Patrick Garcia
Baby-faced Patrick Garcia was born on September 14, 1981 to a Spanish father and a Filipina mother. Before becoming one of the country’s most promising teen stars, Patrick spent his free time doing altar boy duties at St. James Parish Church in Ayala, Alabang. When he was 13, his sister Cheska, who is already an actress during that time, encouraged him to enter showbiz. He became one of the young talents of ABS-CBN and was cast in the popular show Ang TV. He starred in the hit movie Separada, which established Patrick as one of the newest teen heartthrobs in Philippine cinema.
In 1996, Patrick won the Best Child Actor trophy at the prestigious FAMAS awards for his role in the Sharon Cuneta starrer Madrasta. The actor received more TV projects courtesy of ABS-CBN, which includes Araw-Araw, Gabi-Gabi and Gimik. Patrick was paired with several young actresses, including Jodi Sta. Maria and Paula Peralejo. With his successful loveteams, he starred in more popular shows such as Pangako Sa ‘Yo, Tabing Ilog, and Kamapanerang Kuba.
Patrick transferred to rival network GMA after years of being an ABS-CBN talent. As he grew older, Patrick tried his hand on more challenging roles. He starred in more mature roles in movies such as Nagbibinata and Mano Po III.
His career gained more popularity when he became involved with actress Jennylyn Mercado. They had a long-time relationship which resulted to Jennylyn getting pregnant with his baby. In the middle of her pregnancy, Patrick decided to leave Jennylyn and went to the U.S. to study. This created headlines in showbiz, with people berating Patrick for the callous way he left the mother of his unborn child. The actor kept silent regarding the controversy. Recently, Patrick came back to the country and is now working on getting Jennylyn’s permission to see his daughter, whom he has not seen since she was born in August 2008.
Patrick is now linked to actress Glaiza de Castro, whom he starred with in an episode of the show Dear Heart.