MANILA -- One of the children of Melanie Marquez is following in her foot steps, but not as a model-turned-beauty queen.
"When I was in high school, I was a star athlete. When she was in high school, she was also a star athlete," the 49-year-old Marquez said of her teen daughter, Michelle Sarah Dee.
Michelle, who is Marquez's second child with ex-husband Derek Dee, joined her mother as celebrity contestants during Thursday's episode of the ABS-CBN game show "Minute to Win It."
Asked by host Luis Manzano how she feels to have a beauty queen for a mom -- Marquez won the 1979 Miss International pageant -- Michelle said, "It feels great."
"I mean, not everyone can experience [having] a very famous mom, and take note, super-model pa. So it gives me a lot of pride," she said.
Admittedly, Michelle feels "pressured" to live up to certain expectations, saying she is cautious not to reflect negatively on her mom.
"Oo naman, kasi malamang I have to think about my mom's reputation din, kasi kung paano niya ako pinalaki magre-reflect kung paano siya as a mother," she said.
'Fantastic' Melanie
Marquez, who regards being a mother as her "biggest blessing," has six children from four marriages -- Miguelito with Sen. Lito Lapid; Mazen with an Arab businessman; and Michelle and Maxine with Dee.
With her current husband of 14 years, Atty. Adam Lawyer, Marquez has two children -- Adam, Jr. and Abraham.
Lawyer, who cheered for Marquez and Michelle from the audience during their "Minute to Win It" stint, referred to his wife as "fantastic" when asked for his message to her.
"She's very passionate about everything that she does, and so my job is to just love her and support her," he said.
Currently on vacation in the Philippines, Marquez and her family are now based in Utah, where they operate a ranch.