Gloria Romero

Gloria Romero (; born Gloria Anne Borrego Galla; December 16, 1933 – January 25, 2025) was an American-born Filipino actress. Regarded as the "Queen of Philippine Cinema", she has appeared in nearly 300 film and television productions throughout her career spanning seventy years. She was Philippines' highest paid movie star of the 1950s and became the biggest box-office draw of the period.

Romero began appearing as a background actor at the age of 16. She made her feature film debut with a secondary role in ''Madame X'' (1952) and won the FAMAS Award for Best Actress for her performance as a tobacco-smoking maiden in ''Dalagang Ilocana'' (1954). She attained stardom with leading roles in romantic comedy, remakes of pre-war musical films, and adaptations of comic strips, such as ''Monghita'' (1952), ''Cofradia'' (1953), ''Kurdapya'' (1954), ''Sino ang May Sala?'' (1957), ''Hong Kong Holiday'' (1957), ''Paru-Parong Bukid'', ''Alaalang Banal'' (both in 1958), ''Ikaw ang Aking Buhay'' (1959), and ''Iginuhit ng Tadhana'' (1965).

After parting ways with Sampaguita Pictures in mid-1960s, Romero became a freelancer and began playing more mature, darker, and morally ambiguous characters in ''Lipad, Darna Lipad!'' (1973), ''Condemned'' (1984), ''Saan Nagtatago ang Pag-ibig'' (1987), ''Nagbabagang Luha'' (1988), and ''Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit'' (1989). During this period, Romero started appearing in various television productions including in sitcom ''Palibhasa Lalake'' (1987) and ''Familia Zaragoza'' (1996). She received newfound attention and success in the 2000s for her roles in ''Tanging Yaman'' (2000), ''Bahay ni Lola'' (2001), ''Magnifico'' (2003), ''Beautiful Life'' (2004) and ''Fuchsia'' (2009), including ''Tarima'' (2010) and ''Rainbow's Sunset'' (2018), the latter being her last film appearance.

Romero was posthumously conferred with the Presidential Medal of Merit in 2025 and has been the recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award from government agencies and major award-giving bodies, including the Luna Awards in 2002, FAMAS, Gawad Urian (both in 2004), the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) in 2009 and Film Development Council of the Philippines in 2024. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts also honored her with the PAMAAS Gintong Bai in 2005 for her contributions to the preservation and development of Philippine arts and culture while the Philippine Postal Corporation honored Romero with a commemorative stamp in 2022 for dedicating her life and talent to the Filipino people. Provided by Wikipedia