Marian Rivera

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Rivera was born in Madrid, Spain to Francisco Javier Gracia Alonso, a Spaniard and Amalia Rivera, a Filipina from Cavite, Philippines. After her   parents separated 2 years after her birth, her mother brought her to the       Philippines where she grew up most of her life. However, her mother had     to leave to continue her work commitment abroad that she was sent to her   maternal grandmother, Francisca Rivera in Bacoor, Cavite. Rivera pursued her elementary and high school education at Saint Francis of Assisi College System, and spent her college education finishing Bachelor of Science in Psychology in De La Salle University Dasmariñas.In 2012, Rivera headlined on different programs of GMA Network such as My Beloved, a Filipino romance drama-suspense-thriller series created   and written by RJ Nuevas, under the helm of Dominic Zapata and Lore Reyes. The series premiered February 13, 2012, it follows the life and love story of an angel of death named Arlan, a fictional character portrayed by Dantes, who falls in love with a human named Sharina, played by Rivera. He was punished and sent to earth to become human being. But complications arise when he found himself trapped in the body of a notorious criminal. She also casted on her second sitcom Tweets For My Sweet which earned her two nominations as "Best Actress in comedy show" on 2012 PMPC Star Awards and 2013 Golden Screen TV Awards. Rivera also did hosting through a reality show, Extra Challenge with Richard Gutierrez & Boobay. The show is a recurring reality show originally aired in 1999, 2003 and 2006

In 2009, Rivera together with Dingdong Dantes with assistance from Yes Pinoy Foundation, Philippine National Red Cross and Philippine Marines went to Cainta, Rizal to help the victim of Typhoon Ondoy. Aside from being a volunteer in GMA Network's telethon, she also helped in repacking relief goods from the GMA Kapuso Foundation, a charitable institution from the network. Rivera reportedly donated 100,000 Philippine pesos in the said foundation. In 2011, Rivera joined "Mariott Manila", in reaching out for victims of Typhoon Sendong particularly the children in Pasay City. In August 2012, Rivera joined the Philippine Red Cross team during their mission in Quezon City to help out the victims of the flooding. Rivera, together with former senator Dick Gordon waded through floodwaters to get to the area in Ta talon where around 500 families have sought refuge from the floods caused by the non-stop rains. She stated that helping out the victims is her 28th birthday gift to herself. She also said that she didn’t mind getting wet and tired during the mission, as she says it was a small sacrifice compared to the hardships that the victims are experiencing. According to Rivera, she went to that place as a volunteer who gives foods and clothes to the victims and not as a celebrity. Rivera also joined Presidential sister, Kris Aquino in visiting other affected areas throughout Metro Manila. Rivera also organized a blood-letting program for the Red Cross at the Ever Gotesco in Quezon City in celebration of her 28th birthday wherein it was attended by lot of people including celebrities. 

Rivera was declared as FHM Magazine's Sexiest Woman of the World in 2008 beating Megan Fox and replacing Katrina Halili who was atop the list in 2007. With her victory, the FHM staffs clarifies that contrary to popular impression, Rivera was already being eyed by FHM even before her career skyrocketed because of Marimar. Before arising as Top 1 in the Top 100 list, she was already listed in the list in 2006 and 2007 at #38 and #24 respectively. She is consistently at the upper top 10 after her declaration as Philippines' finest woman, ranking #3 in 2009, #4 in 2010 and #2 losing to Sam Pinto, in 2011. In 2012, she entered the chart at #5, her lowest since topping the said list in 2008. Rivera became a cover for the first time on FHM through its January 2013 issue, which made her one of the biggest contenders for the title, Sexiest Woman of the World for 2013. Rivera also graces the cover of Cosmopolitan Magazine in the same month For the third time, she became a cover of Women's Health in March 2013. According to her, she owes her nice body to her new found devotion to Muay Thai and Wushu, both are forms of Martial Arts.On 2013, Rivera was declared by FHM Philippines as "the sexiest woman in the Philippines" making her second to reclaim the coveted title five years after she first won it (the first was Angel Locsin, who bagged it in '05 and '10).According to FHM, more than 16 million votes were cast this year, and the final tally saw Rivera raking in a total of 890,490 votes against Sam Pinto’s 778,681.