Coco Martin

He is a devotee of the Black Nazarene. He is married to Rozhie Hilario since 2014, although there have been unsubstantiated rumors of his affair with his co-star Julia Montes.

It was also suspected that Martin had fathered a child with actor Katherine Luna. However, a DNA test recently confirmed that he was not the father of Luna’s child. He, however, still paid for child support and urged Luna to save it for the child’s future.

Coco Martin was born on November 1, 1981, in Novaliches, Quezon City. His parents were separated. Thus, he was raised by his grandmother, who was a moneylender. As a child, he was known as “Deng.”

He earned a degree in hotel and restaurant management from the ‘National College of Business and Arts’ in Fairview, Quezon City, in 2002.

He also worked in Canada, as an ‘Overseas Filipino Worker’ (OFW), but had to return in a year, as he was unable to find a permanent job there.

He got his first break as part of the ‘Star Circle Batch 9,’ during his stint with the ‘ABS–CBN’ talent agency ‘Star Magic.’ His first-ever appearance in a movie was in a supporting but credited role in ‘Luv Text’ (2001).

His first acclaimed appearance was in the indie movie ‘Masahista’ (‘The Masseur’) in 2005, which earned him a ‘Young Critics Circle Best Actor Award’ in 2006. He later starred in another indie film, ‘Summer Heat,’ in 2006.

He appeared in a number of other movies and garnered awards for his roles in the indie movies ‘Daybreak’ (2008) and ‘Jay’ (2008). He won the ‘Gawad Urian Award’ for the ‘Best Supporting Actor’ that year for ‘Tambolista.’

In 2009, Martin appeared in a leading role in the movie ‘Kinatay.’ The movie premiered at the 62nd ‘Cannes Film Festival’ and won the ‘Best Director Award.’

He starred in his first mainstream movie ‘Sa 'yo Lamang’ in 2010.

In 2008, Martin was cast as a regular member in the daily matinee soap ‘Ligaw na Bulaklak.’ This was soon followed by a role in the primetime drama ‘Tayong Dalawa’ in 2009. This role earned him the award for the ‘Best Drama Actor’ at the 2009 ‘Star Awards for TV’ and catapulted him to TV stardom.

He later bagged a role in another afternoon soap, ‘Nagsimula sa Puso,’ in 2009.

He joined the cast of ‘Kung Tayo'y Magkakalayo,’ ‘ABS–CBN's primetime drama, and got his first leading role in the miniseries ‘Tonyong Bayawak’ in 2009.

He was cast in the musical comedy–drama show ‘1DOL’ in 2010, alongside other famous Filipino actors, such as Sarah Geronimo and Sam Milby. However, the show was canceled after 35 episodes.

He bagged the lead role in the highly acclaimed series ‘Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin’ in 2011. Martin won several ‘Best Actor’ awards for his portrayal of twin brothers ‘Alexander’ and ‘Javier Del Tierro.’ In 2012, he won the title of the ‘Prince of Philippine Television’ at the 43rd ‘Guillermo Mendoza Awards.’