Marlena Monika Ng Sta. Maria is a Filipino

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Thoug ...

. She is known for being a contestant in the third season of

Asia's Next Top Model ''Asia's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated as ''AsNTM'') is a reality television show based on the American franchise ''America's Next Top Model'' in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of ''Asia's Next Top Model'' and a chance ...

, where she represented the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Sta. Maria lost the competition to 23 year-old Indonesian model

Ayu Gani Ayu Lestari Putri Gani (born 13 August 1991) is an Indonesian model, beauty influencer and eyewear designer, known for being the winner of the third season of ''Asia's Next Top Model'', where she represented Indonesia and became the first contes ...

thus, becoming the runner-up of the competition.

Early life and education

Santa Maria was born to a Filipino mother and a Malaysian father. She was raised in the

from the age of two. As a child, she never aspired to be a model because she was always shy at school and never imagined herself as a model. Santa Maria graduated with a psychology degree in

De La Salle University De La Salle University ( fil, Pamantasang De La Salle or Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private university, private, Catholic Church, Catholic coeducational research university run by the I ...

. She also became a volleyball player in La Salle where she was part of the team Lady Spikers.

''Asia's Next Top Model''

Before she appeared in the third season of ''

'', Santa Maria was already featured in various magazines such as Metro, Mega, and Circuit, and won Century Superbod in 2012. She first auditioned in the second season but was rejected. She finally got in when she auditioned again for the third season of the competition thus, becoming one of the 14 contestants. Sta. Maria is the third runner-up in a row representing the

after Stephanie Retuya and

Jodilly Pendre Jodilly Pendre (born April 29, 1993 in the Philippines) is a Filipino fashion model and television personality. She is best known for her appearance as a contestant in the second season of ''Asia's Next Top Model'', where she represented the Phil ...

2015-present: Post Asia's Next Top Model

After the show, she appeared in various television shows in

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 ...

such as

Unang Hirit ''Unang Hirit'' () is a Philippine television news broadcasting and talk show broadcast by GMA Network. It is the longest running morning show in the Philippines. Originally hosted by Ryan Agoncillo, Lyn Ching-Pascual, Arnold Clavio, Suzi Entr ...

, Taste Buddies,

The Ryzza Mae Show ''The Ryzza Mae Show'' is a Philippine television talk show broadcast by GMA Network. Hosted by Ryzza Mae Dizon, it premiered on April 8, 2013 on the network's afternoon line up. The show concluded on September 18, 2015 with a total of 636 episo ...

, and Fox Sports Philippines The Goat in the Philippines and Glam TV in Malaysia. She traveled around Asia to promote Subaru as being the Ambassadress. Also, featured as the cover girl of Circuit, Women's Health Malaysia, and Manila Bulletin's Style WEEKEND, and spreads for different Magazines in the Philippines. She's currently the face of

Close Up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot that tightly frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium and long s ...

and endorser for Oppo. In 2016, she competed with Aimee Cheng-Bradshaw on StarWorld's Style and The City. Also, appeared on Asia's Next Top Model 4 for Subaru photoshoot. However, she posed and walked for TRESemme Runway Ready 2016. In 2017, she signed to Mercator Manila managed by Jonas Gaffud. In May, she appeared in the fifth season of ''Asia's Next Top Model''. She was also featured in a campaign for L'Oreal Paris Philippines and NIVEA Malaysia TVC's. She walked at

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general publ ...

for Manila. In 2018, she's one of the mentors of the sixth season of ''Asia's Next Top Model'' together with her fellow alumnae Shikin Gomez and Minh Tu Nguyen, both from Cycle 5.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria, Monika Living people Filipino people of Malaysian descent Models from Manila Tagalog people Top Model finalists Filipino women's volleyball players University Athletic Association of the Philippines volleyball players De La Salle University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)