Rachel Alejandro first entered the world of showbiz at the age of 12, when she was a host on the popular TV show "That's Entertainment." At 15, following her successful TV stint, Rachel recorded her first album, Just A Minute, for Alpha Records. The album spawned several hit songs including the 1 single "Mr. Kupido," as well as "K.S.P. (Kulang Sa Pansin)" and "Kay Tagal." The album went gold and Rachel's recording career was off and running.Her second album, "Watch Me Now," featured a revival of "Nakapagtataka," the signature song of her father, pop icon Hajji Alejandro. Rachel's powerful rendition of the song earned her the Awit Award for Best Performance by a Female Recording Artist and the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Foundation Award for Best Female Singer/Entertainer.May Minamahal, which contained the award-winning single "Babalik-balikan", became Rachel's first platinum album in 1992. That same year, Rachel's career got another boost when she competed at the Golden Stag International Song Festival in Brasov, Romania, winning the award for Best Interpretation of a Romanian Song.Her 1994 album, Sentimental, featured the multi-awarded song "Paalam Na," which Rachel co-wrote with then-boyfriend Dingdong Avanzado. By 1996, 22-year-old Rachel had already been in showbiz 10 years. She celebrated by releasing an anniversary album and appearing in her first major concert (at the Folk Arts Theater), with guests Janno Gibbs, Ogie Alcasid and the Street Boys. As Rachel said in an interview with Maryo B Labad, "In the past years, siguro halos lahat nasubukan ko na as far as the entertainment scene is concerned. And my efforts have paid off."Rachel's "Tanging Pangarap" album, her first for Viva Records, was released in 2001. The carrier single was written by her longtime boyfriend Lee Robin Salazar (whom Rachel has just split up with). It also contains the 2000 Metropop Song Festival winner "Forever And A Day."Rachel has also enjoyed success as an actress, appearing in many movies and theater productions. But she considers herself more of a singer than an actress.Asked in an interview if it was difficult to establish herself as a singer because of her dad's fame, Rachel replied: "I was offered a regular hosting job on "That's Entertainment," the hottest TV show at that time, because I was Hajji's daughter. I also believe Alpha Records took an interest in me because of that. These opportunities presented a challenge to me. I just did the best I could and I never felt that there was any real comparison between him and me. It actually helped that I'm his daughter, but the rest was still up to me."Rachel's mother and father split up when she was very young. Her mother remarried and lives in the US. When dad Hajji and his new partner Rio Diaz, her sister Barni, brother Ali moved to the U.S. permanently, Rachel felt she could concentrate on her career more by staying with her grandmother in Blue Ridge. She moved out and began living on her own at 17, but despite her independence, Rachel values her family above all else. She commented in an interview with Women's Home Companion, "I never asked for anything from them, all the things "na nakikita nila sa akin ngayon" (that I have now) are the things I acquired from working hard. I was raised by my grandmother and yet, she never spoiled me. I wasn't lola's girl. She would take care of me "dahil apo niya ako" (because I'm her grand daughter) but "yung maging very malambing" (to be very affectionate) to me, she wasn't the type. But she was the one who encouraged me to sing. She also taught me how to dance. My lola is a good dancer!"Get Your Own! | View Slideshow With my sister Barni ..r2thumbnailiv7.jpg"/imgRACHEL WON GOLDS FOR ROCK AND ORIGINAL WORKS SILVER FOR BROADWAY AT THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS OF THE PERFORMING ARTS IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIAGet Your Own! | View SlideshowTHE PHILIPPINE TEAM WILL PERFORM IN A SPECIAL CONCERT AT THE MUSIC MUSEUM, SAN JUAN, PHILIPPINES ON NOVEMBER 22, 2006.Rachel is currently involved in the Manila production of Atlantis' AVENUE Q opening at RCBC Theatre September 7,2007. For more details go to http://sexychefcafe.multiply.comRachel is in the current cover of MAXIM (November 2007)