Yasmien Kurdi

Yasmien Yuson Kurdi-Soldevilla (born on January 25, 1989 in San Juan City, Metro Manila), better known as Yasmien Kurdi, is a Filipino actress, singer and model. She is known for the roles of Sang'gre Mira in the 2005 series Encantadia, Salve Dizon de Leon in the remake of Babangon Ako't Dudurugin Kita and Shayne Rodrigo in the hit remake ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saan_Darating_Ang_Umaga? Saan Darating Ang Umaga?]'', a role originally played by Maricel Soriano. In recent years, Kurdi is known in Rhodora X as Angela Ferrer, which started a trend in her career, then as Dolores Macabuhay in the remake of Yagit and as Ysabel Salvacion in Sa Piling ni Nanay.

Kurdi recently starred as Thea Balagtas-Angeles in the 2018 series Hindi Ko Kayang Iwan Ka, followed by the Justice for Love duology as Alicia Salvacion, its unprecedented success brought the then-largely unknown Kurdi to international attention. She is currently starring as Katrina "Ina" Diaz in Start-Up PH, the Philippine adaptation of the 2020 Korean series of the same name.

Personal life

 * For a video version, click here.

Yasmien Yuson Kurdi was born on January 25, 1989 in San Juan City, to a Lebanese father, Mohammad Kurdi, and Miriam Ong-Yuson, a Chinese-Filipino who is a member of the Iglesia ni Cristo.

While born in the Philippines, she spent most of her early life in Kuwait because of her father's work there, and was also present along with her family during the events of the Gulf War.

She studied elementary in Jabriya Indian School, then high school in Angelicum College, and graduated magna cum laude with a degree of political science in Arellano University.

By 2012, she is now married to Rey Soldevilla, who is a pilot. In the same year, she gave birth to her first daughter, Ayesha Zara, on November 22.

Two years later, she was diagnosed with a cyst on her vocal folds. She was scheduled for surgery in July 2014 to remove the cyst. According to her doctor, there was no guarantee that her voice would fully recover after the operation.

On January 17, 2022, Kurdi herself confirmed that she tested positive for COVID-19, along with her husband and daughter.

2003–2006: Beginnings
At an early age, Kurdi joined school pageants and singing contests, which will eventually lead to her participation in the first season of StarStruck in 2003, where she became one of the Final Four contestants. Despite losing to Jennylyn Mercado, she still received ₱100,000 pesos and an exclusive management contract from GMA Network, that started her career as an actress.

Kurdi's first appearance outside of StarStruck was in the drama series Click, where she portrays Leilani. Her next major appearance was in the 2005 series Encantadia, as Sang'gre Mira, the daughter of Sang'gre Pirena (portrayed by Sunshine Dizon). Around the same time, she released her first album, In the Name of Love, which gained platinum status and won the Song of the Year award at the 2006 IFM Pinoy Music Awards.

2007–2011: Breakthrough
After appearing in the 2006 series Bakekang, she starred in the 2007 remake of Pati Ba Pintig ng Puso with JC de Vera. The series' success led to her being cast with JC de Vera again in the following years, starting with the Pasan Ko Ang Daigdig series remake, where she potrays Lupe Velez, and in the 2008 remake of Babangon Ako't Dudurugin Kita, as Salve Dizon de Leon.

By 2008, Kurdi appeared as Shayne Rodrigo in another series remake, ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saan_Darating_Ang_Umaga? Saan Darating Ang Umaga?], while she was given more smaller roles afterward, like in the Dear Friend episode "Madrasta", and in SRO Cinermaserye''. In 2010, she was cast in Grazilda as Cindy, in her first antagonist role, which redefined her career. In the 2011 series Amaya, she portrays Apila.

2012–2013: Hiatus
Starting in 2012, Kurdi quit show business to concentrate on her college education and raising a family, after she got married to Rey Soldevilla, and giving birth to her first daughter, Ayesha Zara, later coming back in 2013 after a two-year hiatus.

2014–2019: Rising popularity
Her first appearance following her hiatus was in Anna Karenina, as Margarita Monteclaro. By 2014, she was cast as Angela Ferrer in the 2014 series Rhodora X, that started a trend in her career, portraying a character that experiences a series of unfortunate events. At the same time, she was diagnosed with a cyst on her vocal folds, forcing the conclusion of Rhodora X in May 2014.

After undergoing surgery in June 2014, Kurdi was cast as Dolores Macabuhay in the remake of Yagit. This series is notable for being her longest appearance on record, with 203 episodes in total. Her next major appearance was in the 2016 series Sa Piling ni Nanay, as Ysabel Salvacion. The series was extended various times due to its high ratings, eventually reaching 154 episodes.

In 2018, Kurdi was cast as Thea Balagtas-Angeles in the series Hindi Ko Kayang Iwan Ka, where she won Best Drama Actress in the 32nd PMPC Star Awards for TV. By 2019, she starred in two series; Hiram na Anak and Beautiful Justice.

Justice for Love duology (2020 - 2022)
During 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic affected the entertainment industry, shutting down or delaying production of television programs and films.

Nonetheless, she was cast in the 2020 film #JusticeForLove: End of the World as Alicia Salvacion. The film's unexpected success further redefined her career, winning multiple awards for her performance, while renewing interest in both the disaster film genre, and the real-world discussion of asteroid impact avoidance. A prequel series was produced in 2021 in response to the film's success. The duology introduced Kurdi to an international audience, which also praised her acting and performance.

At the same time, she appeared in Las Hermanas as Dorothy Manansala, ending the trend that began with 2014's Rhodora X.

Start-Up PH & Godzilla: The Kaiju Invasion (2022 - present)
By 2022, Kurdi was cast in the Philippine adaptation of the 2020 Korean series Start-Up as Katrina "Ina" Diaz, the Philippine counterpart of Won In-jae, originally portrayed by Kang Han-na. Due to the Justice for Love duology becoming a phenomenal success, the series quickly became the most anticipated Philippine television series of 2022.

She was also cast in the short film The Final Moments, the conclusion of the Justice for Love duology, and as Rebecca de Guzman in the 2022 film Godzilla: The Kaiju Invasion, later becoming a recurring character in the Reiwa series.

Selected filmography

 * Due to her long filmography, this section will focus specifically on select roles that is well-known only. For the full list, click here.

Songs
As a singer, Yasmien Kurdi released two studio albums. Her first album, In the Name of Love, was released in 2005 and attained platinum status, while in 2007, her second album, Love Is All I Need, reached gold status.

Links

 * Yasmien Kurdi on Facebook
 * Yasmien Kurdi on Twitter
 * Yasmien Kurdi on Instagram
 * Yasmien Kurdi on YouTube
 * Yasmien Kurdi on Spotify
 * Yasmien Kurdi on IMDb

Trivia

 * Although not yet confirmed by most external sources, she also has some kind of descent from an unspecified province in the Western Visayas region, as she frequently uses the word pangga in most of her posts and videos.
 * Most notable works that redefined her acting career include Encantadia in 2005, Grazilda in 2010, Rhodora X in 2014, and #JusticeForLove: End of the World in 2020.
 * Due to a trend in her career, all of her appearances starting from Rhodora X in 2014 until Las Hermanas in 2021 features Kurdi portraying the exact same character over and over, one that experiences a series of unfortunate events, just different names and backstory in each appearance.
 * In one of her videos, it is revealed that she is actually suffering from asthma, as she takes an inhaler with her most of the time.