Maria Lourdes Elizares Dela Cruz, better known by her screen name Angelika dela Cruz (born October 29, 1981), is a Filipina actress and singer of Italian-Austrian-Filipino descent. She started her career in 1995, and has since appeared in a lot of television shows and movies, mostly with ABS-CBN, and has recorded a couple of albums as well.Angelika Dela Cruz started her career in 1995. She became part of the movie Nights of Serafina which made her won the 1997 New Best Actress of the Year award. After that, ABS-CBN spotted her and she became part of the noontime soap opera Mara Clara. Angelika, whose passion is singing made two albums under BMG Records and one album under Imperial Records. Though she really wanted to be a singer, Angelika found more success in the field of acting. After her stint in Mara Clara, she was seen again in another Judy Ann Santos series Esperanza. She was also paired with Jericho Rosales in the teen horror series Oka Tokat and in the movie Magandang Hating Gabi, they also had a short flick in the hit series Esperanza. She also starred in some movies such as Seventeen so Kaka, Huwag Mo nang Itanong and Esperanza: The Movie which gave her a Best Supporting Actress nomination.
While Prinsesa ng Banyera is still on air, Angelika decided to move back to the Kapuso network. She signed a two-year contract to the station that gave her two major soap opera. Her comeback project to the kapuso network is a remake of a Sharon Cuneta movie, Babangon Ako't Dudurugin Kita. She was replaced by a former kapuso star, Ara Mina in the on-going afternoon soap drama Prinsesa ng Banyera.