Ara Mina

Mina derived her stage name, which her mother chose, from her sister Cristine's real first name, Ara, and her other sister Princess's real first name, Mina. During her acting career, she used other names such as Ara Mina-Reyes, Dara Mina, which was derived from Donna Cruz, and Danica Gomez, derived from Charlene Gonzales.^[5]

Mina became part of the Philippine entertainment industry at 14 years of age via the youth-oriented program That's Entertainment, hosted and spearheaded by the late master showman German Moreno ("Kuya Germs"). Since then, Viva Entertainment signed Mina after being noticed on That's and Mina has starred in about 40 television shows and 60 movies and released 3 recording albums. She won her first acting award for Best Actress for the film Mano Po at the Metro Manila Film Festival in 2002. The following year (2003), she received 3 more Best Actress awards from Manila Film Festival, FAMAS and Golden Screen Awards for the movie Ang Huling Birhen sa Lupa. She also won the Golden Screen Awards and Star Awards in 2004 for Best Supporting Actress in a drama in the Philippines for her role as Luna in Minsan Pa.

Mina also sings aside from acting. Her self-titled and first album from Star Music (formerly Star records) which carried the hit song "Ay, Ay, Ay, Pag-Ibig" received a gold record award a few months after its release. Because of this, the record label decided to produce another album for her entitled Heavenly, which was also a big hit and included the track "Oops Teka Lang" which was also the theme song of the film of the same title starring Robin Padilla and Claudine Barretto from Star Cinema. Her version of the Rey Valera hit "Kung Kailangan Mo Ako" was also used as the theme song of the ABS-CBN miniseries Sa Sandaling Kailangan Mo Ako. In 2005, she produced her third album entitled Moving On which was released under Sony BMG. It consisted of acoustic covers of hit songs like "What Do We Mean To Each Other" by Sergio Mendes, "Somebody" by Depeche Mode, and "Very Special Love" by Maureen McGovern.

She truly showcased versatility by starring in television shows of different genres, from sitcoms to heavy drama. 1999, she starred in her first television sitcom Super Klenk, wherein she played a super heroine. She was then included in the cast of Bubble Gang, which was her longest stint for television. The character that she played in the TV series Mulawin, Vultra, is also remarkable. In 2007, she switched to freelance acting and transferred to ABS-CBN doing projects via Prinsesa ng Banyera and Ligaw na Bulaklak. She returned to GMA Network and did multiple teleseryes for over two years. From 2011 to 2016, she did stints with TV5 Network but was able to do shows with the Kapuso network through Teen Gen and Yesterday's Bride. In 2011, she returned to Viva Entertainment after 1995, which also manages her sister Cristine Reyes.^[6]

On April 17, 2015, Mina was part of the "Lucky Stars" of Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal and won ₱1,000,000 (equivalent to ₱1,203,738 in 2021), making Mina as second millionaire of the season five.

Her most recent television stint was for GMA's Pinulot Ka Lang sa Lupa and was also part of the movie My Ex and Whys starring Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano. She staged a teleserye comeback on ABS-CBN in Araw Gabi after doing anthology roles with the channel. In the late 2019 until the end of 2022, she is known for her role of Ellen Padua in FPJ's Ang Probinsyano.

In 2009, she announced running for councilor of Quezon City's Second District, in a move to follow the political legacy of her family.^[7]

On October 7, 2024, Ara Mina filed her certificate of candidacy to run for 2nd district councilor of Pasig in 2025, under Lakas–CMD. She was named part of the ticket of mayoral candidate Sarah Discaya, who ran under Unyon ng mga Gabay ng Bayan (UGB).^[8] She subsequently lost the election, placing tenth.^[9]

The eldest of 9 children, she grew up in Marikina with her mother, Francis Marie Klenk, and stepfather, Romeo Reyes. At 18, she met and was acknowledged by her biological father, Chuck Mathay, a former congressman from Quezon City. Actress Cristine Reyes is her half-sister through her mother, while San Juan councilors Cris and Macky Mathay are her half-brothers through her father.^[10][11]

Mina has one child with former Bulakan Mayor Patrick Meneses.^[12]

On January 13, 2021, she was engaged to Businessman Dave Almarinez, CEO of the Philippine International Trading Corporation and former Laguna Provincial Board member.^[13] They were married in a wedding ceremony in Baguio on June 30 later that year.^[14]

Mina supports children with birth defects through the Ara Mina Foundation, which she founded in 2007.^[15] Her youngest sister, Princess Klenk, was born with Down syndrome, and was the inspiration behind this cause.^[15]