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Maria Isabel Lopez
Maria Isabel Pagunsan Lopez—Melrod is a Filipino actress and beauty pageant titleholder. Lopez won the Binibining Pilipinas Universe 1982 and represented the Philippines in the 31st Miss Universe Pageant in Lima, Peru.
She became known as the first beauty queen and actress appearing in Sex in film. Lopez was married to Hiroshi Yokohama, and then later married Jonathan Melrod in the United States. She is a mosaic artist and has appeared in various roles in Philippine cinema and television.
Lopez was born in Cagayan de Oro to Benjamin Lopez and Crescencia Pagunsan. She was baptized at the Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral. She had three immediate siblings and was later raised in Sampaloc, Manila by a single mother due to her father having a mistress and extramarital children.
Before joining beauty pageants, she worked as a fashion designer at The SM Store and Rustan's department store. She also modeled for various fashion salons, including that of LGBT fashion designer, Mr. Rodolfo Fuentes (1950–2011), who encouraged her to join Binibining Pilipinas. In 1982 (aged 24), she joined the pageant as candidate number #15 and won the Binibining Pilipinas Universe title.
She was almost dethroned of her title because of the eventual discovery of her previous work as a lingerie sexy model in a Girard Peter fashion show by the clothes designer Mr. Gerardo Reyes, which accordingly violated an immorality clause set by pageant director Stella Araneta. Lopez maintains that she was pressured to resign, but she refused to do so, citing the assistance of her personal manager and Viva Films to counteract dethronement.[citation needed]
During her national competition, Lopez gained notoriety when she was asked (mistakenly) about virginity by Philippine judge and actress Margarita “Rita” Gomez (1935–1990). In actuality, the question was given for Janet Sales of Manila and was falsely spread in association with Lopez. During her national competition, she was asked by American drummer Alphonse Mouzon regarding the independence of women. At her coronation night, her name was initially mispronounced as Maricar Isabel Lopez, later corrected.
Lopez became controversial when she appeared in highly sexualized roles in movies, which was not usually expected of a beauty queen titleholder. Her first movie Sana, Bukas Pa ang Kahapon (English: "Hoping Yesterday is still Tomorrow") in 1983, starred Hilda Koronel, Lorna Tolentino, Dindo Fernando, and Jay Ilagan, and was directed by Romy Suzara. She was in the original cast of Working Girls (1984), a comedy film directed by National Artist Ishmael Bernal, where she starred as a young office worker who entered sex work at night to gain more income. In 1988, Lopez was hired as a commercial sexy model for White Castle Whiskey.
During the height of her popularity, Lopez appeared in more sexual and romantic movies, including the following:
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Maria Isabel Lopez
Maria Isabel Pagunsan Lopez—Melrod is a Filipino actress and beauty pageant titleholder. Lopez won the Binibining Pilipinas Universe 1982 and represented the Philippines in the 31st Miss Universe Pageant in Lima, Peru.
She became known as the first beauty queen and actress appearing in Sex in film. Lopez was married to Hiroshi Yokohama, and then later married Jonathan Melrod in the United States. She is a mosaic artist and has appeared in various roles in Philippine cinema and television.
Lopez was born in Cagayan de Oro to Benjamin Lopez and Crescencia Pagunsan. She was baptized at the Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral. She had three immediate siblings and was later raised in Sampaloc, Manila by a single mother due to her father having a mistress and extramarital children.
Before joining beauty pageants, she worked as a fashion designer at The SM Store and Rustan's department store. She also modeled for various fashion salons, including that of LGBT fashion designer, Mr. Rodolfo Fuentes (1950–2011), who encouraged her to join Binibining Pilipinas. In 1982 (aged 24), she joined the pageant as candidate number #15 and won the Binibining Pilipinas Universe title.
She was almost dethroned of her title because of the eventual discovery of her previous work as a lingerie sexy model in a Girard Peter fashion show by the clothes designer Mr. Gerardo Reyes, which accordingly violated an immorality clause set by pageant director Stella Araneta. Lopez maintains that she was pressured to resign, but she refused to do so, citing the assistance of her personal manager and Viva Films to counteract dethronement.[citation needed]
During her national competition, Lopez gained notoriety when she was asked (mistakenly) about virginity by Philippine judge and actress Margarita “Rita” Gomez (1935–1990). In actuality, the question was given for Janet Sales of Manila and was falsely spread in association with Lopez. During her national competition, she was asked by American drummer Alphonse Mouzon regarding the independence of women. At her coronation night, her name was initially mispronounced as Maricar Isabel Lopez, later corrected.
Lopez became controversial when she appeared in highly sexualized roles in movies, which was not usually expected of a beauty queen titleholder. Her first movie Sana, Bukas Pa ang Kahapon (English: "Hoping Yesterday is still Tomorrow") in 1983, starred Hilda Koronel, Lorna Tolentino, Dindo Fernando, and Jay Ilagan, and was directed by Romy Suzara. She was in the original cast of Working Girls (1984), a comedy film directed by National Artist Ishmael Bernal, where she starred as a young office worker who entered sex work at night to gain more income. In 1988, Lopez was hired as a commercial sexy model for White Castle Whiskey.
During the height of her popularity, Lopez appeared in more sexual and romantic movies, including the following: