes has someone new to replace Alfred Vargas - 23 January 2008
(in

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 ...

)
LJ Reyes kept her pregnancy a secret from co-workers in The Leaving
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, L. J. 1987 births De La Salle University alumni 21st-century Filipino actresses Filipino child actresses Filipino film actresses Filipino television actresses GMA Network personalities Tagalog people Filipino Christians Filipino evangelicals Filipino people of Chinese descent People from Quezon City Actresses from Metro Manila StarStruck (Philippine TV series) participants Filipina gravure idols Living people