Biography
Karel Marquez definitely knows how to wear many hats. She’s a VJ, DJ, stage
and TV actress and a singer rolled into one. Apart from that, she’s also
a regular student and a doting daughter to a celebrity mom.
Karla Ysabel Marquez Santos, who goes by the nickname Karel or Penoy, was born
on December 21, 1986.
Ever since she can remember, Karel always finds her way to show business, being,
first and foremost, a beautiful daughter to Pinky Marquez, a common name in theater
groups. At an early age of 2 until she was in her teens, she was already shooting
commercials and endorsing numerous products. It wouldn’t be long, therefore,
before the call of TV will beckon upon her.
Despite her mom’s sweetness and full support to all her endeavors, Karel
still wants to break free from her shadow. Thus, she struggled in making her
own mark as occasional actress to various ABS-CBN shows until she got her biggest
break in Berks, where she played the antagonist to the equally beautiful Heart
Evangelista. It was also at that time that she graced boob tube as a VJ of Myx,
a Filipino music channel.
But Karel isn’t only about a pretty face and an acting talent to boot.
She’s also a certified singer. She would usually sing during Full Circle,
a segment of ASAP Mania where ABS-CBN talents can expose their other hidden
skills. She also plays different kinds of instruments such as drums, the piano,
and guitar. If these weren’t enough, she also performs in various music
bars such as in Dish. It was in 2004 that Karel was offered a record deal by
Star Records, and thus began her journey towards CDs and cassette tapes. Even
if she shares her initial album, Singles, to other fresh singers like Marinel
Santos, Maoui David, and Aliya Parcs, she was thrilled nonetheless. After all,
she gets to fulfill one of her childhood dreams. She viewed Singles as her method
of expressing her musical preferences and taste to her fans through her choices
of songs which include her own rendition of Tag-Ulan, originally sang by the
After Image, and of Pangarap, a pop-rock song that became a very popular koreanovela
theme song. If Karel isn’t in TV acting or in bars singing, she’s
in school, where she’s basically taking up Marketing in Thames. She’s
also a hit in theater. Recently, she topbilled the theatrical adaptation of
High School Musical, where she played the female lead Gabriella Montez. Early
on, she was exchanging the top spot with KC Concepcion in Beauty and the Beast.
At 20 years old, it’s not difficult to not notice her curves. Thus, when
she posed for men’s magazines—such as in FHM, where she became November
2006 cover girl—she sent all lads drooling. But Karel is out to prove that
she isn’t any average girl. Besides being true-blue techie—she loves
hi-tech gadgets such as laptops and cell phones—she’s also a shining
star whose light shines bright in spite of some people who are pulling her down.
