A post shared by Maria Mika Maxine Medina (@maxine_medina) on Oct 30, 2017 at 5:27am PDT

MANILA -- Beauty queens joining showbiz after their reign is no longer new. Neither is it surprising. Sometimes, it is even expected. From Miss Universe Gloria Diaz and Miss International Melanie Marquez to the more recent entry of 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach, tinseltown thrives with beauty queens who have also built successful showbiz careers.

One recent addition is 2016 Binibining Pilipinas Universe Maxine Medina. After competing in the 2016 Miss Universe pageant held early this year in Manila and landing in the Top 6, Medina lost no time in embarking on a more lucrative showbiz career.

She is making her starring role debut in the horror thriller, “Spirit of the Glass 2: The Haunted,” directed by Joey Reyes, which opens in theaters Wednesday.

Medina is seriously pursuing acting. She has inked a multi-picture, non-exclusive contract with OctoArts Films, producer of “Spirit of the Glass 2: The Haunted.” After her big-screen debut, she is set to shoot another film project with the outfit.

Though she repeatedly donned swimsuits as a beauty pageant contestant, 27-year-old Medina opts not to go sexy in accepting showbiz roles. Coming from a conservative family, she prefers to act rather than show some skin on the big screen.

“Out of respect to my parents, I will decline sexy roles on TV and in the movies,” Medina says. “Sure, I still wear bikini, especially when I’m on the beach. But that ends there. I refuse to really go sexy in showbiz.”

In “Spirit of the Glass 2,” Medina plays Lisette, a diva and an actress. Her role hews closely to real life, so Medina was very thankful for the acting break. She is paired with Benjamin Alves, the actor who plays her boyfriend, the scion of a rich family.

It will be remembered that in 2014, Medina played the bit part of a lawyer in director Antoinette Jadaone's comedy-drama, “Beauty in a Bottle,” which topbilled Angelica Panganiban, Angeline Quinto and Assunta de Rossi.

Medina expresses her desire to do more challenging roles in her future film projects. This early, she is being eyed to star in yet another movie slated to be shown early next year.

The beauty queen-turned-actress completed her college degree even before she joined Binibining Pilipinas. Medina graduated from the Philippine School of Interior Design (PSID) at De La Salle College of St. Benilde. She is a member of the Professional Models Association of the Philippines (PMAP).

Medina’s aunt, Gem Padilla, was a former Binibining Pilipinas-Universe. Her cousin, Diane Medina, is also an actress and was the one who strongly encouraged her to join showbiz.

Medina is in a long-time relationship with actor-model Marx Topacio, also a member of the PMAP. Last summer, the two hied off to Siargao, where they enjoyed the sun, sea and sand. Early last October, Medina went to the beach anew in La Union.

Heavily bashed after she competed in the 2016 Miss Universe pageant last January, Medina said she’s more than ready to really join showbiz and face even her detractors. Getting bullied is nothing new to her. Even when she was still a child, she was already bullied in school.

(WATCH: Maxine Medina close to tears as she opens up about bullying)
http://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/11/01/17/maxine-medina-close-to-tears-as-she-opens-up-about-bullying

Medina’s schedule is totally cramped not only with her movie promo, but also with appearances in special functions and even modeling. Recently, she attended the launch of PLDT Home at Shangri-La at the Fort. She is one of the brand ambassadors of PLDT Home, with Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, celebrity mom Bettina Carlos, and the Prats family (John Prats, his wife Isabel Oli and his sister Camille Prats).

The event was also attended by TV host-comedian Vic Sotto and his wife Pauleen Luna. Sotto is the newest brand ambassador for Sun Cellular, with Maja Salvador and Matteo Guidicelli.

Others in attendance were actors Jericho Rosales, Franco Laurel and theater actor Markki Stroem.

Medina also displayed her toned abs at the recent Bench “Under the Stars” fashion preview at the Ibiza Beach Club at Bonifacio Global City. The beauty queen-actress recently joined the Bench family. On November 18, she will grace the annual underwear show at the Mall of Asia Arena.