Monday, July 21, 2008

Kc Concepcion




Maria Kristina Cassandra Cuneta Concepcion Pangilinan (born April 7, 1985), populary known as KC Concepcion, is a Filipina actress, stage actress and commercial model. She is a daughter of Filipina actress Sharon Cuneta and Filipino actor Gabby Concepcion. Her name "Kristina" came from her mom, and "Cassandra" from her biological dad who loved the movie Cassandra Crossing. She was legally adopted by her step-father Senator Kiko Pangilinan.

GMA-7 talent Richard Gutierrez inked a one-movie deal with ABS-CBN’s Star Cinema, whis his co-star in this dream project, KC Concepcion. Thereafter, KC signed on May 22, 2008, a contract for GMA Films' Valentine 2009 movie with leading man Richard Gutierrez, to be directed by Joey Reyes, titled When I Met You.[1]The Star Cinema movie will be released later this year while the GMA Films production will hit theaters on Valentine’s Day next year. Specifically, For the First Time,the first movie of KC Concepcion and Richard Gutierrez together with Joyce Bernal will open at theaters on August 27, 2008, while her "When I Met You" will be shown on February 11, 2009.

KC Concepcion, as United Nations World Food Program (WFP) ambassador, launched on June 1, 2008, "End Hunger: Walk the World," a global walk against child hunger at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, to raise public awareness and funds to feed 59 million poor children.

Bea Alonzo




Bea Alonzo is a Filipina actress. She was born on October 17, 1987. Her father is British while her mother is Filipina.

In 2003, at the age of 15, Bea would be cast as 20 year old lawyer Katrina Argos in the TV drama Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay. She was the youngest ever to be nominated in that category.

Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay paved the way for the John Lloyd and Bea loveteam. After three successful teleseryes It Might Be You, Ikaw Ang Lahat Sa Akin and Maging Sino Ka Man
In June 2008, Alonzo released her debut album entitled The Real Me under Star Records.

Toni Gonzaga






Celestine Cruz Gonzaga (known for her screen name Toni Gonzaga), is a Filipina actress, television host, and singer. In the Philippines, she is best known for hosting the country's version of Big Brother, the Pinoy Big Brother.

Toni Gonzaga was born on January 20, 1984, a 6.8 lbs baby girl to Methodist parents Carlito and Crisanta Gonzaga. Her birth name, Celestine, was given to her father by a boxer. She has a younger sister named Catherine. Toni was baptized during her infancy and later confirmed at a United Methodist Church in her hometown of Taytay, Rizal in the Philippines. She would later attend Greenhills Christian Fellowship and the Victory Christian Fellowship.

Gonzaga began to sing at the age of four participating in various singing competitions. She took up mass communications at the Dominican College, where she studied for two years. Later, she transferred to the AB English program of the Asian Institute for Distance Education (AIDE).

Aside from her career in show business and the music scene, she was once a Sunday school teacher and a Barangay Kagawad in Taytay.

Gonzaga started as a talent of GMA Artist Center and landed small roles and went freelance after four years. While attending high school, Gonzaga actively participated in auditions, competitions and VTR screenings of advertising agencies. At 17, she struggled as a lounge singer in several Philippine hotels and bars at night while attending school during the day. Her agent later informed her of an audition for a local TV commercial for Sprite.

She received offers for guest appearances in various TV shows and earned her regular stint in the GMA sitcom Daddy Di Do Du. TAPE Inc., the show's producing company, offered her to be one of the hosts in the noontime show Eat Bulaga. While hosting Eat Bulaga, she also co-anchored Wazzup Wazzup on Studio 23, an ABS-CBN UHF Channel.

She transferred to ABS-CBN, a local multi-media magnate. After signing with ABS-CBN, she became co-host of Most Requested Show (MRS), with hosts Roderick Paulate and Amy Perez. She was also part of Entertainment Konek (ETK) with Filipino host Ogie Diaz. She then became the lead host of Pinoy Big Brother, the Philippine franchise of the Endemol reality show Big Brother.

In 2001, Gonzaga released her self-tilted debut album under Prime Music. In 2006, she released her second album under Star Records under the name You Complete Me; its carrier single "We Belong" became number one on the Philippine hit charts. In 2007, she came up with a follow up album entitled Falling In Love. Once again, Gonzaga gained number one position for her single "Catch Me I'm Fallin'". One of her singles from this album, "Perfect World", was used to the soundtrack of an online MMORPG of the same name, which was introduced by Level UP! Inc. in the Philippines.

On February 9, 2008, Gonzaga held her first major concert, entitled Catch Me, Toni Gonzaga at the Aliw Theater in Manila of Philippines. Notable guest performers such as Sam Milby and Vhong Navaro also appeared. The concert was repeated on May 2, 2008 and re-entitled Catch Me Again, Toni Gonzaga.

Ruffa Gutierrez


Sharmaine Ruffa Rama Gutierrez-Bektaş, who is more popularly known simply as Ruffa Gutierrez (born June 24, 1974 in Beverly Hills, California), is a Filipina actress, model and former beauty queen. She was Binibining Pilipinas-World 1993 and the Miss World 1993 Second Princess. She is the daughter of 1960s Matinee Idol and Elvis impersonator Eddie Gutierrez and former actress Anabelle Rama and the older sister of identical twin actors Richard and Raymond Gutierrez. To date, she has made over 50 films in her native country.

In 2002, prior to her marriage with Yilmaz Bektas, Ruffa Gutierrez was a GMA-7 talent. She had three regular shows on GMA Network. She also hosted Philippines' Next Top Model, Cycle 1 on RPN-9. She was also invited as guest co-host of The Buzz when the original host Kris Aquino filed a maternity leave. When the latter decided to permanently leave The Buzz, ABS-CBN offered her a one-year exclusive talent contract with the network. She was assigned to be the permanent replacement of Kris Aquino at The Buzz and is expected to do a TV series with the network. She was being tapped by network as a cast for a TV series titled Kokey.

Gutierrez recently hosted the Philippine version of the reality series America's Next Top Model, which is Philippines' Next Top Model. Starting March 11, 2007, Gutierrez became Kris Aquino's temporary replacement in The Buzz. She was supposed to stay as a substitute host, but Kris Aquino announced her intentions of leaving the said show.

On January 17, 2008, Ruffa Gutierrez donated P 500,000 to charity (RRRampa for a Cause - bazaar and fashion show last September 16). Ruffa, with her brothers Richard and Raymond raised P 1.7 million. They gave the amounts to Unicef and the Philippine Red Cross; to Make-A-Wish Foundation - P200,000; World Vision - P700,000; UNICEF, P500,000 and Asilo de Milagrosa, Cebu - P100,000).

As of May 25, 2008 it was announced in the Buzz (A showbiz oriented talkshow she is co-hosting) that Ruffa Gutierrez will play the role of Daniella(The Antagonist) in the upcoming ABS-CBN teleserye " Yo soy, Betty La Fea" headed by Bea Alonzo as the starring role.

In 1994, she was involved in the 20th Metro Manila Film Festival scandal. Through her friend and former Miss Universe 1994 contestant from Mauritius Viveka Babajee's deliberate interference, she received the Best Actress award, which was supposedly meant for fellow actress and good friend Aiko Melendez. The mistake has since been corrected by then Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and the Metro Manila Film Festival committee, and the award was rightfully given to Melendez a few days later. She and her parents are currently under investigation for tax evasion in the Philippines. She was alleged to be one of the "Brunei-beauties" during the early 1990s. She also has a sex video currently circulating the internet, allegedly during one of her trips to Brunei as a Bruneiyuki.

In 2003, she married Turkish businessman Yilmaz Bektaş in a lavish ceremony in Manila. She has two daughters named Lorin (born 2003) and Venice (born 2004) with him and resided with them in Istanbul, Turkey for a few years, though she frequently came back home to the Philippines to do commercials, television guestings and vacations.

Allegedly, her husband had bought for her a cable TV channel (FTV) for her to work on. However, the management of the said cable channel have recently confirmed that she only used to work there. She was also scheduled to make a new Filipino movie with her best friends in Philippine show business, although this failed to push through.

On May 8, 2007, Gutierrez and Bektaş announced their mutual decision to end their four-year marriage. On June 9 and 10, 2007, Gutierrez claimed on GMA-7's Startalk and ABS-CBN's The Buzz that she was physically tortured and abused by Bektas while in Turkey. She says it's the reason why she's divorcing him. Gutierrez revealed that she had been electrocuted in a bath tub filled with water, continuously beaten for 15 hours and locked inside a cabinet. Bektas admitted to slapping her once after learning that she was still married to her previous husband, but denies torturing her. Bektas accused Gutierrez of marital infidelity and claimed she was dating another man which she denied. Gutierrez, who converted to Islam upon her marriage to Ylmaz, has since come back home to her native Philippines and became a born-again Christian instead of reverting back to her original Roman Catholic faith.

Prior to their separation, Bektas reportedly sought the assistance of his lawyer and was able to determine that, according to marriage records from Clark County, Nevada, she was allegedly married in 1999 in Las Vegas, Nevada to a certain Richard Daloia, an issue that was first reported in 2000 but which Gutierrez has neither denied nor confirmed.

On June 10, 2007, Gutierrez admitted on ABS-CBN's The Buzz, that she married Richard Daloia and belied Bektaş' claim that she had not filed a divorce petition to nullify her first marriage. She clarified that she alone filed the petition in 2000 but did not follow up the status of the petition. Clark County’s civil, family and probate records on their website, however, shows Ruffa filed the divorce petition only on June 1, 2007. No other record of a previous petition appeared.

Gutierrez sought the help of the Philippine National Police for escort protection following reported threats to her and her daughters' life. She reportedly receives threatening messages from Bektas. The PNP granted the request for one month.

On August 19, 2007, Ruffa confirmed that she reconciled with husband Yilmaz Bektas. Yilmaz Bektas set a condition “I plan to speak with them but the correct and perfect time. I’m not scared … of course, I am nervous and also shy. It’s not only Ruffa and my two kids I want back, I want all the family back, like Gutierrez family and Bektas family, have to be together.” Ruffa, on the other hand tersely summarized her stance on the reconciliation - “Sino bang babae o nanay na ayaw maging intact o mabuo ang pamilya? Ang pagkakamali namin ni Yilmaz, we shared everything with the public. Sana, may mga bagay na hindi namin nasabi … para kami na lang ang magharap at mag-ayos.

On August 21, in Saksi of GMA NEWS.TV, Bektas emotionally had it - "My cousin is here bringing her ring. Ruffa's ring for the proposal. I want to propose to her again in to get married with me. I'm really looking for the correct time. I first want to get the blessing from her family," however, Annabelle Rama publicly announced that she does'nt want to meet Bektas.

Ruffa and Yilmaz have currently moved on with their lives, with his last visit telling Ruffa, "There is nothing to go back to.

Sharon Cuneta


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 BaƱos, 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.

Angelica Panganiban







Angelica Panganiban (born on November 4, 1986 in the Caloocan City, Philippines) is a television and film actress, commercial model and product endorser working in ABS-CBN. Angelica is currently starring in a teleserye in ABS-CBN entitled Iisa Pa Lamang with Gabby Concepcion and Claudine Barretto.

Angelica's parents separated when she was two years old. She has no memories of her father. In her childhood, Angelica had thought that her grandfather, Alfredo Panganiban, was her real father.

Young actress Angelica David Panganiban says she is the only daughter of Annabell Panganiban and a father she didn’t know by name. “Maybe I knew his name when I was a child but I’ve forgotten it now,” she says. She has no memories of her father either. “Only a picture,” she says. And she doesn’t miss him. “I never grew up with a father,” she adds. “Had I felt his presence then, I could have missed him today.”

In her childhood, Angelica had thought that her grandfather, Alfredo Panganiban, was her father, until her playmates set her aright. “I was playing in a playmate’s house and told the rest that my daddy was coming home soon with plenty of pasalubong (gifts).’ But they told me, ‘He’s not your daddy, he’s your lolo. You don’t have a daddy…’ I didn’t cry. It wasn’t an issue for me; I was too young then.”

The only time she wished her father was around, Angelica says, was two years ago, when she celebrated her debut. “He could have been my first dance,” she says wistfully. Her Lolo Alfredo graciously did the honor.

Amazingly, no one has yet come forward to claim paternity of this young actress who starred in such movies as “Antipolo Massacre,” her first film, “Separada” (where she won a Famas for Best Child Actress), and “Santa Santita.”All she knows about him, says Angelica, is that her parents had separated when she was two. He was crazy (baliw), her mother had told her.

It was no big deal, she recalls. In grade school, Angelica remembers having a group of friends called “barkadahang walang ama” (friends without fathers). “All my friends’ parents were separated. Their stories were worse than mine. One’s father was said to have been ran over by a train. Another said her mother chopped off her father’s head, and so on.”

Only recently did her mother started telling her the truth, but piecemeal. “My parents separated, he’s now settled in Guam and has another family.” That’s all she knows and that’s how far she’ll go answering any more queries about her family.

Angelica was born on November 4, 1986 in Caloocan City. Listed as her parents are Alfredo Panganiban, a taxi operator in Guam, and Melania Panganiban, a housewife. Angelica finished elementary school in 1999 at St. Vincent in Teacher’s Village, Quezon City, and her high school in 2003 at St. Vincent, West Avenue. The pretty lass was the Junior-Senior Prom Princess in 2002 and Miss Junior and Senior Prom in 2003.Angelica is a member of ABS-CBN's elite circle of homegrown talents properly named Star Magic. Lately Angelica Panganiban has appeared in a calendar, in Maxim Magazine and graces the March 2007 issue of FHM cover. There has been an issue on whether Angelica Panganiban's pictures in the alcoholic beverage calendar has been edited which she flatly denied.

Panganiban is a famous actress among of her credits are Mangarap Ka with Piolo Pascual, Vietnam Rose, Maging Sino Ka Man, Rounin, Ysabella and Maging Sino Ka Man: Ang Pagbabalik.
In 2005, Angelica placed number 9 in FHM Philippines' FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World survey.

In 2006, Angelica placed number 14 in FHM Philippines' FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World survey.

In 2007, Angelica placed number 4 in FHM Philippines' FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World survey.

Angelica was the cover of the March 2007 7th year anniversary issue of FHM Philippines
Panganiban, on June 29, 2008, endorsed and launched Mario d'Boro shoe brand that she even designs. She present her concepts and designs of its ladies shoes to the owner.

Iisa Pa Lamang is now showing every Monday to Friday after The Singing Bee with Claudine Barretto,Gabby Concepcion,Deither Ocampo and etc.


Angelica Panganiban no longer tweets


Angelica Panganiban has proved his detractors on Twitter to launch an attack.

Angelica, one of the many young celebrities who signed up for the social networking site Twitter, said she deleted her account Tuesday morning.

In an interview, "Rubi" star said she wanted people, especially those hit artists to stop sending tweets that are too below the belt.

“Gusto ko maging lesson yun, nakakasama kasi ng loob yung ibang mga tao, na pinaghirapan mo yung followers mo tapos may isang artistang mawawala, wala na kayong contact sa kanya,” she said.

Angelica said: Nakakatuwa yung Twitter kasi yung mga artista nilalapit nila yung sarili nila sa mga tao para makausap ka na nila pero yung iba babastusin ka pa, kulang na lang murahin ka.”

The actress, who won more than 38,000 fans, said people need not say openly what it lacks as a person ", as they are they to judge."

She said people who have nothing good to say should remain silent.

When asked what Tweet that really pushed her to end the account, Angelica says it was something she believes staff should not be used against you.

“Masakit lang na sabihan ako na dahil hindi ako nakatapos ng pag-aaral, ano daw bang degree yung pinanghahawakan ko, sabi nya 'O pwes, panghawakan mo na yang rich mong boyfriend.”

On her defense, the actress said that whatever she is experiencing or gained now it is because she worked hard for it.

“Ang tagal ko ng nagaartista, ang tagal ko ng binubuhay yung pamilya ko kaya wala syang karapatan na sabihin yun sa akin,” she said. “Nagtatrabaho kami di lang dahil sa amin but para din sa nanonood sa amin.”

According to her, showbiz detractors are not just keen on hitting on her but on her fellow artists as well.

Though she deleted her first account, Angelica signed up for a new one but this time under some privacy status.

Angelica will star in the upcoming Filipino version of the show “Rubi” where she will play a bida-kontrabida role.

“Rubi” will hit primetime viewing this coming February.

Heart Evangelista







Love Marie Payawal Ongpauco, better known for her screen name Heart Evangelista, is a Filipino actress, singer, model, and VJ. She is a Star Magic Batch 9 alumna.


Born on February 14, 1985 to parents Reynaldo and Cecilia Ongpauco, Heart is the youngest in her family, with one brother and four sisters. She grew up and studied in the United States. Her family moved back to the Philippines in her late teen years. She spent her high school years at the Colegio San Agustin, Makati.


Evangelista was first discovered by a commercial agent while at a mall with her sister.[citation needed] She signed up with Star Magic and was paired with John Prats on the show G-Mik. Her team-up with John Prats gained tremendous popularity, and they starred in several movies together— Trip, Ang Tanging Ina and My First Romance. They also starred on another teen-oriented show, Berks.


Evangelista was paired with Geoff Eigenmann on the primetime soap opera Hiram which also starred Kris Aquino, Dina Bonnevie, John Estrada and Anne Curtis. She earned her a Star Awards Best Actress nomination on this series.
She later starred on the fantasy-action TV show Panday.
Evangelista also won the best new female personality (Best New Movie Actress and Best New TV Actress) awards from Star Awards for Movies and Star Awards for TV. She also won Texter's and Listener's Choice at the Himig Handog Awards for her single "Love Has Come My Way". Heart also released the single "Tell Me" in Australia. It peaked at number 18 on the charts.


Evangelista worked on and off for three years (2005-2008) and focused mainly on hosting gigs, starring on a few Maalaala Mo Kaya and Your Song episodes, and giving time to her foundation Heart Can. In early 2007, she renewed her ties with her mother station ABS-CBN and was under a per project basis. She finished a sineseryefor the station, the remake of the movie Hiram na Mukha, and appeared briefly on Pangarap Na Bituin. She also topbilled the reformatted version of Your Song under the title "Muntik Na Kitang Minahal".


Managed by Manila Genesis Entertainment for two years (2006-2008), she is now being managed by her father and co-managed by Annabelle Rama, Richard Gutierrez's mother.
She announced her sudden transfer to ABS-CBN's rival network, GMA Network, last April 23, 2008. She signed up a two-year exclusive contract and is now being paired with Richard Gutierrez. Their first teledrama together on GMA's upcoming drama series Codename: Asero.
Evangelista played the title role in "Ay Ayeng," a film on the indigenous Ifugao life in Mountain Province, which premiered in Hawaii, on July 14, 2008. The movie was adapted from "Maestra Ester," a novel by Abdon Noviza and Lica Lazaro.


Since 2006, Evangelista has been very vocal on her conversion from Roman Catholicism to Evangelical Christianity. She now attends New Life Christian Fellowship after initially attending at Victory Christian Fellowship. She has always stated that her conversion is the reason she moved from Star Magic (backed by ABS-CBN) to the small and independent religious/secular Genesis.


Since September 2006, she has started taking on a humanitarian role starting with the creation of Heart Can, a foundation that aims to help children with respiratory diseases. Heart Can has been taking her through a series of mall shows. So far, it has already distributed many cans for donations, raising money for the young children benefiting from the charity.


Even though her transfer from Star Magic to Genesis has caused her popularity to decline, Heart says she has no regrets because she needed the spiritual counsel that Genesis could provide her. She has also stated that she is very happy with her life, "not just working but having...living a life.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Kris Aquino




Kris Aquino (born Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino on February 14, 1971 in Quezon City) is a television and movie personality in the Philippines. Aquino has been labeled as the Philippines' "Queen of Talk", due to her success in hosting talk shows.


She was crowned as the 1990 Box Office Queen for her first movie, Pido Dida, Sabay Tayo, 2004 Box Office Queen for her hit movies such as Feng Shui and So... Happy Together. In 2006, she regained the same Box Office title for her movie Sukob, which is said to be the highest-grossing Filipino film of all time.


Aquino was born to the former President Corazon Aquino and Benigno Aquino, Jr., a popular opposition senator during the Ferdinand Marcos regime. The youngest of the five children, her siblings are Maria Elena, Aurora Corazon, Benigno Simeon III (Currently a senator from 2007 to 2013, former congressman of Tarlac), and Victoria Eliza.


In the infamous 1978 parliamentary elections where her father was a candidate, the seven-year-old Aquino wooed the crowds as a stand-in for her imprisoned father at campaign rallies. The young campaigner was featured on the front page of NYT and on Time Magazine. Aquino spent most of her elementary school days in the United States because the Aquino family was in exile. After the assassination of her father in 1983, Aquino returned to the Philippines and was a precocious presence in rallies against the Marcos regime. In an interview with the documentary Kontrobersyal, Congressman Teddy Locsin Jr. revealed that Ninoy Aquino named her youngest daughter Kris because she was born at the height of a major crisis.


After the 1986 revolution that removed President Ferdinand Marcos from power, the teenaged Kris stepped into the limelight, starting with guest spots on television dramas and comedies, as well as talk shows. Finally, she made her film debut with actor-comedian Rene Requiestas in the comedy Pido Dida. This movie was a blockbuster hit and made Kris the box office queen for that year.


Aquino afterwards had a commercially steady, though critically panned career and managed to score an acting nomination for The Fatima Buen Story. She starred in a film based on a true-life murder, the Vizconde Massacre. Its financial success and successive crime films of the same vein in which she starred in gained her the nickname "Massacre Queen" by newspaper critics.
Aquino studied High School at Colegio San Agustin, Makati and graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1992 with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in English Literature.
Kris Aquino started her career on TV at ABS-CBN. Being young then, she was the star of the short-lived comedy show Luv Ko Si Kris.


It was not until 1994, that she did Nandito Ako with action star Philip Salvador that started one of Aquino's very controversial love affairs. Aquino became pregnant and had a child, Joshua.
With her movie career slowing, Aquino shifted her sights on a television career as a talk show host launched through Kris produced by Viva Television on Channel 4 (at that time named PTV, this was transferred to GMA Network which has partnership with Viva and after Viva's contract with PTV ended). But it was in GMA Network showbiz oriented talk show Startalk where she co-hosted with Boy Abunda and Lolit Solis that her hosting capabilities were noticed.


After her GMA and Viva contracts expired, she went back to media conglomerate and GMA Network's rival ABS-CBN which noticed her undeniable hosting wit, offered her a contract and launched Today with Kris Aquino, one of the most successful talk shows of the 1990s. She started hosting The Buzz on 1999 together with close friend Boy Abunda. On year 2001, when game shows became very popular in the Philippines, ABS-CBN tapped her to host Game KNB? to compete against IBC-13's local franchises of The Weakest Link and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. In January 2003 to May 2004, she hosted yet another successful morning talk show that was supposed to last for 2 weeks but lasted for 16 months entitled Morning Girls with Kris and Korina alongside popular media personality Korina Sanchez. Not all of Aquino's television endeavors were hits; notable failures include Balitang Kris, which lasted for one season. For several years, she hosted The Buzz, a showbiz gossip/talk show with Boy Abunda and Cristy Fermin for the same network, as well as Pilipinas, Game KNB?, a game show which focuses on trivia. She officially left The Buzz and Pilipinas, Game KNB? after she gave birth to Baby James. According to her, she had to give up her hosting stint on the said shows to give more time to her baby. It was also assumed that she does not want to go back to The Buzz because she no longer wants to work with former co-host Cristy Fermin.


Aquino is the highest paid TV Host in the Philippines,[citation needed] thus, making her the 'Queen of Talk and Game Shows'. She is also one of the Filipino actresses who are sought after by companies for product endorsements. At present, she is an endorser for a popular corned beef brand as well as for San Miguel Corporation and Smart Communications. Her commercial for San Miguel became the most remembered television commercial and was said to have a 99 percent audience recall. She was paid a total of P20,000,000.00 for the endorsement. She also recently signed an endorsement contract with Facial Care Centre, a direct competitor of Belo Medical Group. Kris decided not to renew her contract with Belo Medical Group. It was uncertain as to whether her decision to transfer to Facial Care had something to do with the issue regarding James' alleged sexual encounter with a receptionist from Belo Medical Group.


Aquino was bestowed the title of "Commercial Princess of the Philippines". Said title was given to her for having numerous of TV and print appearances in Filipino media and for being one of the highest paid commercial endorsers in the Philippines, being at par with Sharon Cuneta.
She hosted the Philippine franchise of Deal or No Deal, which is part of ABS-CBN's primetime lineup. It ended its first season on February 23, 2007. The second season of the said game show started on June 11, 2007. She also hosts Boy & Kris, a morning talk show that replaced Homeboy, together with Boy Abunda, and Be Bench, a model search show together with Piolo Pascual. Nestor Torre, a known critic of the Philippine Entertainment industry, pointed out that Kris took a lot of risks when she chose to give up her two former shows. The critic pointed out that giving up The Buzz and Pilipinas, Game KNB? deprived her of the major exposure that those two popular shows afforded her. Torre also noted that it is much more difficult to successfully launch new shows than to resume hosting programs that are already popular.
Right now, Aquino is hosting Wheel of Fortune, which incidentally replaced Deal or No Deal. She said in an interview[citation needed] that she was a huge fan of the U.S. version and was thrilled to bring the show back to her country. However, not even Aquino was aware that Wheel of Fortune had already had one 2001-02 run in the Philippines, which was hosted by Rustom Padilla and Victoria Wonderheim.


Aquino got her start in movies with the help of Regal Films, one of the oldest film outfits in the Philippines. Her early film includes the Pido Dida series, where she was paired with comedian Rene Requiestas and earned her first box-office queen award. She later on shifted into other roles, notably with massacre films such as The Vizconde Massacre, Myrna Diones Story, Elsa Castillo-Ang Katotohanan, and Humanda Ka Mayor. Despite her being a big draw in the box office, her acting skills were considered stiff and mechanical. She was dubbed then as "massacre queen" because of her portrayals in massacre movies which was the vogue during the time.
She first drew praise for her acting when she earned a nomination from the Gawad Urian award-giving body, composed of film critics, for the film The Fatima Buen Story. She eventually won a supporting actress award for the film Mano Po (2002 Regal Films), where she portrayed a weak-willed and submissive scion of a wealthy Filipino-Chinese clan. This was her comeback movie after her long layoff from movie acting.


But Aquino's most commercially-successful movies in her career are: Feng Shui, a Star Cinema production that featured Chinese influences and omen. Feng Shui, which was made during the wave of "Asian-style horror" flicks that spread throughout the continent since 2002's The Ring, made P180,218,395.[citation needed] It was the highest grossing Filipino movie of 2004, and the second most successful movie overall next to Spider-Man 2 which made over P225 million and earned Kris her second box office queen title. "Sukob," another horror thriller which she starred with Claudine Barretto in 2006, is the highest grossing Filipino film of all time surpassing Tanging Ina, Anak & her own starrer, Feng Shui.


Like anyone else, Aquino had her share of box-office bombs. Her 2003 movie with actor Robin Padilla, You and Me Against The World, flopped at the box-office right from the start. Made for P25,000,000 and released immediately after Aquino won acting awards (for her performance in 2002's Mano Po), You and Me Against The World made only P4,389,005. The film's producers lost an estimated P23,000,000, even with home videos accounted. Because You and Me Against The World failed to attract an audience, several movie theaters pulled the film out and replaced it with another film. Some theaters were reported to have done this on the movie's 2nd day of play.


Aquino is known for her troublesome relationships. In the mid-1990s, she was involved with a Purefoods basketball player, Alvin Patrimonio, who was then married. In her relationship before Purefoods Chunkee Giants player James Yap, she was involved with then ParaƱaque mayor (ex PBA basketball player and actor/tv host Joey Marquez), who she later split with in a tumultuous ending, alleging that Marquez pointed a gun at her face, and gave her a venereal disease. She made her admission in an interview by former co-host Korina Sanchez on the ABS-CBN newscast TV Patrol. Such admission became the highest-rating news segment in the history of Philippine newscast that even those in the workplaces paused from their work to hear Aquino's' story. Aquino filed charges of grave threat, illegal possession of firearms, grave coercion and less serious physical injuries against Marquez, but the former eventually dropped charges against the latter.


She is now married to PBA 2006 MVP superstar James Yap of Purefoods. They had their civil marriage in July 2005. The following year, she announced on The Buzz that she was pregnant. In early 2007, their marriage was rocked by the revelation of a former receptionist from Belo Medical Group named Hope Centeno that she had a relationship with James, which he vehemently denied in an interview with Korina Sanchez.


On April 19, 2007, Aquino gave birth to her first son by Yap on 5:52pm at Makati Medical Center in Makati City.[18] . Her son was named after his father and affectionately known as "Baby James". She also had a live-in relationship with actor Philip Salvador to whom she had a son named Joshua.


Aquino suffered a miscarriage with collapsed gestational sac and blighted ovum on March 25, 2008, a day after she announced that her mother was diagnosed with colon cancer.


Being successful in her TV and movie career, Aquino ventured into several businesses. She owns Lena Restaurant in partnership with several celebrities, and Roberto Antonio, an upscale flower shop in partnership with Boy Abunda. She established a boutique ad agency in partnership with Boy Abunda but also including Nonon del Carmen and Agnes Maranan, and have decided to call it MAD (an acronym for their surnames, Maranan Abunda Aquino del Carmen).

Claudine Barretto




Claudine Margaret Castelo Barretto-Santiago or Claudine Barretto was born on July 21,1979 she tagged as the Optimum Star and Young Star for All Seasons of her time, approved by the original title holder herself Vilma Santos. Claudine is an award-winning TV and film actress in the Philippines. She is notable for her portrayal of the mermaid Marina in the 2004 Marina TV series .


Barretto is one of the pioneers of ABS CBN's circle of homegrown talents named Talent Center, also known as Star Magic. She started her career as the lead role in the teen-oriented gag show Ang TV which lead her to appear in several shows of ABS-CBN, especially Mula sa Puso that made her popular and a real actress by receiving her first Best Actress award from Parangal ng Bayan in 1999. Due to her popularity she was tagged by the press and the public as the Optimum Star. As of 2008, Barretto received eight Best Actress awards (from FAP, FAMAS, PMPC, PASADO, MARIA CLARA and PARANGAL NG BAYAN) and three Box Office Queen Awards from GMMSF.


Claudine as the Young Vilma opposite contemporary artist is the also equally popular and award-winning actress Judy Ann Santos as the Young Nora. The Juday-Claudine rivalry rose to fame since the 90's where most of their achievements are identical for them to be constantly compared by the press and their fans in terms of awards, endorsements, blockbuster movies, magazine covers, even loveteam partner with the matinee idols like the late Rico Yan and Piolo Pascual and especially TV shows such as teleseryes(as who is the real Teleserye Queen?), so just like the old Nora-Vilma rivalry in the 70's. Today the Juday-Claudine rivalry also spiced up the showbiz world.

Shaina Magdayao




Shaina Garcia Magdayao was born November 6, 1989 in Quezon City, Philippines she is a Filipina actress of maternal Spanish and paternal Cebuano descent. She is the younger sister of singer-actress Vina Morales.

Shaina Magdayao is the youngest daughter of Enrique and Deanne Magdayao. She has three older sisters, one of whom is singer-actress Vina Morales. Shaina's entry into show business began when she was cast, at ten years old, in the drama series Lyra, playing the title character. She caught the eye of someone at ABS-CBN and became part of the Star Magic Family at the age of seven. She was included in the cast of the just-revamped Ang TV show, Kaybol. She was then brought together, with two other great child actresses of the time Camille Prats and Serena Dalrymple to star in ABS-CBN's afternoon drama series Marinella, playing the role of Rina. In 2000, when Shaina was 11 years old, she released a self-titled debut album with Star Records. The carrier single was "Sayaw Sweet Lullabye". The song's music video was often played in the afternoons right before Marinella or youth-oriented shows. Shaina has also played daughter to a very wide-range of celebrity "parents" on the big and small screens. It was a role like this, in 2003 for the Laurice Guillien helmed project Tanging Yaman, that won her a Best Child Actress award from the FAMAS (Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards), and Most popular Child Actress Award from the 2002 Guillermo Mendoza Awards. She has also spoofed this award-winning role in the Ai Ai De Las Alas starrer, Ang Tanging Ina. She had also previously received the Best Child Performer award from the Parangal ng Bayan in 1999, and Best New TV Personality in the 1999 Star Awards. Since then, Shaina has slowly but surely been building her career over the years. In 2002, she starred in a light weekend afternoon series, called K2BU, where she met half-Brit Bea Alonzo, who is her best friend. She has appeared in several drama series and sitcoms, and at one point, doing three at the same time ("Seasons of Love", "Bida si Mister Bida si Misis", "Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay"), while going to regular school. She started to be home-schooled in late 2004, as her schedule got even more hectic, but will be graduating at the same time as Pop Princess Sarah Geronimo. In 2005, she was included in the cast of the much underrated primetime drama series "Ikaw Ang Lahat Sa Akin", along with Claudine Barretto, Diether Ocampo, her best friend Bea Alonzo and John Lloyd Cruz. It was here that she was paired with actor-dancer Rayver Cruz, who she is currently still being paired with. She is currently still taping for the Chito Rono and Erik Matti's newest television series, "Rounin", set to air in April 2006. She is currently starring in the afternoon light drama "Star Magic Presents: Abt Ur Luv" along with her loveteam, Rayver Cruz and 23 other young stars untar Magic. She is also a semi-regular at ABS-CBN's Sunday noontime variety show, "ASAP 07". Magdayao is a member of ABS-CBN's circle of homegrown talents named Star Magic.

Shaina is a familiar face in magazines. She started of as a baby model for various baby products. As a child, she was a model for children's clothing company, Garfield as well as appearing in a slew of television commercials for Magnolia Chocolait, Lemon Squares Products and Goldilocks, among others. She was also one of the youngest models ever for Ben Chan's clothing company Bench, moving up the ranks from modelling Bench products for children, to her current HerBench endorsements. Shaina has also endorsed/is currently endorsing Johnson & Johnson Face Powder, CreamSilk conditioners, Lactacyd Confidence, Skechers, Cose Teen Bags and Colgate Toothpaste.


Magdayao has invested her childhood earnings in business ventures. She currently owns a branch of the family business YSTILO Salon, and a 20-door apartment complex.

Now showing Million Miles Away at ABS-CBN,every sunday 3:00 pm after ASAP'08.