- Angelu de Leon
Maria Luisa Angela Martinez de Leon, born on
22 August 1979 to Luis and Flora. The youngest of three to Christine and Francis. A mother to Maria Louise Nicole and Maria Loise Margareth. One of the top teenage actresses of her time, she was atthe height of her popularity back in the mid & late 90's.She was discovered by Mr. Johnny Manahan for a kiddie gag show
Ang TV and eventually asked to sign a contract forViva . Then the rest was history. After barely a year in Ang TV, she transferred to GMA to do a sitcom called "Ober Da Bakod " withJanno Gibbs and Anjo Yllana.Then an enormous break came in her way, a teen oriented show meant for her and a special gift from Viva. "TGIS" or "Thank God It's Sabado". There she worked with a practically new cast including her love team Bobby Andrews, Michael Flores, Red Sternberg, Raven Villanueva, and
Onemig Bondoc . And their fame soared high! She was considered as the movie princess of the 90s. She was pitted against Judy Ann Santos and Claudine Barretto in terms of popularity.In between tapings, they did a couple of movies "Takot Ka Ba Sa Dilim" and "Where D Girls R" which became big hits after playing bit roles with some films produced by the company.
Angelu and Bobby's team-up stirred the viewers' hearts making them the hottest love team that beat
Judy Ann Santos and Wowie de Guzman. A soap opera lead by her "Ikaw Na Sana" followed, which only sparked their newfound fame. Launching movie "Laging Naroon Ka" came after and a string of flicks that were equally as successful as the first one. "Wala Na Bang Pag-ibig", "Ikaw na Sana The Movie" and "Ang Lahat Ng Ito'y Para Sa'yo". The latter one proved that Angelu was not just another pretty face. She can act more than the people expected her.Her popularity as the top teen actress of her time came to a halt when she got pregnant in early 1998 to action star Joko Diaz, It was a very controversial news because she was at the peak of her career at that time.
She made a successful comeback via her coming of age role and acting vehicle "BULAKLAK ng MAYNILA" where she got a BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS AWARD.
After that, she did more award winning movies and more meaty performance such as BUKAS NA LANG KITA MAMAHALIN (where she was nominated as FAP Best ACTRESS), ABANDONADA (with Maricel Soriano and Edu Manzano), XXX.COM (with JULIANA PALERMO), AISHTE IMASU (with her former teen rival JUDY ANN SANTOS)and recently PAUPAHAN (with SNOOKY SERNA and GLORIA ROMERO)
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.