After losing more than 100 lbs. over the course of seven years and gaining back the confidence that her previous struggles with weight had somewhat eclipsed, Sharon Cuneta proves that slow and steady, indeed, wins the race — even for the one and only Megastar.
By Jose Paolo S. dela Cruz
Photography by Jun de Leon
Is this the new Sharon Cuneta on the PeopleAsia cover?
Not to her, it seems.
“No. I’m the old one. I just went back to being the person I was. You can say, I’m the new old one,” says Sharon, with that unmistakable twinkle in her eyes that has captivated her loyal Sharonians and casual fans alike for four and a half decades.
Losing weight, according to Sharon, was the byproduct of her desire to lead a healthier life. “I’ve been so big since I got pregnant with Miel at the end of 2003. I had a great career going and I was so happy with the new baby and my little girl Frankie. However, shortly before I turned 50, I said, ‘What am I doing to myself? This is not me,” she admits, adding that she hasn’t been happy with the way she looked for almost 20 years.
“I want to be healthy. I want to run around with my future grandchildren. I don’t want to get sick. My mortality was dawning on me. It was becoming more real, suddenly,” she adds.
It was also for the fans. “It’s kind of your duty as a public figure. I felt like I kept on disappointing my fans. I was like a rubber band, losing a little bit and then just when everything was looking good, I would gain it back, if not gain even more,” she divulges.
This time, though, Sharon would not just win the battle. She would win the war.
The road to her current size, she says, is more practical than life-changing. Sharon simply cut back on her food intake, and would not binge no matter how much she liked the food before her. Earlier this year, people finally started noticing that the Megastar had gotten slimmer. “And then everyone kind of had this twisted idea that I lost the weight overnight,” she says laughing. “But if they scroll through my Instagram posts, they’ll see my progress. I told myself to go slowly but surely this time around.”
Slow and steady
Sharon has undoubtedly blazed a trail throughout the decades — making her one of the most lasting and respected stars in the local showbiz firmament. But much like her iconic character Dorina Pineda in Bituing Walang Ningning, the Megastar has also, time and again, thought about taking her final bow from public life.
Having started her showbiz career at age 12, Sharon once thought of retiring at 30. She was tired. She wanted to live. She wanted to have a life.
But when her self-imposed deadline came, Sharon won a Grand Slam Best Actress award in 1996 for her role in Madrasta, which was followed by an avalanche of commercial endorsements. “Okay, Lord. Okay, I get it,” Sharon recalls succumbing. “Underneath it all, I guess if you want to do things for His greater glory, some things will always come along and bring you where He wants you to be.”
In the end, it was Sharon’s definition of retirement that changed.
“I think when I say retire, it’s not really to disappear into the night. What I really wanted was to do the things that I really would like to do,” she explains. “There’s a race in showbiz, and in my twenties and thirties, I was leading in that race. We all wanted to keep doing our thing, and at times, even be 10 steps ahead of our peers. I’m no longer there. So, I can just sit back and wait for projects to come.”
And what exactly are these projects?
For starters, Sharon will return to the silver screen alongside matinee idol Alden Richards for A Mother and Son’s Story. The movie, which hits theaters on Dec. 25, as part of this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival, will have Sharon play the role of a widow who has been taking care of her son since he was five. “I’m on acting mode now. I’d really love to act and do movie after movie after movie,” she says.
Asked if her svelte figure would have her considering sexier roles, Sharon says that she’s open to the idea, but doesn’t think it’s necessary. “I don’t think people expect that of
me. I think I’m the last person they would expect — and even want — to see in a sexy role, but it’s nice to look good and have a really nice shape,” she explains.
Sharon is also in concert mode, it seems. She, alongside former husband and love team partner
Gabby Concepcion, will hold “Dear Heart: The Concert” at the Mall of Asia Arena on Oct. 27 — a show that will take their fans on a nostalgic journey.
While the dream collaboration was in the works for a few months before it finally materialized, Sharon didn’t want to keep her hopes up. Many of her would-be projects with Gabby, who is also the father of her eldest KC, had fallen through before. “Even my husband, Kiko [Pangilinan]
was saying, ‘Sana matuloy na yan kasi ang tagal na. (I hope it pushes through this time, it’s been a long time coming.)’” she says.
The 57-year-old actress, who first sent hearts aflutter with Gabby in the 1981 feature film Dear Heart, explains that the concert is a tribute to their fans who still haven’t gotten over the love team. “I think it’ll make them happy to see us both on stage,” says Sharon, who adds that she’s been “ready to work with Gabby since forever.”
So ready in fact, that she hopes to do a movie with him in the future. “We’re a good team on screen. I don’t want that to go to waste before we both hit the age of retirement,” she says.
Shawie the “Shawol” & more
Life has also taken a more relaxed turn for Sharon and her brood at home, which includes husband, former Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, and their kids, Frankie, Miel and Miguel. “We are very close. I’m close to my three younger children. Very, very close. They are my best friends,” she tells us.
Her children also introduced her to one of Sharon’s latest passions: K-pop! On the day of the PeopleAsia shoot, Sharon would watch music videos of her beloved idols on her laptop in between takes.
“My love for K-Pop started when Miel introduced me to NCT 127. I like boy bands especially EXO, NCT [Dream, 127, WayV, U, DoJaeJung]. But mostly, I’m a Shawol!” says Sharon. To the uninitiated, Shawol is the term for the fanbase of Korean boy band SHINee, which is composed of Minho, Taemin, Key and Onew. The SHINee fangirl also admits to shedding tears of joy when she saw lead rapper, lead dancer and sub-vocalist Key during his visit to Manila a few years ago.
The Megastar is also a mega mom, who loves bonding with her children over simple yet enjoyable activities. “We’re really mababaw (shallow). I’m really a homebody and believe it or not, people who know me know that I’m an introvert. I like being alone. So my family and I, thankfully, we love watching K-pop, movies, Netflix and a variety of series,” she enumerates. “We’re happy just being together. We would cook, eat, get into a food coma. Lately we’ve even started playing mahjong, after Frankie learned it from my Mama Helen [Gamboa’s] house.”
Sharon, who loved watching Cheers, Everybody Loves Raymond and Family Ties, among other shows, also shares that Golden Girls — a series about sassy women in their golden years, which came out in 1985 — remains her favorite. “I was 18 when I first saw this show, a
year before I would give birth to my eldest, KC. Golden Girls had just come out in BetaMax. We would rent the tapes and someone from the States would record them, and they’d make copies!” she says with a hint of sentimentality.
Today, though, movies and TV shows are no longer for her viewing pleasure alone. She lightheartedly shares how she and her 13-year-old son Miguel recently bonded by watching movies in the Fast and the Furious franchise — all nine of them at that time. “Nahilo ako (I got dizzy),” she shares with a chuckle. “But what can I do? I love what they love.”
And they love her, too!
Pop culture icon
Like many actresses of her stature, Sharon has grown into a fixture in pop culture. You won’t have to think long and hard to remember Sharon throwing out lines such as “I was never your partner. I’m just your wife,” in Madrasta, or “Gutay-gutay na’ng katawan ninyo, pati kaluluwa ninyo gutay-gutay na rin, (Your body is in tatters. Your soul is in tatters, too!)” in Pasan Ko ang Daigdig, to name a few.
And in recent years, thanks to the rising popularity of TikTok, Instagram Reels and other short form video platforms, Sharon’s “Bituing Walang Ningning” has made a comeback of sorts. Lest you be mistaken, the Megastar has not been banned from buffet parties, though you are likely to see her photo with a big red “X” on some buffet tables.
Instead, it’s a tongue-in-cheek reminder that her song’s line “Balutin mo ako,” which literally translates as “Wrap me up,” isn’t a go signal to wrap up food from the feast — at least until the party is over.
“My music producer and friend Eloisa [Matias] said, ‘Oh my God! That’s a classic. They shouldn’t be doing that!’ But for me, I think it’s different and funny! I enjoy it whenever someone posts something related to it or they show a picture of me at the buffet table with an X. If you’re in the consciousness of people, that’s lovely, I think,” she says.
While good-natured fun on social media doesn’t offend her, Sharon, who also has more than 1.5 million followers on Instagram, admits to being shocked whenever she sees bashers and trolls on the loose. In time though, she has learned to roll with the punches and simply focus on the positives. “Choose your battles. When I do chance upon something that’s mean, I just block or ignore it because I choose to focus on the positives. Why are you going to let someone anonymous ruin your life?”
And in doing so, Sharon also sheds social media’s extra baggage.
Makeup by Juan Sarte
Hair by Jeffrey Aromin
Styling by Carlos Tomawis and Nancy Arcega
Special thanks to Nancy Yang
