Celia Díaz-Laurel (1928 - 2021) was a Filipina

theatre actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

, singer and painter. She was the wife of former

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Salvador Laurel Salvador Roman Hidalgo Laurel (, November 18, 1928 – January 27, 2004), also known as Doy Laurel, was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the vice president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992 under President Corazon Aquino and ...

. She was also the grandmother of actress

Denise Laurel Denise María Sanz Laurel (born September 30, 1987), better known as Denise Laurel, is a Filipino actress and singer. She is half-Spanish and half-Filipino. She is a granddaughter of former vice president Salvador Laurel and great-granddaughte ...

Early life and career

''Maria Luz Celia Teresita Díaz y Franco'' was born on May 29, 1928 in

Talisay, Negros Occidental Talisay, officially the City of Talisay ( hil, Dakbanwa sang Talisay; ceb, Dakbayan sa Talisay; fil, Lungsod ng Talisay), is a 4th class component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a ...

to Anselmo Sison Diaz and Concepcion Gonzalez Franco. She was the youngest of six children. Her family moved to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

when she was five. She studied at the Assumption Convent, where she was first exposed to stage performance. She studied Fine Arts at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

where she was mentored by National Artists for Visual Arts

Fernando Amorsolo Fernando Cueto Amorsolo (born Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto; May 30, 1892 – April 24, 1972) was a portraitist and painter of rural Philippine landscapes. Nicknamed the "Grand Old Man of Philippine Art," he was the first-ever to be recognized as a N ...

and

Guillermo Tolentino Guillermo Estrella Tolentino (July 24, 1890 – July 12, 1976) was a Filipino sculptor and professor of the University of the Philippines. He was designated as a National Artist of the Philippines for Sculpture in 1973, three years before his dea ...

. She then went on to pursue a Masters in Fine Arts at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, joining her husband Salvador “Doy” Laurel (who was later to become Vice-President of the Philippines) who was working on his master’s degree in Law at the same university at that time. Diaz-Laurel later detoured to the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

following an impressive interview conducted by a school official. Celia has written several books (one dedicated to her husband

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

, and the other to her grandfather Domingo Franco, one of 13 martyrs executed at Bagumbayan). She became an accomplished painter with a book chronicling her many works, stage actress, and later in life, a production and costume set designer.

Death

Celia died on July 12, 2021 due to complications from a stroke. She is survived by her children, Susana, Celine, Victor, David, Lorenzo, and Marissa, and 19 grandchildren. She was 93 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz Laurel, Celia 1928 births 2021 deaths Filipino actresses Filipino singers University of the Philippines alumni Actresses from Negros Occidental