Love Marie Payawal Ongpauco (born February 14, 1985), known professionally as Heart Evangelista, is a Filipino actress. She is currently an exclusive artist of GMA Network^[1] and represented by Alice Talents Agency in Paris, France.

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Quick Facts Born, Alma mater ...

Heart Evangelista
Evangelista in 2012
Born	Love Marie Payawal Ongpauco (1985-02-14) February 14, 1985 (age 39) Manila, Philippines
Alma mater	Colegio San Agustin – Makati
Occupations	Actress artist businesswoman model endorser singer fashion influencer socialite VJ
Years active	1998–present
Agent(s)	Star Magic (1998–2008) Sparkle GMA Artist Center (2008–present) Viva Artists Agency (2012–present)
Spouse	Francis Escudero ​ (m. 2015)​
Website	https://www.lovemarieescudero.com/

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Heart Evangelista was born Love Marie Payawal Ongpauco on February 14, 1985, in Manila,^[2] to Reynaldo Evangelista Ongpauco, a Filipino businessman, and Maria Cecilia del Gallego Payawal.^[3] Evangelista is the youngest child in her family, with siblings from both sides of her parents. Her aunt is 1960s superstar Liberty Ilagan.^[4] Evangelista's maternal great-grandfather is Don Juan del Gallego, a Spanish tradesman who founded the town of Del Gallego in Camarines Sur.^[5] She was born in the Philippines and moved to the U.S. before returning to her homeland in her early teens. She started her career at age 13 as a model and actress.^[6]

Evangelista is second cousin to actress Jodi Sta. Maria.^[7] Evangelista is first cousin to Happy Ongpauco-Tiu. "Her dad and my dad are siblings,” Happy told The Philippine Star.^[8]

As an accomplished painter, Evangelista had sold out solo exhibitions from various galleries such as the Ayala Museum^[15] and Galerie Joaquin.^[16] She uses her real name, Love Marie, in her paintings.^[17] Her first solo exhibition was held at the Ayala Museum in 2014, entitled I am Love Marie: The Art and Works of Love Marie Ongpauco. In the same year, she participated in the Visual Arts Festival through the Focus on the Arts: Art in Transit exhibitions. She also held her second solo exhibition in the same year at Galerie Joaquin through her Love Marie gallery. Her third solo exhibition, Love Marie: A Solo Exhibition of a World-Class Filipina, was held at the Raffles Hotel's Chan Hampe Galleries in Singapore in 2015.^[18] She also collaborated with Rocio Olbes's children's book, Daughter of the Sun and the Moon, and participated in the Art Fair Philippines 2015: maARTe and PortrAYAL (LAYA): Portraits for Freedom Big & Small Art Co.

In 2016, she collaborated with designer Mark Bumgarner through the LMxMB: when art meets fashion, as well as with A.A. Patawaran for his book HaiNAku and other poems. In the same year, Evangelista launched her fourth solo exhibition titled Oceans Apart held at the Ayala Museum. Her hand-painted bags were also introduced in the same year at BMW BGC through her exhibition, Carry your heART. In 2017, she collaborated again with A.A. Patawaran for the HaiNAku 1st Anniversary Exhibit at the S Maison Conrad Hotel in Manila. She also held HEART & Style, a public exhibition of her works of art at the Fashion Hall of SM Megamall. In April 2018, she launched another art exhibit at ArtistSpace Gallery of Ayala Museum.^[19] In the same year, she partnered with A.A. Patawaran for his book, Manila Was A Long Time Ago, which featured her pet dog named Panda.^[20][21] Her Follow Your Heart artwork was featured in the February 2019 US edition of Harper's Bazaar.^[22]

In 2021, Evangelista collaborated with Incubus lead vocalist Brandon Boyd for Moonlight Arts Collective, an organization founded by Boyd himself showcasing art by various cultural icons that moonlight as visual artists.^[23] Called Neon People, their first collaboration was released in July 2022.^[24] In 2023, Evangelista dropped her solo print debut of her artwork, Love's First Bloom, on Moonlight Arts Collective.^[25]

In 2017, Heart Evangelista was invited to attend Paris Fashion Week for the first time by notable fashion houses like Schiaparelli, Georges Hobeika, Giambattista Valli, Elie Saab, Ulyana Sergeenko, Ralph & Russo, and Zuhair Murad.^[26] In 2018, Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan invited her to be part of Harper's Bazaar's The Real Crazy Rich Asians feature highlighting "Asian style icons shaking up the world of couture."^[27] Afterwards, Evangelista became a staple at Fashion Week attending shows in Paris, New York, and Milan by top designers like Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Fendi, Gucci, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Balmain, among others. In the same year, she was selected as the spokesperson for the Spring Summer 2019 collection of the French label Sequoia.^[28]

In 2019, fashion trade journal Women's Wear Daily reported that Evangelista was the Top 1 influencer at Paris Fashion Week, bringing $3.1 million in Media Impact Value (MIV) to the couture shows.^[29] Media Impact Value is a proprietary algorithm by Launchmetrics "which measures the impact of placements and mentions from voices in fashion, luxury and beauty, across social media," according to Women's Wear Daily.^[29] In the same year, Forbes France named Evangelista as one of the Top 10 luxury influencers in the world.^[30] Evangelista further boosted her achievements by designing a jewelry collection for French haute-fantaisie jewelry house Gas Bijoux.^[31]

At the 2020 Paris Fashion Week, Evangelista once again topped the list of influencers who made the most impact for the shows, garnering $4.91 million in MIV.^[32] In 2021, Evangelista was announced as the newest face of the French luxury bag brand Lancaster, alongside Barbara Palvin.^[33] Evangelista was also one of the 25 worldwide personalities selected for Salvatore Ferragamo's Silk Your Style campaign.^[34]

For the Haute Couture 2022 season, she ranked third in MIV just behind Kim Kardashian and Chiara Ferragni at $1.4 million.^[35] In 2023, Evangelista topped the Asia-Pacific list of influencers and celebrities who brought the most MIV to the Haute Couture shows at $1.27 million.^[36]

Heart Evangelista has been featured on the covers of Harper's Bazaar Singapore,^[37] Harper's Bazaar Indonesia,^[38] Vogue Philippines,^[39] L'Officiel Philippines, Tatler Philippines, and ICON Singapore.^[40] She has dedicated features in Vogue Singapore,^[41] Vogue Thailand,^[42] Harper's Bazaar Taiwan,^[43] and Harper's Bazaar Singapore.^[44]

Her foundation Heart Can aims to help children with respiratory diseases. Her foundation has been active since its inception and has helped thousands of children with special needs. Heart is also an LGBT ally^[49] and a recipient of Lagablab Network's Equality Champion Award^[50] in the Philippines. During the 2018 State of the Nation Address in the Philippine Congress, Evangelista wore the iconic rainbow badge in support of equality in the Philippines and the passage of the pro-LGBT SOGIE Equality Bill.^[51] Evangelista is also a spokesperson for PAWS or (Philippine Animal Welfare Society), launching various campaigns for the organization such as the Have a Heart for Aspins and See Beauty Beyond Breed campaign.^[52] Heart also supports the Balikatan Thalassemia for children with rare diseases,^[53] Corridor of Hope for children with cancer,^[54] and the Cerebral Palsy Association of Sorsogon.^[55]

Evangelista is married to Senator Francis Escudero. The pair were introduced by Evangelista's 'mentor', the late senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, who was a close friend of her mother.^[56] She assumed the role of first lady of Sorsogon on June 30, 2019, until June 30, 2022, when her husband was elected governor of Sorsogon province.^[57]

Chiz Escudero and Evangelista renewed their vows, celebrating their 9th wedding anniversary on February 15, 2024 at Balesin Royal Villa. Escudero appeared with crisp light Dior ecru-colored suit and Gucci leather loafers while Evangelista was in “ethereal” couture Elie Saab gown with hood-like veil and later, with Michael Leyva fully beaded second outfit with a cape, Swarovski crystals with bespoke necklace and diamonds. She walked down the aisle by her mother, Cecilia Ongpauco with godparent Ramon Ang to touching lines from Gary Valenciano's song "I Will Be Here" amid Mark Bautista's soulful serenade and 3rd Avenue music. Heart's father, Rey Ongpauco is undergoing medical treatment in the United States.^[58][59][60]

In tears at "Fast Talk with Boy Abunda" on March 15, 2024, Evangelista revealed losing another baby after the 2018 miscarriage of their twins. She even named her unborn daughter 'Sophia Heart.' “I wasn’t pregnant, but I was expecting the only girl that I had left—eggs. At that time, I thought it was going to make it, but she didn’t, so that one was a bit hard for me,” she lamented.^[61]