8 facts about Heart Evangelista you need to know about

The 38-year-old artist is popularly known by her name Heart Evangelista. However, it isn’t actually the name that she was born with because her real name is Love Marie Payawal Ongpauco-Escudero.

But how did she get Heart as her moniker? Well, the star was born on 14th February, on Valentine’s day – of which, her name Love was derived from. Hence, she gave herself the nickname, Heart.

Did you know that Heart was actually born from one of the most renowned Filipino families? She is the daughter of Rey Ongpauco, a restaurant magnate, and Cecilia Ongpauco, a former actress and restaurateur. The Ongpauco family where Heart Evangelista descends from owns the Barrio Fiesta chain of restaurants.

Heart Evangelista was born in the Philippines but she later moved to the United States before she returned to Manila during her early teens. She first started her career as a model and actress at a tender age of 13, and has appeared in numerous television shows and movies, becoming one of the most recognisable faces in Philippine showbiz.

Apart from acting, Heart is also an accomplished painter. She is known for her intricate and colourful paintings, which have been exhibited in various galleries and art shows. Her galleries have been sold at the Ayala Museum and Galerie Joaquin. In fact, she had her first solo exhibition in 2014, where she sold out several other paintings in various exhibits. Other art exhibitions by Heart Evangelista have been held at Transit exhibitions, Raffles Hotel’s Chan Hampe Galleries and Art Fair Philippines.

Heart's fashion sense is widely admired. She is considered a style icon in the Philippines and has been recognized by numerous fashion magazines and award-giving bodies for her impeccable fashion choices. So far, she has received several endorsements, business collaborations, movies, and television shows and has two billboards in New York’s Time Square. If you’ve been following her on social media, you’d also notice that Heart is also present at a lot of different fashion events, including Paris Fashion Week and more.

Heart is an advocate for animal welfare and has been actively involved in promoting responsible pet ownership. Aside from adopting several rescue animals, she has also used her platform to raise awareness about animal rights. In 2019, Evangelista even worked with Pawssion Project to provide shelter to a homeless man who cares for stray dogs.

With 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry under her belt, Heart boasts an impressive 11.4 million followers on Instagram and 2.88 million subscribers on YouTube. If you’ve watched her videos, you’d also notice that the star often encourages her followers to work hard and dream big on her YouTube channel.

When it comes to her dating life, Heart’s relationships have always been in the public eye. From 1999 to 2004, she dated John Prats, and she was in a relationship with Jericho Rosales for three years in 2005, before she dated Daniel Matsunaga.

However, on 15th February 2015, Heart Evangelista tied the knot with Senator Francis Escudero in a private ceremony at the Balesin Island club in the Philippines and they have been married ever since.