Maris Racal

Mariestella "Maris" Cañedo Racal (Tagalog pronunciation: [kaˈɲɛdo ɾaˈkal]; born September 22, 1997) is a Filipino actress and singer. She rose to prominence in 2014 after joining Pinoy Big Brother: All In, where she finished as the runner-up. Afterward, Racal signed with Star Magic. She was previously a member of It's Showtime's all-girl dance group Girltrends and ASAP's sing-and-dance group BFF5.

Racal's breakthrough role was as Irene Tiu in the ABS-CBN romantic drama series Can't Buy Me Love .

Mariestella Cañedo Racal was born on September 22, 1997, in Tagum, Davao del Norte, to Henry and Leony Racal. She is the fifth of six children. Racal grew up in Davao del Norte and graduated high school from St. Mary's College in Tagum. In school, she regularly sang the responsorial psalm and performed during Mass. She also uploaded cover songs on SoundCloud.

Racal pursued a degree in medical technology at Trinity University of Asia but discontinued her studies due to her busy schedule.

After Pinoy Big Brother, Racal was launched as part of Star Magic Circle 2014 and had been quickly molded as a budding actress, starting off on the drama series Hawak Kamay, followed by more stints on several TV series including Maalaala Mo Kaya, Ipaglaban Mo!, Oh My G!, and Ningning, and on films like Halik sa Hangin, Just The Way You Are, and The Breakup Playlist. She also starred with Roberto "Fourth" Solomon Pagotan IV in the Dear MOR episode, the "Kate and Red Story". In April 2015, she released her first single "Tanong Mo Sa Bituin" as part of Star Record's compilation album "OPM Fresh". In June 2015, she played her first lead role in the film Stars Versus Me by Tandem Entertainment.

In February 2016, Racal was introduced as one of the members of all-girl dance group Girltrends on the noontime show It's Showtime, where was tagged as "Magnificent Girltrend Maris" and became the group's Team Young member. She also played a supporting role in the comedy-drama series We Will Survive. In October 2016, Racal performed in her first OneMusicPH's digital concert "Double Hearts", where she debuted her original song "Take It All Away". In the same month, she also appeared in the film The Third Party. In December 2016, Racal played the role of Maxine in the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival box office entry film Vince and Kath and James.

In January 2017, Racal was launched as one of the members of ASAP's all-girl song-and-dance group BFF5 (pronounced as BFFs), alongside Loisa Andalio, Ylona Garcia, Andrea Brillantes, and Kira Balinger. Her inclusion in the new group led Racal to leave Girltrends. Later on, she made her guest appearance in the action drama series FPJ's Ang Probinsyano, and a starring role in Wansapanataym Presents: Annika PINTAsera. She also performed the song "Paano Mo Nalaman", a Tagalog version of "How Did You Know", for the romantic drama series Ikaw Lang Ang Iibigin. On July 8, 2017, Racal held her first major concert "4 of A Kind: The Un4gettable Concert" at the Music Museum, alongside Loisa Andalio, Sue Ramirez and Kristel Fulgar. She also starred in the horror-thriller film Bloody Crayons, drama series Hanggang Saan, and the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival box office entry film Haunted Forest.

On February 8, 2018, Racal headlined the first Star Events FanCon at Teatrino, Promenade with Iñigo Pascual as her special guest. Her original song "Tala" was released as her newest single during the event. A few days later, she debuted as co-host for Iñigo Pascual's online show One Music POPSSSS, appearing on the first episode of the fourth season. Her latest single "Ikaw Lang Sapat Na" was released in May 2018, as part of the soundtrack of romantic drama series Since I Found You. In September 2018, she became a certified recording artist with the release of her first album entitled "Stellar". In October 2018, she was one of the ten interpreters for Himig Handog 2018 with a song entitled "Sugarol" composed by Jan Sabili. In 2019, Racal joined the cast of family drama series Pamilya Ko in the role of Peachy Mabunga. Pamilya Ko was later canceled in 2020, following the loss of ABS-CBN's franchise in the middle of COVID-19 pandemic.