Mimi Miyagi

Mimi Miyagi

Mimi Miyagi at the 2013 AVN Awards
Born Melody Damayo
July 3, 1973
Davao City, Philippines
Other names Mimi Miyagi
Ethnicity Filipina
Height 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Website
http://www.mimimiyagi.com/

Melody Somosot Damayo (born July 3, 1973) is a model and actress of Filipino descent best known as Mimi Miyagi. Also known for her Humanitarian works for the underprivileged children in the Philippines and as a model on Supernatural TV show on CW created by Warner Bros.

In 2011, Complex magazine ranked her at #12 in their list of “The Top 50 Hottest Asian Porn Stars of All Time.”[1]

Early life and education

Melody Damayo was born in Davao City, the second of four children born to conservative Seventh-day Adventist parents. When she was six, she moved to the United States with her parents, and she grew up in California.[2]

Damayo went back to Mindanao for high school, and her family enrolled her in a Seventh-day Adventist academy in Misamis Oriental, hoping she would absorb Filipino values.[3]

After finishing high school, she enrolled in an Adventist college in Bukidnon, but she dropped out in her second year. She says she had been a disc jockey on the college radio station and had decided on a career in show business.[2]

Damayo returned to Los Angeles and obtained a scholarship to the American College for Fashion Merchandising, but once again she dropped out without graduating,[4] when she'd run out of money and begun looking for jobs. While going to school as a Master Makeup Artist inside FOX Studios and completed. In 2001 she actively started joining pro constitutional groups, even getting certified with the NRA.

Year 2001, after divorce she quietly dedicated herself to several humanitarian and animal volunteer organizations.

Adult film career

Damayo says she saw an advertisement for nude models and answered it. She took the name "Mimi", the childhood nickname given by her grandmother. "Miyagi" was derived from the character Mr. Miyagi in the film The Karate Kid. She says she cloaked her actual nationality in Asian mysticism.[2]

In 1996, she retired from porn acting and moved to Henderson, Nevada. She married a former professional football player. She hired a consultant to set up a website, MimiMiyagi.com, then got embroiled in a legal battle over control of the domain name. She then learned HTML and created a new website.

She created the men's magazine Oriental Dolls (now known as Asian Hotties).

In 1999, Damayo began doing movie production and talent scouting for Metro Home Video and produced the series she entitled FantAsiany, of which there are now three sequels.

Resorting to adult films, but quickly resolved to escape the pornographers.[4] In the next 2 years, she became the most recognized Asian adult star around. With television stations chasing her down to document her, including E! Online, Fox Files, HBO, Playboy TV, WB the list goes on. Despite her fame, the money wasn't rolling in as she thought it would. This was because as an actress, model, and dancer, she wasn't receiving any royalties for her work. She realized that if she wanted to make money in this business, she had to take control of her career.

Mimi's first step was to climb the ladder from her existing side job as a writer into acquiring the job as Publisher of "Oriental Dolls", an erotic American Asian magazine. Now called "Asian Hotties". Gaining control of decisions to what will be placed in the public eye for print, this was the first step to creating a larger audience for Asian females.

When the new form of media such as the internet came along, she quickly learned to code her own website to expand the Asian market then enrolled in UNIX administration school to advance her knowledge in computers. Now with access to a global public audience. She also saw a trend of multimedia demand for online streaming videos in 1999. With this in mind, Mimi entered into movie production and talent scouting for Metro Home Video and produced the series she entitled "Fantasiany Series #1,2,3,4". Featuring all Asian starlets.

Mainstream films

Nearly bankrupted by her divorce, in September 2003, "Mimi" came out of retirement, and appeared in the adult film Happy Ending (not to be confused with Happy Endings later released by Lions Gate Entertainment).

In May 2005, Mimi began work in her first bit role in a mainstream comedy, Come Again.

In December 2006, "Mimi" returned to adult films with great fanfare after her failed run on the Republican ticket for Governor of Nevada. Same year she and her family started a humanitarian charity school in the jungles of war torn Mindanao Philippines to rescue kids giving them refuge from child labour. MLD Elementary School http://www.MLDschool.com , Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MLDschool

Year 2007. Mimi transitioned out of the porn industry and starting acting in mainstream with her first debut in a movie called "Little Bruno". It won *Best Director, Best Thriller - Los Angeles International Independent Film Festival - March Best of the Fest - Big Damn Film Festival Madison Audience Choice Award - Big Damn Film Festival St. Louis and Omaha. Best Thriller - Los Angeles International Independent Film Festival - September

Year 2010, Philippine GMA News TV highlighted her story of charity works for MLD Elementary School to help bring education to the severely impoverished children of Mindanao Philippines.

Year 2011, her new projects to further pursue opening up high schools and vocational schools was highlighted in an article in Asiance Magazine. In 2012 she also became a Fashion Reporter for Eyestrane, an online magazine focusing on Asian talent internationally. (Eyestrane.com).

Year 2012, Mimi spent time in the Philippines on a humanitarian relief aid mission to the survivors of Typhoon Sendong/Washi. Balancing time between her own relief food truck and volunteering with JCI group in various NGO evacuation centers. Mimi Miyagi continues to further her acting career going to theater actors studios and acting in mainstream movies. 2012 movies worked on with Bai Ling "Speed Dragon" playing a nurse in a drama thriller.

Year 2013, "Angel One Eye" , Mimi Miyagi took a more challenging role in a horror movie playing a high priestess witch. Produced by Sin Icon Productions. http://www.siniconproductions.com Directed by Seraphim Ward (musician, fashion designer) who is famously known as having serious legal battles with Marilyn Manson during her engagement to Stephen Bier Jr aka ‘Pogo’ Madonna Wayne Gacy.

Year 2014, Mimi Miyagi continues to do cameo appearances in mainstream non-Pornographic films and pursuing Entrepreneurial endeavors in beauty, fashion, a beach resort, and aqua farming. On top of her already strenuous life as a missionary fundraising for underprivileged children of the Philippines in Lanao Del Norte, Mindanao Island MLD Elementary School http://www.MLDschool.com and volunteer work for Red Cross in humanitarian Disaster Relief operations. She is now pursuing her dreams going back to her birth name Melody Damayo to rebuild a new professional image for the MLD Incorporations her parents have built up over decades of business conglomerates varying from real estate to agriculture, and shipping.

Political career

Campaign poster, Nevada gubernatorial election, 2006.
Courtesy of Mimi Miyagi.

On May 12, 2006, she filed as a Republican gubernatorial candidate in the state of Nevada, under her birth name, Melody Damayo. "I have nothing left to hide, everybody has seen all of me already." she said. One of her slogan was "I'm bare and honest at all times.[5]" Her candidacy came three years after fellow porn star Mary Carey's campaign for Governor of California in the 2003 recall election. On May 16, 2006, her campaign was endorsed by the liberal blog Wonkette.[6] She was criticized for running for such a position, given her past profession. She faced four other Republican candidates in the primary held on August 15, 2006, and was defeated by a wide margin by Jim Gibbons.[7] After her loss in the primaries, she joined the Libertarian Party.

References

  1. ↑ Gabriel Alvarez (2011-09-19). "The Top 50 Hottest Asian Porn Stars of All Time". Complex. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Neumann, A Lin (July 1, 2006). "The Melody and Mimi show". Hong Kong Standard. Archived from the original on 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  3. ↑ http://www.mimimiyagi.com/about.htm
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Rampell, Ed (July 1, 2001). "Mimi Miyagi, P.I. (Philippine Islander, That Is)". AVN Online. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  5. ↑ "Filing draws to a close". Las Vegas Review-Journal. May 13, 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  6. ↑ "Official Wonkette Endorsement: Melody "Mimi Miyagi" Damayo". Wonkette. May 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  7. ↑ "Jimmy Carter's son wins primary". MSNBC. August 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-28.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mimi Miyagi.