Maui Taylor (born Maureen Anne Rodriguez Taylor on June 28, 1983) is a Filipino model, singer, and actress of Filipino and English descent[citation needed].
Taylor initially got into show biz with the assistance of a cousin who was a member of a dance group in the Philippines. Because of her mestiza features, Taylor quickly found herself as a sought after actress despite the fact that she had no prior acting experience. She was eventually cast on the Filipino TV soap opera Anna Karenina at the age of 14. This led to other roles in various TV shows as well as cinema, and eventaully became the fantasy girl of every Filipino teenager.
Taylor first gained nationwide attention when she appeared on the cover of the April 2002 issue of FHM (Philippine edition). Because of her mature body and her very youthful face, she instantly became a hot sex symbol among men. This was justified when she appeared in her first starring role in the movie Gamitan, which grossed almost P70 million in the local box office.
Maui Taylor had early movie appearances in films such as Tatarin and S2pid Luv, both from Viva Films.
She had her big breakthrough, in 2002, when she got her first starring role in Gamitan, a movie where she played a young college girl who lost her virginity to an abusive and traitorous basketball player (who only used her in a big bet with friends), and latter plotted schemes of vengeance against those who hurt her. Gamitan was also the first movie where the young actress appeared nude and performed in sex scenes on the screen although no frontal nudity was shown.
Also in 2002, Taylor appeared in the film Hibla where she shared the lead with fellow actress Rica Peralejo. In separate situations in the film, both actresses appeared nude and performed sex scenes with different actors. Hibla easily topped the box office and enjoyed stealing people’s attention as it featured a French kissing scene between Taylor and Peralejo (non-lesbian situation). The film is noted for its stunning capture of natural scenery.
2003 was the last year Taylor was active in films. In April 2003, she starred with actress Katya Santos in the sex comedy Sex Drive, which was deeply inspired by the movie Y’ Tu MaMa Tambien. Although it was blasted by critics for its pointless plot and sex scenes, Sex Drive made around almost P65 million domestically.
For her next movie, titled Ang Huling Birhen Sa Lupa (international title: The Last Virgin), Taylor had to work extra hard as she played a mentally retarded girl and had to live up to the acting prowess of Ara Mina and Jay Manalo, both veterans in the local film industry. She also had to go through rigorous training in order to think and act convincingly like a 10 year old girl (her character in the story is 16 years old) and had to prepare herself for a rape scene.
While not as popular as her three previous movies, Ang Huling Birhen Sa Lupa was the big awards winner for the 2003 Manila Film Festival (including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress) and gained a financial boost from its victory. Taylor gained her first acting nomination with the film, particularly for Best Actress (which went to her co-star Ara Mina). The controversial movie became the festival’s 2nd highest grossing entry.
Later in 2003, Taylor’s film career started sliding as two of her films with Viva, Masamang Ugat and Bugbog Sarado failed to ignite in the local box-office. On the home video front, the star enjoyed a rise in her popularity boosted by the hot sales of the sexy music video collection Sex Goddess.
She continues to be one of the most popular models and actresses in Filipino entertainment. The November 2005 issue of FHM featured an exclusive interview of Taylor as well as a hot-looking cover of her.
Taylor is expected to star in the upcoming movie Short Time, a sex comedy that will be released in late 2006.
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