Gianmatteo Vittorio Fernan Guidicelli (, born March 26, 1990), known professionally as Matteo Guidicelli, is a Filipino actor, model, singer and former
kart racer
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
.
Early life and career
Matteo Guidicelli was born in
Cebu City
Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...
. He is one of three children of Gianluca Guidicelli, an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
, and Glenna Fernan, a
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
. His maternal grandfather is the late Cebu Provincial Prosecutor Vicente “Inting” Fernan, cousin of then
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Marcelo Fernan
Marcelo "Celing" Briones Fernan (October 24, 1927 – July 11, 1999) was a Filipino lawyer and political figure. He is the only Filipino to have served as both Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and as Senate President. He is also the thi ...
making him Guidicelli's great-uncle.
Guidicelli initially became known through his racing career, having started at an early age of 11. He has won numerous awards including being a three-time winner of the Karter of the Year award.
Guidicelli took an interest in acting after taking workshops at the New York Academy. As soon as he came back to the Philippines, he took theatre courses at
Brent International School
Brent International School is an international co-educational day and boarding school associated with the Episcopal Church in the Philippines. It has campuses in different locations throughout the Philippines: Brent School Manila in Brgy. Mampl ...
and began to participate in plays. He also attended Columbia College in Chicago for two years to pursue a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in
performing arts
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
in the field of
musical theater
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...
.
Acting
Guidicelli's acting career started when he joined the fourth season of the teenage comedy
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
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 ...
's
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 ...
. The next year, he played supporting roles in the action fantasy show ''
Kung Fu Kids
Kung Fu Kids is a Philippine produced live-action fantasy series which tells the story of seven children of different personalities united by a prophecy. The series used the song Kung Fu Fighting on its series teaser. It aired from January 28 to ...
'' and in the
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
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 2010, he returned to ABS-CBN through the primetime fantasy television series ''
Agua Bendita
''Agua Bendita'' () is a 2010 Philippine
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* ...
'', where he was given a major role.
In 2011, Guidicelli became one of the hosts of the noon-time variety game show ''
Happy Yipee Yehey!
''Happy Yipee Yehey!'' is a Philippine noontime variety show that was broadcast by ABS-CBN and worldwide through The Filipino Channel.
'', and was cast to play Trevor Wu, one of
Kim Chiu
Kimberly Sue Yap Chiu (; born April 19, 1990), professionally known as Kim Chiu, is a Filipino actress, model, host, singer, dancer, and vlogger. She is currently managed by Star Magic, ABS-CBN's home-based talent agency.
Recognized as one o ...
's leading men in ''
My Binondo Girl
''My Binondo Girl'' () is a 2011 Philippine romantic comedy television drama. It is set to premiere from August 22, 2011 to January 20, 2012 replacing ''Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin'' on ABS-CBN's ''Primetime Bida'' evening block. a TV show shot in Manila and Hong Kong, and released internationally. 2011 also marked the year Guidicelli was cast in his first film, ''
Catch Me, I'm in Love
''Catch Me... I'm in Love'' is a 2011 Filipino romantic film starring Sarah Geronimo and Gerald Anderson. It was released on March 23, 2011. This was the first team-up of Anderson and Geronimo on the silver screen; both of them already worked in a ...
''.
He landed his first lead role in 2012, starring as the lovestruck Carlo in the successful indie film, ''
My Cactus Heart
''My Cactus Heart'' (stylized as ''#MyCactusHeart'') is a 2012 Filipino romantic comedy film directed by Enrico Santos, starring Maja Salvador, Matteo Guidicelli, and introducing Xian Lim.
It is the first independent film produced by Skylight Fi ...
''.
Apart from acting, Guidicelli also pursued a career in singing. In 2011,
Star Records
Star Music (stylized in lowercase as starmusic; formerly known as Star Records), is a record label in the Philippines owned and operated by media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation. It was formerly a separate company operating as a wholly owned su ...
released Guidicelli's first single "Someone Like You" as an Internet download. On January 17, 2016, he launched his first self-titled album ''Matteo Guidicelli'' under the same recording company.
He played a lead role in the romantic show ''
Dolce Amore
''Dolce Amore'' ( English: ''Sweet Love'') is a 2016 Philippine romantic drama television series directed by Mae Cruz-Alviar, Cathy Garcia-Molina and Richard Arellano, starring Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil. The series aired on ABS-CBN's ''Prime ...
'', which debuted on February 15, 2016.
After 13 years of being with Star Magic, Guidicelli signed a contract with Viva Artists Agency.
Military
Guidicelli is a
reservist
A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...
in the
Philippine Army
The Philippine Army (PA) ( Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of the Philippines''; in literal Spanish: ''Ejército de la Tierra de la Filipinas'') is the main, oldest and largest branch of the ...
as a
2nd Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The P ...
. He has undergone rigorous training with the elite Philippine
Scout ranger
The Scout Rangers, known officially as the First Scout Ranger Regiment,https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2011/11/26/751758/scout-rangers-legend-continues is a Philippine Army unit specializing in anti-guerrilla jungle warfare, raids, ambushes, c ...
Regiment. The AFP confirmed that he was treated the same way as any other trainee.
Personal life
In November 2019, Matteo got engaged to his long time girlfriend
Sarah Geronimo
Sarah Asher Tua Geronimo-Guidicelli (, , born July 25, 1988) is a Filipino singer, performer and actress. Geronimo rose to prominence after winning the television singing contest '' Star for a Night'' earning her a recording contract with Vi ...
; they got secretly married in a Christian Wedding Ceremony at Victory Church, The Fort past six in the evening, Thursday night on February 20, 2020. Senior Pastor Paulo Punzalan officiated the ceremony."Sarah and Matteo wed in a secret Protestant wedding at Victory Church, The Fort despite Divine 'intervention'". February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.