Sharon Gamboa Cuneta Pangilinan (born January 6, 1966) is a popular Filipina actress, TV host, and singer. She is also known as The Mega Star of Philippine Showbiz having been a grandslam awardee, and a box office queen hall of famer and a recipient of several lifetime achievement awards at a relatively young age.
Her mother (Elaine Cuneta) hails from Santa Ana, Pampanga while her father (Pablo Cuneta; 1910-2000) was the mayor of Pasay City for decades. She is half-Tagalog in paternal side and fourth-Kapampangan and fourth-Spanish both in maternal side.
She first appeared on Philippine pop charts in 1978 as a 12 year old, singing the tune "Mr. D.J." The tune became wildly popular and earned her the title of "D.J.'s Pet" (which was also the name of her first album). [1] Other hit albums followed, and Cuneta was asked to sing many movie soundtracks of the time - becoming the first "movie soundtrack star" in the country.
She was given films from Viva Films. At age 15, she starred in her first feature film, 1981 Dear Heart paired with fellow teeny-bopper Gabby Concepcion. After Dear Heart's success, she appeared in more than 50 feature films, and earned the title of "Box Office Queen" in the country from 1985 through 1993.
Her early movie roles launched her as a "poor little rich girl". When all else failed, producers decided to make her roles as a "rags to riches" type. Although raised in an influential rich political family, she appealed to the sosyal (socially rich) and masa (mass) crowd of Philippine society, with her intelligence, humor and down-to-earth personality.
Her musical-variety show, T.S.C.S. "The Sharon Cuneta Show" was one of the longest running television shows in Philippine Showbiz from 1986 through 1997.
She started her hosting abilities with other teenage prodigies with shows like GMA Supershow, later called Germspesyal, with German Moreno and C.U.T.E. "Call Us Two For Entertainment" with her aunt from Pampanga, former actress Helen Gamboa.
Her love-team pairing in Dear Heart with Regal Films heartthrob, Gabby Concepcion made the team the most popular love team in Philippine Movies during the 1980's. They later married (at age 19) in a civil ceremony then a Church wedding on September 23, 1984 with former President Ferdinand Marcos as Principal Sponsor (Ninong); however, the marriage did not last. In April 1985, Sharon gave birth to a daughter, Maria Kristina Cassandra Concepcion or KC Concepcion.
Sharon is the first Filipina artist to sell out at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium first in 1988 and her latest June 11th, 2005 concert. Her poster is enshrined in The Shrine's Hall of Fame next to stars Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand and the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico. She created a traffic jam in the 90's and puzzled the former Mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley. After hearing of her success, the mayor attended the concert and awarded Sharon with an Honorary Key to the City of Los Angeles.
She also had a duet in the 2001 with famous Hong Kong star Andy Lau, with whom she sang "In Your Eyes" composed by Jim Brickman.
In 1996, she hit a "Grand Slam" in Philippine Movies for the movie Madrasta where she played the role of a loving stepmother. Sharon became one of the rare actresses along with Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos to be awarded all the accolades given in local Philippine Cinema. Her "grand slam" includes: The Star Awards for Movies, People's Choice Award, The Film Academy of the Philippines, The Gawad Urian given by the Manunuri Ng Pelikulang Pilipino and the FAMAS (Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences).
Since 1996, Cuneta has been married to Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan. Cuneta gave birth to Simone Francesca Emmanuelle (Frankie) in December 2000 and Mariel Daniella Sophia (Miel) in September 2004. Her daughter KC, has been legally adopted by Senator Pangilinan.
Her late father, Pablo Cuneta, was mayor of Pasay City for four decades, he died at the age of 90 on September 2000.
In 2004, The Brussels International Film Festival named Sharon Cuneta as Best Actress for her movie "Crying Ladies" where she played Stella Mate, an ex-convicted-divorced-single mother hustling her way through Manila streets who accepts a job with two other friends to cry professionally at Chinese Funerals in order to provide for her son.
In January, 2005 she returned with a show "Wish Upon A Mega", a 39th Birthday Celebration granting 39 well-wishers their dreams come true.
In January 6th 2006, The Megastar returned with a 40th Birthday celebration on ABS-CBN's entitled "Ang Pagbabalik Ng Bituin" (roughly translated as "The Return of the Star"). The next month a new gab-fest talk show simply entitled "Sharon" was aired.
She currently hosts the reincarnation of the self-titled talkshow Sharon aired during Sundays on ABS-CBN.
She is now taking up a course in Associate in Arts in the University of the Philippines Open University in UP Los Baños, Laguna.
Her multitude of fans are called "SHARONIANS."
On December 6, 2007, Sharon Cuneta-Pangilinan launched her latest album, Volume 2, under Sony BMG at the Ballroom B of the Crowne Plaza in Ortigas Center. She will celebrate her 30th anniversary as singer on January, 2008: "I've been singing for 30 years na and I've been acting for 27 years. I always peg it at January because it was on January 12 when they called me to go to Vicor. She is shooting the Star Cinema movie London Caregiver. Regarding doing a movie with Gabby Concepcion, she stated: "I have no problem with that. First and foremost, I have to put my family first and think how it will affect them. I know my husband [Sen. Kiko Pangilinan] is such a secure person for marrying me and we've been together for 12 years now.
On January 21, 2008, Sharon admitted that her greatest passion is acting. "I can never be a complete person without acting. 'Pag hindi ako umaarte, parang kulang ang araw ko. (If I am not acting, it seems my day isn’t complete)." She is filming "Caregiver" for Star Cinema (a story "about a Filipina caregiver who is caught between her responsibility to her family back home and the patient she takes care of in a foreign land). The film is Sharon's 30th anniversary offering, celebrates Star Cinema's 15th anniversary and Cuneta's comeback movie after 4 years. The Movie earned approxiatemately 140,000,000 pesos in boxoffice, according to boxofficemojo.com.
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