Megan Young

Early life and education

Young was born in Alexandria, Virginia to a Filipino mother and American father. She is the daughter of Victoria Talde who hails from Pandan, Antique and Calvin Cole Young III. Young's family moved to Olongapo City, Zambales, Philippines when she was ten. She attended secondary education in Regional Science High School III in Subic Bay Freeport Zone from 2002 to 2005 before moving to Manila to pursue her acting career. She has been studying filmmaking at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde since 2011.

2004–07: Early acting career in GMA

Young's first showbiz break was through the second season of the talent reality search, StarStruck, wherein she placed in the top six. Her first acting job in GMA was in Love to Love Presents: Love Ko Urok wherein she played the role of Meg. She then played the role of Anna in Asian Treasures and the role of a fairy in Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang.

2007–14: Transfer to ABS-CBN

After more than two years with GMA Artist Center, she moved to ABS-CBN following her sister, Lauren Young. She is the first StarStruck alumna to transfer to GMA's rival station, ABS-CBN.

Young first appeared in ABS-CBN in the youth oriented show "Star Magic Presents" Astigs and Abt Ur Luv. She also played the role of Shane in Kokey, opposite Zanjoe Marudo. She became well known when she appeared as one of the celebrity housemates in Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition 2, dubbed as "The Princess of Charm". After PBB, she portrayed the villain Marcela in ABS-CBN's remake of I Love Betty La Fea opposite John Lloyd Cruz. In 2009, she was one of four personalities introduced as video jockeys for the relaunching of Channel [V] Philippines. Young also became an occasional host in several shows in Studio 23. In 2012, Young had her big break as a lead actress in Hiyas, reuniting with Zanjoe Marudo as her love interest. In 2013, she appeared in TV5's dramas Never Say Goodbye and Misibis Bay.

Aside from television, Young has also starred in a few films, one of which was The Reunion, where she played Toyang, opposite Xian Lim. Young was nominated as Outstanding Guest Star on Dahsyatnya Awards 2014.

2015–present: Return to GMA Network

In March 2015, Megan Young returned to GMA Network after four years of exclusive contract with ABS-CBN. Her comeback project in the Kapuso Network is the most anticipated second adaptation of the hit Mexicanovela MariMar where she plays the title role. She is paired with Tom Rodriguez who plays the role of her love interest Sergio. Interestingly, her sister Lauren Young is also part of the show and plays the role of MariMar's main antagonist Antonia. This marks their second project together after Star Magic Presents: Abt Ur Luv Ur Lyf 2.

Megan is also one of the hosts in the sixth edition of the reality talent search Starstruck which launched her career as an artist. She's working alongside Dingdong Dantes as main host, and her co-Starstruck alumni Mark Herras, Rocco Nacino, Miguel Tanfelix, and Kris Bernal, who serve as journey hosts. The show premiered on September 7, 2015.

Miss World Philippines 2013

She was named Miss World Philippines 2013 during the pageant coronation night on August 18, 2013.

Miss World 2013

Young was crowned as Miss World 2013 in Bali, Indonesia, making her the first Filipina to win the title of Miss World since its creation in 1951. During the preliminaries, she also won the "Top Model" competition, placed second in the "People's Champion," placed fourth in the "Multimedia Challenge" and fifth in the "Beach Beauty" contest.

Young also received the Continental Queen of Beauty title as Miss World Asia 2013, the highest ranked contestant in the Asian region.

As Miss World 2013 she has travelled to England, France, United States, Haiti, Indonesia, China, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, Russia, India, Barbados, Spain, Sweden, Colombia.

Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts

Young went back to London and supported the relief drive of the daily tabloid newspaper The Sun for the benefit of the typhoon survivors in the Philippines.

Miss World's Beauty with a Purpose organization decided to direct their fundraising activities for the victims of the typhoon by going to different locations around the world. Young went to U.S. cities, Newark, New York City and Los Angeles to hold fundraisers and appeared in the television program Good Morning America in ABC to appeal for donations. She also visited Hong Kong and Indonesia before going back to her country to personally deliver the proceeds.

Megan Young finally arrived in the Philippines in November 27, 2013. In her second day in the country, Young went to the areas heavily affected by the typhoon and distributed the relief together with the Philippine Red Cross. She particularly visited the provinces of Leyte, Samar and Iloilo.

Family

Young is the elder sister of actress Lauren Young.

Views

In a 2013 interview with Karen Davila for ANC, Young was asked if she supports the Philippine Reproductive Health Law, and she stated: "Well, I’m pro-life and if it means killing someone that’s already there, then I’m against that, of course. I’m against abortion." With regard to her views on contraception, she said: "I don’t engage in stuff like that as of now. I think [...] sex is for marriage. That’s my belief. So, when it comes to the RH bill, as long as my beliefs are no abortion; it should be with your partner for life. Then that’s my stand." When asked about her position on divorce, Young replied: "Divorce. I’m actually against divorce, because I’ve seen, of course, that in my family. So I think that if you marry someone, that should be the person you should be with forever, through sickness and health, through good and bad, you should be with that person."

Relationship

Young is in a relationship with actor Mikael Daez. The two had reportedly been dating privately for six years until their relationship was publicly confirmed in March 2017.