"I’ve been starstruck ever since I was small," said Annabelle who married another star, Eddie Gutierrez. "I’m a fan at heart."
That’s why besides giving birth to stars, she also discovers them.
A few days ago, Annabelle presented to the press her growing stable of stars and would-be stars, led by Richard and twin brother Raymond who has shed unwanted pounds and now looks exactly like Richard, making it difficult for people to tell who’s who.
Richard needs no further introduction. Raymond, at 6’1" slightly taller than Richard, finished grades one to five at O.B. Montessori (Greenhills); grades six to eight at El Rodeo Elementary School in Beverly Hills, California; secondary school at the Beverly Hills High School; and college at Santa Monica College, also in California.
While twin brother Richard excels in movie and TV-acting (coming soon as the lead star of the new GMA soap Sugo), Raymond feels more at home in hosting.
The twins’ youngest brother, Ritchie Paul, 18 and a six-footer, is among the new batch Mama Annabelle is determined to propel to stardom. Ritchie Paul is also an O.B. Montessori student.
The seven other new faces in Annabelle’s stable are:
• JC (John Carlo) de Vera, 17 (5’8", 144 lbs.), a product of the Colegio de San Agustin (high school), Makati City. JC started as a commercial model and is a fixture in GMA shows (Click, Joyride, Love 2 Love, S.O.P. Gigsters, Now and Forever and Sugo). Besides acting, he loves singing and dancing (and sports like basketball, soccer and billiards).
• Mara Garcia, 16, has showbiz in her genes. Her father is Joji Garcia, member of the macho group Hagibis; her grandfather was the late Premiere Productions character actor Jose Garcia; and her uncle is Eddie Garcia. An A-student at Miriam College, Mara is good in street dancing, singing and acting. Runs in the blood, see?
• Nicole Anderson, 15, is the daughter of Jean Saburit (who’s also being managed by Annabelle). She’s part Swedish (her father, Peter Andersson, is Swede), part Spanish, part American and part Filipino. A high school student at The British School Manila, Nicole has guested on shows at both ABS-CBN and GMA, and done bit roles in a few movies (Ang TV The Movie, Let the Love Begin and Jologs).
• Katarina Perez (real surname: Grundstrom), 17, plays Bong Revilla’s sister in the GMA sitcom Idol Ko Si Kap. A high school senior at Angelicum, she has taken acting/singing workshops with the Actors Guild, Center for Pop Music Philippines, with direk Joel Lamangan and with Carlitos Siguion-Reyna/Mark Reyes.
• Era Madrigal, 19, is a Hotel and Restaurant and Institutional Management (HRIM) freshman at De La Salle College of St. Benilde. In grade school (Colegio de San Agustin and Holy Spirit Academy of Malolos) and high school (St. Mary’s Academy, Quezon City), she was an officer of the students’ organizations and the theater group. She has done commercials and guested in TV shows; and has signed an eight-film contract with Regal Films.
• Mari Kozuka, 15, is half-Japanese (father) and half-Filipina. She finished primary and grade school at the Narufe Dai School in Japan and high school (until third year) at the Manila Japanese School.
• Andrea Calayan, nine, is one of the three children of Drs. Manuel and Pie Calayan. She loves singing, dancing and acting. Someday, even as she tries to make a name as an actress, she hopes to be a cosmetic surgeon and take up where her parents will be leaving off.
Now, the usual question: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who among them will Stardom bless?
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph)