Tough Filipina Siren Jennylyn Mercado | Photos

"TOUGH" would be my word to describe Filipina actress and siren Jennylyn Mercado. Why? Because she has been through a lot and it appears her resolve is not shaken. Like the proverbial phoenix, she keeps rising from the ashes.

She was a battered child. Beaten and burned with cigarette butts by her stepfather, who was in detention but was freed by her OFW mother, who came home not to take care of her daughter but to bail out her partner. This sad moment of her life was featured in the TV show Magpakailanman on October 2004.

But that is not all. She got pregnant. Her ex-boyfriend Patrick Garcia ran off when he learned about the pregnancy. She gave birth on August 16, 2008 as a single mom at a tender age of twenty-one (21). And to top it all, she allegedly had a minor heart attack, which had her rushed to the hospital on October 2010.

Still, fans continue to love Miss Mercado. At the 2012 "100 Sexiest Women in the World" poll by FHM Philippines, she ranked 9th. Jennylyn has been in the survey's top 20 since 2004. She was also the magazine's cover girl in two issues (November 2009 and January 2008).

Her movies and TV shows are a hit with her diehard fans. Jennylyn Mercado has, indeed come a long, long way, as compared to her humble beginnings as a struggling recording artist (with Alpha Records in 1999) and commercial model before she got her big break as the winner in the reality TV talent search show, StarStruck Season 1 in 2003.

I wish her the best. She has been through so much rough times. This tough Filipina siren deserves the all the best of what reel and real life can bring.

More photos of our featured Pinay beauty! (click on image to enlarge)

Source: Wikipedia