Maui Taylor (born Maureen Anne Rodriguez Taylor on June 28, 1983) is a Filipino model, singer, and actress of Filipino and English descent in the Philippines.Taylor initially got into show biz with the assistance of a cousin who was a member of a dance group in the Philippines. Because of her mestiza features, Taylor quickly found herself as a sought after actress despite the fact that she had no prior acting experience. She was eventually cast on the Filipino TV soap opera Anna Karenina at the age of 14. This led to other roles in various TV shows as well as cinema.
Taylor first gained nationwide attention when she appeared on the cover of the April 2002 issue of FHM (Philippine edition). Because of her mature body and her very youthful face, she instantly became a hot sex symbol among men. This was justified when she appeared in her first starring role in the movie Gamitan, which grossed almost P70 million in the local box office.
Maui Taylor had early movie appearances in films such as Tatarin and S2pid Luv, both from Viva Films.
She had her big breakthrough, in 2002, when she got her first starring role in Gamitan, a movie where she played a young college girl who lost her virginity to an abusive and traitorous basketball player (who only used her in a big bet with friends), and latter plotted schemes of vengeance against those who hurt her. Gamitan was also the first movie where the young actress appeared nude and performed in sex scenes on the screen although no frontal nudity was shown.
Also in 2002, Taylor appeared in the film Hibla where she shared the lead with fellow actress Rica Peralejo. In separate situations in the film, both actresses appeared nude and performed sex scenes with different actors. Hibla easily topped the box office and enjoyed stealing people's attention as it featured a French kissing scene between Taylor and Peralejo (non-lesbian situation). The film is noted for its stunning capture of natural scenery.