Arjo Atayde

Atayde was born on November 5, 1990, to actress Sylvia Sanchez^[1][4] and Spanish-Filipino businessman Arturo Atayde. He is the eldest with three younger siblings: Ria, Gela, and Xavi.^[5] Arjo studied at La Salle Green Hills and later moved to Reedley International School.

His first official venture into acting was at age 9 for Ang TV. However, he was pulled out of acting when it affected his schooling. Atayde's first notable appearance was more than a decade later, in 2012, for the show E-Boy as "Jepoy".^[5]

He has played several starring roles in the drama anthology series Maalaala Mo Kaya. He appeared in the episodes "Bangka",^[6] "Dos Por Dos",^[7] "Itlog",^[8] "Liham",^[9] "Marital Lies",^[10] "Sibuyan Siblings",^[11] and "Tsubibo".^[12] For his acting in the series, he won the following awards from PMPC Star Awards for Television: "Best Male New TV Personality" in 2012 for "Bangka" and Best Single Performance by an Actor in 2014 for his portrayal of a gay parent in "Dos Por Dos".

In 2013, he starred as Rafael de Lara in the daytime television series Dugong Buhay^[13] for which he won a PMPC Star Awards for Best Single Performance by an Actor. He then went on to star in the Korean adaptation, Pure Love as Raymond de la Cruz/Ramon Esguerra. The following year, he was given his biggest role to date as the main antagonist Joaquin Tuazon on FPJ's Ang Probinsyano. He also won a PMPC Star Awards for Best Single Performance by an Actor for this role.

He continued to have various notable roles in 2019 for which he received many accolades. Most noteworthy are his portrayals of Benjo, a barber who falls into criminality, in the iWant TV exclusive show Bagman^[14] where he won Best Actor in Leading Role award during the 3rd Asian Academy Creative Awards,^[15] and then as Elai, a man with autism, in The General's Daughter. The latter brought him praise on social media, including the approval of Autism Society Philippines for his sensitive and nuanced representation of autism.^[16][17]

In July 2024, Atayde launched his first "Inasal Republic," Tatak Ilonggo branch in West Avenue in Quezon City. It also has branches in Scout Gandia, Tomas Morato Avenue and Masinag Antipolo City. The chain restaurant is his joint venture with film director Richard Somes, entrepreneurs Mark San Diego, Ivan Villamar, and cousin Gabby Atayde.^[18]

In 2016, he was reportedly courting actress Jane Oineza but it did not work out.^[22][23] Atayde then dated a member of GirlTrends, Sammie Rimando, until 2018.^[24][25] In 2018, he began dating Maine Mendoza, whom he married on July 28, 2023, at a wedding ceremony in Baguio.^[26][27]