Maria Mika Maxine Perez Medina (; born May 10, 1990) is a Filipino designer, actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2016. She represented the Philippines at the

Miss Universe 2016 Miss Universe 2016 was the 65th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines on January 30, 2017. This is the second time in the history of the competition that the pageant skipped an entire year, ...

pageant and finished as a Top 6 finalist.

Early life and education

Maria Mika Maxine Perez Medina was born in

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 ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

, Philippines. She obtained a bachelor's degree in

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

from the

De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde (Filipino: ''Dalubhasaan ng De La Salle San Benildo;'' French:'' Collège De La Salle de Sainte Benilde''), also known as Benilde and abbreviated DLS–CSB or simply CSB, is a private, Catholic research c ...

and in Philippine School of Interior Design (PSID). She is a commercial print ad model and a senior member of Professional Models Association of the Philippines.

Dianne Medina Maria Patricia Dianne Perez Medina-Ilustre (born November 5, 1986) is a Filipino actress, dancer, television host, anchor and part-time model. Medina is also a former member of ABS-CBN's developmental talent agent Star Magic. Early life Dianne Me ...

is her cousin and Binibining Pilipinas-Universe 1990 Germelina Padilla is her aunt.

Acting career

In 2018, she made her television debut on

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 ...

after joining the cast of

Hanggang Saan ''Hanggang Saan'' (International title: ''A Mother's Guilt'' / ) is a 2017 Philippine crime drama television series starring real-life mother-and-son Sylvia Sanchez and Arjo Atayde, together with Sue Ramirez, Maris Racal, Yves Flores, Teresa Lo ...

as Atty. Georgette Sandiego. She later gained prominence for her role as Isay in

Los Bastardos ''Precious Hearts Romances Presents: Los Bastardos'' ('') is a 2018 Philippine drama television series under '' Precious Hearts Romances'' loosely based on the Filipino pocket book novel ''Cardinal Bastards'' by Vanessa, starring Ronaldo Valdez, J ...

which ran from October 2018 to September 2019. She was paired up with

Jake Cuenca Juan Carlos Cuenca (; born December 30, 1987) popularly known as Jake Cuenca is a Filipino-American actor and model. Born in San Jose, California and was raised in Manila, Philippines. He also played for United Football League Division 2 sides ...

in the series. In 2020, she transferred to both

TV5 Network TV5 Network Inc., commonly known as TV5, is a Philippine media company based in Mandaluyong, with its alternate studios located in Novaliches, Quezon City. It is primarily involved in radio and television broadcasting, with subsidiaries and ...

via

Brightlight Productions Brightlight Productions is a Philippine television production company founded and owned by Albee Benitez who previously served as Negros Occidental's 3rd district representative from 2010 to 2019 and the current Mayor of Bacolod. Airing more ...

Sunday 'Kada ''Sunday 'Kada'' is a Philippine sketch comedy variety show broadcast on TV5. The show premiered on October 18, 2020 in the 3 p.m. timeslot following its companion program '' I Got You'' as part of the network's Sunday afternoon programming bloc ...

and

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 ...

for

First Yaya ''First Yaya'' () is a 2021 Philippine television drama romance comedy series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by L.A. Madridejos, it stars Sanya Lopez in the title role. It premiered on March 15, 2021 on the network's Telebabad line up replac ...

as the villainous and hateful Lorraine.

Filmography

Film

Television

Pageantry

Binibining Pilipinas 2016

Medina joined

Binibining Pilipinas 2016 Binibining Pilipinas 2016 was the 53rd edition of Binibining Pilipinas. It took place at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines on April 17, 2016. At the end of the event, Pia Wurtzbach crowned Maxine Medina as Mi ...

on April 17, 2016 held at the

Smart Araneta Coliseum The Araneta Coliseum, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Smart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purpose arena, sports arena that is part of the Araneta City in the Cubao area of Quezon City, Philippines. Nicknamed as "the ...

, where she was crowned as Miss Universe Philippines 2016. During the question and answer portion of the pageant, she was asked: "Even if her parents want to send her to school, a 15-year-old girl wants to stop her studies, what would be your advise to her?" She responded:

''"I would tell the girl to study hard, no matter what their parents would tell them. Because having an education is something that… something that… cannot have that anybody else ic..Education can make you an even better person. Thank you."''

At the end of the event, she succeeded outgoing Miss Universe Philippines 2015 and

Miss Universe 2015 Miss Universe 2015 was the 64th Miss Universe pageant, held at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on December 20, 2015. This was the first edition of the pageant to be held under the ownership of WME/IMG, which ...

Pia Wurtzbach Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach ( ; ; born September 24, 1989), formerly known professionally as Pia Romero, is a Filipino model, actress and beauty queen who is known for being crowned Miss Universe 2015. She joined Binibining Pilipinas pageant three ...

and also bagged the ''Miss Philippine Airlines'' award. On April 30, 2017, Medina crowned

Rachel Peters Rachel Louise Obregon Peters-Villafuerte (born 20 October 1991) is a Filipino model, host, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2017. She represented the Philippines at the Miss Universe 2017 pageant and fin ...

as her successor at the

Binibining Pilipinas 2017 Binibining Pilipinas 2017 was the 54th edition of Binibining Pilipinas. It took place at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines on April 30, 2017. At the end of the event, Maxine Medina crowned Rachel Peters as ...

pageant held at the

, Philippines.

Miss Universe 2016

Medina represented the Philippines at the

, and placed in the Top 6. With this, the Philippines placed in the semifinals for the seventh consecutive year. At the national costume competition, Medina wore a Rhett Eala creation that was inspired by the

vinta The vinta is a traditional outrigger boat from the Philippine island of Mindanao. The boats are made by Sama-Bajau, Tausug and Yakan peoples living in the Sulu Archipelago, Zamboanga peninsula, and southern Mindanao. Vinta are characterized ...

, a traditional boat from

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

, matched with a head piece made to resemble a large piece of coral found in the country's reefs. The whole ensemble is said to have cost more than P1 million to make as it was also adorned with south sea pearls. At the preliminary competition, Medina debuted her 'alta' walk which involved rolling the shoulders in perfect sync with the gliding of hips. She wore a green and white striped bikini at the preliminary swimsuit competition and sashayed in a flowing green gown with a fringe skirt by Rhett Eala at the preliminary evening gown competition. At the coronation, Medina advanced to Top 13. She wore a green and white striped bikini at the Top 13 swimsuit competition which let her advance to Top 9. She wore a silver-red evening gown crafted by Rhett Eala at the Top 9 evening gown competition and was able to advance to Top 6. During the question and answer portion of the Top 6 finalists, she was asked: "What is the most significant change you've seen in the world in the last 10 years?" She responded:

''"In the last 10 years of being here in the world is that I saw all the people bringing in one event like this in Miss Universe, and it's something big to us that we are one, as one nation, we are all together."''

Medina concluded her Miss Universe journey by finishing as a Top 6 semifinalist.

Iris Mittenaere Iris Mittenaere (; born 25 January 1993) is a French model, television host, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2016. She is the second Miss Universe from France after Christiane Martel, who was elected Miss Universe 1 ...

of France won the said pageant.

Personal life

On April 4, 2022, she was engaged to her non-showbiz boyfriend Timmy Llana.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Medina, Maxine 1990 births Living people Binibining Pilipinas winners Filipino female models Miss Universe 2016 contestants People from Quezon City Filipino people of Chinese descent De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde alumni Filipino designers Filipino film actresses ABS-CBN personalities TV5 (Philippine TV network) personalities GMA Network personalities Filipino television actresses