If we ever have to relearn the alphabet again as adults, we won’t be using cute animals and fruit to help us remember our lessons. Instead, we’ll have some of the most beautiful faces and tightest bodies as mental cues!
Ditch recess and nap time;Â scroll down and learn your ABCs again, PeopleAsia style.
A – Carla Abellana: In Her PrimeÂ
Carla Abellana, one of GMA 7’s most prized and gifted actresses, delivered a memorable and sterling performance as Lally Agatep-Soriano, who belatedly discovers that her husband has been carrying an illicit affair, with a gay lover. Still reeling from the unprecedented success of My Husband’s Lover, Carla was quoted as saying that it is “the best soap opera I’ve ever done! I really enjoyed doing this: big in scope, fantastic material, great cast, wonderful acting moments, everything!â€
Her team-up with Tom Rodriguez in the said teleserye proved to be so sensational that Regal Films lost no time in signing up the two Kapuso stars to an upcoming romantic comedy film project, Let’s Take a Chance. Aside from her dramatic projects on TV, Carla takes a breather by honing her gift of gab and hosting skills via Sunday All-Stars, GMA 7’s Sunday noontime musical variety show. Possessing musical talents as well, Carla recently released the single “Kung Alam Ko Langâ€, a remake of the Toni Daya original which will be included in the album compilation of telenovela theme songs released by Universal Records.
Philippine showbiz chroniclers and film buffs certainly know that Carla is the granddaughter of veteran actress Delia Razon. Born Carla Angeline Reyes Abellana on June 12, 1986, she is the daughter of Rey “PJ†Abellana (former ’80s heartthrob of Anna Liza fame) and Rea Reyes.
“My lola does give me pointers on acting and other tricks of the trade. As she would always remind me, ‘If you love your career, your career will love you back’.â€
An alumna of De La Salle University, Carla has managed to tuck an AB Psychology degree (Cum Laude) under her multi-layered belt. Acting, however, was not her first profession.
Upon graduation, her bedimpled smile and cheerful disposition was initially put to test in the corporate world as Carla was formerly employed in Rockwell Land, as a human resources associate. I ask her inadvertently how she was able to transform her job description with ease.
“What ease? I had to adjust the hard way,†Carla fondly reminisces. “With just a few days of workshops in acting, dancing and singing, I was immediately placed in front of so many cameras, with a primetime soap (the Philippine remake of the Mexican telenovela Rosalinda) on my shoulders!â€
For her debut small screen venture via Rosalinda, Carla was bestowed the Best New Female TV Personality for 2010 award by the 24th PMPC Star Awards for TV. Carla’s remarkable performance in the “Punerarya†episode of Shake, Rattle and Roll XII, meanwhile, garnered for her the Best Performance and Best New Movie Actress awards in 2011 (from the Young Critics Circle for Film and the 27th PMPC Star Awards for Movies, respectively).
Yet as the proverbial adage goes, “All work and no play makes Jane a dull girl.†Certainly, our successful actress does not fit into this mold, as the showbiz grapevine knows that Carla is in a stable relationship with boyfriend Geoff Eigenmann.
“He understands my work and we talk about it all the time — the schedules, the scripts, the staff and crew, the artists and directors, down to the smallest details that only people in show business can understand.
“More than that, we can relate to each other. Geoff and I can certainly put ourselves in each other’s shoes because we know exactly how work makes us feel,†she happily concludes with a flash of her pearly whites. – GVC
B – Chris Banchero: Hunk on the Hard CourtÂ
Television aficionados, advertising executives and couch potatoes would most likely remember Chris Banchero as that suave, gorgeous hunk hooking up with actress-TV host Sam Pinto in a club – thanks to that catchy 36-second TV commercial.
Off camera and sans the klieg lights, however, Chris remains the low key and soft-spoken gentleman who has been playing basketball now for two years with the San Miguel Beermen.
“The team is affiliated with the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL). We travel around the different countries and play against the different teams of each country in the region.
“I therefore get to endorse San Mig Light, plus the chance to work with Sam. It was an entirely different ballgame compared to the real action on the hard court. Shooting that TVC was a nice, learning experience,†he happily reminisces. Aside from the premium beer brand (which is his flagship team in professional basketball), Chris is also the image model for Blackwater, Ever Bilena’s exclusive collection of fragrances for men.
“I’ll also be playing for Blackwater in the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League (PBA D-League). From there, I’ll be going then to the PBA. Hopefully, I can use my talent in sports (basketball) as a platform to do bigger things in the country, more than just being in the showbiz industry,†he hastens to add.
This 24-year-old Aquarian ticks the tape at 6’1†and is half-Filipino, half-Italian. Chris’ father hails from Genoa, Italy, while his mom traces her roots in Isabela. His family, however, is based in Pangasinan.
The eldest of two children, Chris is an alumnus of the Seattle Pacific University in Washington. His younger brother, incidentally, is in the film industry in New York City, having just graduated from Seattle University.
Upon learning that Chris would be staying in the Philippines for good, even up to the holidays, I couldn’t help but ask what his Christmas wish would be. Pausing for a while, Chris answers that he plans to spend it on one of the beautiful islands of the archipelago.
In conclusion, he also “hopes to help some of the kids here in the Philippines. A lot of them, after all, are less fortunate than I am.†Now, here is what I would call one dynamic hunk, who not only is equipped with good looks and a hot bod, but has an equally good heart beneath those firm pectorals. – GVC
C – Chesca Garcia-Kramer: Mother Knows Best
Usually cast as a villain because of her mestiza good looks and sophisticated air, Cheska has a softer side. And it’s one that has taken over her life as a woman, long after her years of tween stardom in shows like Ang TV and Gimik, among others.
Married to PBA star Doug Kramer of the Petron Blaze Boosters, Cheska is a doting mom and wife. Her cute brood of three – four year old Kendra, two year old Scarlet and seven month old Gavin –remains to be her source of pride and joy. She is the light of “Team Kramer†which continues to enthrall fans from all fronts – the courtside for Doug, TV and film for Cheska and the web for the kids.
Taking care of little kids is not an easy task, says celebrity mom Cheska Garcia. The former Us Girls host has been experiencing some physical changes. “I notice now with my third child and now that I’m 33, I get dizzy and I get tired fast. I have three kids and I have a son pa who’s still breastfeeding. Aside from that, I have other things to attend to,†Cheska said with a smile.
It is also for this reason that she has become passionate about women’s health having signed on as one of the ambassadors of a leading supplement that aims to quell iron deficiency in women. “You need iron because it carries oxygen from the lungs throughout the body,†she explains.
As the kids grow up and her schedule at home starts to free up, Cheska promises her fans that they will see more of her in the future. And as she grows stronger (both in her duties at home and in showbiz) Cheska is indeed poised for brighter things ahead. And she’s got her family to tag along with her, as well.
D – David Semerad: He’s Got Game
Towering at 6’5†and weighing 210 pounds, David is the older half of the hard court’s Semerad twins.
David bested Anthony in birth by five minutes. He is a power forward who sees himself as the more outgoing of the two. He does everything with Anthony. They even get sick together. (Although David supposedly gets sick two days earlier than Anthony, just because he’s the older twin.)
David and Anthony had wanted to pursue college basketball in the US at first, but that meant that they’d have to attend different colleges there, which was, of course, out of the question for the twins. So it was to be that they would play in the Philippines.
The chattier (and it seems) more mischievous David likes to rag on Anthony. He’s physically a little bigger than his twin after all. But beneath the laughter, jokes and high-fives, David exhibits a focus rarely seen in today’s young adults. At 21, he has organized his life around training, eating right and basketball.
He’d like to have a girlfriend, but right now, his priorities are school and, that’s right, basketball. David likes to go camping and fishing, especially on Christmas vacations. They usually spend it back home in Australia. It’s a luxury David doesn’t experience here in the Philippines, because he’s too busy training everyday.
David and Anthony enjoy quite the heartthrob status, and they are very in-demand models right now. In fact, the twins were judges for Miss Earth 2011 and they had a brief stint in last year’s Pinoy Big Brother Double Trouble Twist. As proof that women just can’t get enough of him, female fans have even asked David to sign his name on their body parts (some places naughtier than others).
David is learning to take fame in stride with the work he has to do to achieve his goals in basketball. He’s young, and he’s having the time of his life as he fulfills his dreams. — IO
E – Eric Tai: Sexy Beast
Eric Tai, aka “Eruption†or “The Beast,†is enjoying a sudden burst of fame in local entertainment. The buzz surrounding the towering Tai has merit. It’s not easy to ignore a tank of a professional rugby player who also sings, dances and raps on lunch-time variety shows and television ads.
Only a decade ago, however, he was set on a very different path. In an interview on ABS-CBN’s Ikaw Na!, Tai talked about his early days as a missionary in the Philippines, going from one house to another and preaching. He returned to Australia afterwards and took on several jobs, including dancing, security and production work. His break came about when he came back to the Philippines for vacation and was offered a job as a model.
Since then, Tai appeared in the television commercials of a number of famous brands such as Colt 45, Mang Inasal, Close Up, Greenwich, Touch Mobile, Wow Ulam, Pharmaton, and recently, Kit Kat, where he plays the role of “Dan, the Breakinator.†This popular character saw Tai performing live in recent basketball matches of the Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines.
In the same interview, he related how he was introduced to the Philippine Volcanoes team, the country’s national rugby union, through fellow model and rugby player Andrew Wolff. Tai provided added muscle to an already powerhouse team, which rarely suffered loss in both 15-a-side and seven-a-side rugby tournaments in Asia. Tai also took to the ramp where he was seen barely clad in Folded & Hung’s fashion shows and Cosmo’s “Bachelor Bash†last year, much to the delight of hundreds of cheering females.
A career in showbiz, at that point, was almost inevitable. After starting out as a judge in ABS-CBN’s noontime talent and variety program, Showtime, Tai moved up a notch in It’s Showtime last year when he was introduced as one of the hosts in its pilot episode.
His foray into film territory included a minor role in Shake, Rattle & Roll 14: The Invasion (2012) and, most recently, an indie movie titled Madaling Araw, Mahabang Gabi, top-billed by Angelica Panganiban and Glaiza de Castro. After being gone from the sport of rugby for almost two years, Tai announced his decision to return to the Philippine Volcanoes last August. Just this September, Tai and the team won the Plate Competition of the HSBC Thailand Rugby Sevens against the host country. As of this writing, they are bound for India to compete at the Mumbai Sevens. Not bad for a former missionary.
Editor’s note: These articles were first published in PeopleAsia’s October – November 2013 issue. Â
