Katrina Halili is an alumna of the StarStruck talent search and the cover girl of leading magazines such as FHM Philippines and Maxim Philippines. She was voted as FHM Philippines' sexiest woman for the year 2006 and bagged the title yet again in 2007. She is the first StarStruck contestant to top the FHM Philippines' 100 Sexiest list and the only Filipina celebrity to have won the title twice in a row. She is a three-time FHM Philippines covergirl.^[1] With 123,000 votes, she placed 2nd to Marian Rivera in the 2008 Philippines' Finest (FHM 100 Philippines sexiest women list, cover girl).^[2] During the same year, she was chosen as the calendar girl for FHM Philippines for the second time. In addition, she also launched her own line of lingeries and swimsuits she called Playmates, and became an image model for the Belo Medical Group.

Halili was formally launched as a character actress on Philippine television by way of Majika and Darna, two fantasy-themed series, wherein she played the villain to the character portrayed by Angel Locsin. GMA 7, her home studio, once again tapped her to play another villain role, and it was in the Philippine version of Marimar that she became a household name. After her stint as villain on these TV programs, she finally starred on her first lead role in a daytime soap entitled Sine Novela: Magdusa Ka, where she was paired with her leading man Dennis Trillo. Before the last few episodes of this soap were shown, she began shooting for Obra, a primetime drama anthology where she showcased her versatility as an actress.