John Estrada is a popular Filipino actor who hails from Basilan. He started out in showbiz as a model and his entry point was via the Body Shots competition organized by the Fashion Designers’ Association of the Philippines. Although he did not win the top plum in the said model search, he was discovered by talent manager Douglas Quijano and was introduced to showbiz shortly thereafter.

His first project was a forgettable movie entitled “Lover’s Delight”. The big screen flick didn’t do much to step-up his career. His manager then decided to add John to the cast of the already popular ABS-CBN sitcom “Palibhasa Lalake” together with his most popular talent, Richard Gomez. In the show, he played a dumb hunk who was into inventing things. This role made him a household name and enabled him to hone his craft in acting - especially in comedy. The show was cancelled in early 1998.

After ABS-CBN pulled its plug on the long-running TV sitcom, John was given the chance to host its noontime show, Magandang Tanghali Bayan with Randy Santiago and Willie Revillame. The show introduced him to Vanessa del Bianco and marital woes. Our lady’s man, John, severed ties from his wife of several years, Janice de Belen, and cohabited with his new found love, Vanessa. After a string of low ratings, their noontime show was reformatted and renamed, “Masayang Tanghali Bayan”. The reformat of the show didn’t do much to boost its ratings, so, it was again renamed as “MTB: Ang Saya Saya”. The show didn’t last that long and was axed permanently. Within this period, however, John was given movie and television projects to repackage him as a dramatic actor.

ABS-CBN, then, cast John in several soap operas namely: “Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay”, “Hiram”, “Vietnam Rose” and “Maria Flordeluna”. He gave notable performances in these shows which earned him a spot in the country’s list of versatile character actors. During this stretch of time, his lovelife was not as colorful as it used to be. He was happy with Vanessa and their love affair continued on for years. Subsequently, they parted ways amicably due to difficulty in maintaining a long distance relationship.

However, recently, he was subjected to public outrage due to his involvement with actress and long-time friend Gretchen Barretto. The latter and John were caught kissing and being cozy around each other (see the pics below) in a party held for for Rufa Mae Quinto’s birthday. The two were quick to dispel the rumors of them having an affair. The issue died a natural death.

Currently, he stars as the main villain, Jared Evilone, in ABS-CBN’s Lastikman. He is reportedly very happy with his current flame Miss Earth 2004, Priscilla Meirelles.