Gabriela Annjane Umali Cruz (; born August 17, 1996) and is professionally known as Ella Cruz, is a Filipino actress, product endorser, host, commercial & promotional model, and dancer. She played the title character in the 2012 fantasy drama Aryana.

Career

She started her career in

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

in 2006, her first project being ''

Majika ''Majika'' () is a 2006 Philippine television drama fantasy series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Mac Alejandre and Eric Quizon, it stars Angel Locsin and Dennis Trillo. It premiered on March 20, 2006 on the network's Telebabad line up. ...

''. Cruz moved to rival network,

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

in 2007. In 2009, she returned to

for ''

Panday Kids ''Carlo J. Caparas's Panday Kids'' (), or simply ''Panday Kids'', is a 2010 Philippine television drama fantasy series broadcast by GMA Network. The series is a television sequel to the 2009 film '' Ang Panday''. Directed by Mike Tuviera and Dom ...

'' and '' Ilumina''. She once again moved to ABS-CBN to appear in ''

Maalaala Mo Kaya ''Maalaala Mo Kaya'' (; formerly written as ''Maala-ala Mo Kaya...''; abbreviated as ''MMK''), also known as ''Memories'', is a Philippines, Philippine television drama anthology show broadcast by Kapamilya Channel under ABS-CBN Entertainment. ...

'', Cruz made another return to GMA Network in 2011, but later quickly moved to TV5 for ''Inday Wanda'', but officially transferred to ABS-CBN &

Star Magic ABS-CBN Center for Communication Arts, Inc., trade name, doing business as Star Magic (formerly known as ABS-CBN Talent Center), is the Talent agency, talent agency owned by ABS-CBN Corporation based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines t ...

as a contract artist. She was known for playing the teen character of

Cristine Reyes Ara Cristine Pascual Klenk (born February 5, 1989), known professionally as Cristine Reyes, is a Filipino actress, model, dancer and endorser. She is often called as the "Ultimate Star" by the local media for her acting prowess and popularity. ...

in the TV series '' Dahil Sa Pag-ibig''. Cruz was often paired with

Francis Magundayao Francis Elmer Cabalteja Magundayao (born May 14, 1999) is a Filipino actor and commercial model. He was first known as Iking in the series, ''Darna''. He is also known for portraying young Travis (adult version portrayed by Gerald Anderson) in ...

who played the teen

Piolo Pascual Piolo Jose Nonato Pascual (, born January 12, 1977) is a Filipino film and television actor, singer, model, and producer. Early life Piolo Jose Nonato Pascual was born on January 12, 1977, in Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center located in Malate ...

in the same TV series. She starred in '' Aryana'' as Philippines' first teen mermaid. She also played as a teen mom in ''

Bagito ''Bagito'' (lit. ''Novice'') is a 2014 Philippine teen drama television series based on the Wattpad series of the same title by Noreen Capili. Directed by Onat Diaz and Jojo A. Saguin, it is top-billed by Nash Aguas, Alexa Ilacad and Ella Cruz. ...

''. She starred in several shows on TV5 like ''#ParangNormal Activity'' and played the role of Avah Chen in TV5's ''Wattpad Presents: Avah Maldita (Oh! Aarte pa?)''. She also became a host in a Sunday variety show, '' Happy Truck HAPPinas''. Cruz made her last appearance as part of the Kapamilya Family in ''

Ipaglaban Mo ''Ipaglaban Mo!'' (), also known as ''Kapag Nasa Katwiran, Ipaglaban Mo!'' or ''Kapag May Katwiran... Ipaglaban Mo!'' was a Philippine television legal drama anthology show broadcast by Kapamilya Channel under ABS-CBN Entertainment, featuring dra ...

'' in 2016. She recently became popular when a video of her dancing to "

Twerk It Like Miley "Twerk It Like Miley" (officially on cover as #TwerkItLikeMiley) is a 2014 song by American singer Brandon Beal featuring Danish singer Christopher. The song produced by Danish DJ Hedegaard was released on 5 May 2014 on Universal Music Denmark a ...

" turned viral on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. In 2017, she got her very first leading role in her movie ''Fangirl, Fanboy'' with

Julian Trono Julian Marcus Daang Trono (born September 16, 1997) is a Filipino actor, dancer, choreographer and media personality. He is a contract artist of VIVA Artists Agency. Trono has since moved to VIVA Artist Agency and acts in a romantic pairing with ...

. Within the same year, she alongside Trono published a book, under VRJ Books Publishing, entitled ''Jump In'' where past photos and stories of their love team, JulianElla, can be found, as well as some of the poems that Trono made for her on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. Also, Cruz and her team Daphny Red and Eunice Creus were the representative in a Jakarta Indonesia Competition with South Korean girl group

Blackpink Blackpink (, commonly stylized in all caps or as BLɅϽKPIИK) is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, consisting of members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. The group debuted in August 2016 with their single album ''Square ...

. In 2019, she returned to the Kapamilya network and is currently appearing as Lisa on

Ang Probinsyano ''FPJ's Ang Probinsyano'' (lit. ''FPJ's The Provincial Man''; abbreviated as ''FPJAP'' and internationally known as ''Brothers'') is a 2015 Philippine action drama television series under ABS-CBN Entertainment replacing ''Nathaniel''. Based ...

. In 2022, she was cast to play the role of

Imee Marcos Maria Imelda Josefa Remedios "Imee" Romualdez Marcos (; born November 12, 1955) is a Filipina politician and former actress serving as a Senator since 2019. She is the daughter of Ferdinand Marcos and former first lady Imelda Marcos and the ol ...

in the upcoming film ''Maid in Malacañang'', a

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

telling an alternative account of the last 72 hours of the

Marcos family The Marcos family ( , , ) is a political family in the Philippines. They have established themselves in the country's politics, having established a political dynasty that traces its beginnings to the 1925 election of Mariano Marcos to the Philip ...

in the

Malacañang Palace Malacañang Palace ( fil, Palasyo ng Malakanyang, ; es, Palacio de Malacañán), officially known as Malacañan Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila distric ...

before their exile to Hawaii in the wake of the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

in 1986. The film is directed by Darryl Yap and produced by

Viva Films Viva Films is a Philippine film production company established under Viva Communications. It was founded on November 11, 1981, by Vic del Rosario Jr. History Veering away from the Sharon Cuneta-Gabby Concepcion tandem, Viva became home to qual ...

. During an interview with

The Philippine Star ''The Philippine Star'' (self-styled ''The Philippine STAR'') is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, ...

on July 2, 2022, in the context of the film, she described Philippine history as "'' tsismis''" (gossip), calling it "filtered" and "biased", drawing controversy from Filipinos on social media. She is currently a freelancer signed to

Viva Artists Agency Viva Communications Inc., formerly known as Viva Entertainment Inc. and simply Viva, is a Philippine media and entertainment company headquartered in Pasig City. It was founded on November 11, 1981, by Vic del Rosario and his sister Tess Cruz. ...

Filmography

Films

Awards and nominations

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Ella Living people Star Magic People from Bulacan Filipino film actresses Filipino television actresses Filipino child actresses GMA Network personalities ABS-CBN personalities TV5 (Philippine TV network) personalities Viva Artists Agency 1996 births