Thea Loise Señerez Tolentino (born August 13, 1996) is a Filipino actress known for her role as Ashley Mercado Alcantara in the

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

television drama '' The Half Sisters''. She started her career as one of the winners of the second season of ''

Protégé Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

'', a talent-search reality show created by

. Since then, she became a contract artist of GMA and began appearing on various dramas such as ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, Анна Каренина, p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial in ...

'', '' Pyra: Babaeng Apoy'', '' Hahamakin ang Lahat'' and '' Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko''. She also gained public attention for playing the villain sorcereress in ''Haplos'' (2017), which is her most villainous role up to date. Recently, she portrayed an

evil Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...

mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

in '' Madrasta'' (2019).

Early life

Thea Loise Señerez Tolentino was born and raised in Calamba, Laguna,

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Tolentino has two younger brothers, Terrence Louie and Tobbie. Prior to joining ''Protégé'', she stated that "she had never been separated from the family." ''

Crazy Little Thing Called Love "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury in 1979, the track is included on their 1980 album '' The Game'', and also appears on the band's compilation album '' Greatest Hits'' in 198 ...

'' and ''

Lie To Me ''Lie to Me'' (stylized as ''Lie to me*'') is an American crime drama television series created by Samuel Baum that aired on Fox from January 21, 2009, to January 31, 2011. In the show, Dr. Cal Lightman ( Tim Roth) and his colleagues in The ...

'' are one of her favorite films and TV series respectively. She's a self-proclaimed Jpop fan, most especially by the Johnny's idol group

Hey! Say! JUMP Hey! Say! JUMP (HSJ or JUMP) is an nine-member Japanese boy band under the Japanese talent agency Smile-Up (formerly known as Johnny & Associates). The group is split into two sub-groups: Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7. In Japan they sold more ...

. She had said in interviews before that she went back to Japan just to watch their concert and to see her crush

Ryosuke Yamada is a Japanese singer and actor. He is a member of Hey! Say! JUMP.Hey! Say! JUMP Pro ...

. Tolentino graduated from the

Trinity University of Asia Trinity University of Asia (formerly Trinity College of Quezon City), also known as TUA or simply Trinity, is a Private university, private, Protestant (Episcopal Church in the Philippines, Anglican / Episcopalian) affiliated research university ...

, where she took up Business Administration major in Public Administration.

Career

Tolentino auditioned in front of

Gina Alajar Regina Liguid Alatiit (born June 28, 1959), professionally known as Gina Alajar (), is a Filipino film and television actress and director. One of the most awarded actresses in Philippine cinema, she has won the Philippine movie grand slam, r ...

who turned out as her mentor in the entire run of the show. She sang "Torete" by Moonstar88 while playing a guitar. Eventually, Tolentino and Mark Kenneth Banez was chosen as one of the official protégés for that season and one of the four protégés of Gina Alajar. Tolentino said that she joined ''Protégé'' to hone her skills, to let the people know that she has a talent and to help her family. Mentor Gina helped her all throughout the show and Tolentino's shyness was gradually fading as the competition became tougher. The improvements in her performances during gala night was seen by the judges. Singing is considered as Tolentino's niche. Mikoy Morales, one of

Jolina Magdangal Maria Jolina Perez Magdangal (; born November 6, 1978) is a Filipino singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Philippine Pop Culture", she is credited for heavily inf ...

's protégés, worked with Tolentino by composing a song entitled "Butterfly". Morales and Tolentino sang the song and Mark Escueta, husband of Jolina Magdangal and one of the members of

Rivermaya Rivermaya is a Filipino alternative rock band. Formed in 1994, it is one of the several bands that spearheaded the 1990s Philippine alternative rock explosion. Rivermaya is currently composed of original members Mark Escueta and Nathan Azar ...

, helped in creating the music video of "Butterfly". At the end of the competition, Tolentino was announced as the "Ultimate Female Protégé" by the host, Dingdong Dantes. Tolentino's male counterpart in winning the competition is Jeric Gonzales, who is also from Calamba. Weeks after winning the reality search, Tolentino, along with co-winner Jeric Gonzales, were cast in the '' TGIS''' sequel '' Teen Gen''. However, the series ended its run and Tolentino moved on to take part as the scheming "Angel" in the 2013 resurrection of the series ''

''. In mid-2013, GMA Network announced that they have chosen her to play the lead in the new daytime drama '' Pyra: Ang Babaeng Apoy''. In 2014, Tolentino landed the lead character of Ashley as one of the main characters in '' The Half Sisters'', with

Barbie Forteza Barbara Ambas "Barbie" Forteza (born July 31, 1997) is a Filipino singer-actress and television personality. She dubbed as the ''Kapuso Primetime Princess''. Her critically acclaimed movies are ''Mariquina'' (2014), ''Laut'' (2016), ''Tuos'' ...

and

Andre Paras André Alonzo Forster Paras (born November 1, 1995) is a Filipino actor, model, dancer, singer, and former professional basketball player. He is the son of former PBA player Benjie Paras and brother of Kobe Paras. He is the best known for his ...

. This show garnered more extensions and positive ratings, even Tolentino's acting role as Ashley also gained praises as well. She played as a villain in the drama '' Once Again'', led by

Aljur Abrenica Aljur Mikael Guiang Abrenica (born March 24, 1990) is a Filipino actor, dancer, model and singer. He appeared on the fourth season of '' StarStruck''.. He was the former husband of Kyline Padilla not later also separated. Early and personal ...

and Janine Gutierrez. She also starred in various '' Maynila'' episodes. Finding her niche in portraying villain roles, Thea played the role of a Pheobe Ke in '' Hahamakin ang Lahat'' that ran from the last quarter of the year till the start of 2017. Right after ''Hahamakin ang Lahat'', she was cast in the primetime drama '' Destined to be Yours'', which was the first TV drama of the Phenomenal Love Team AlDub. She then starred in '' Haplos'' where she plays a vengeful witch Lucille, opposite the "Healer" character Angela played by

Sanya Lopez Shaira Lenn Osuna Roberto (born August 9, 1996), professionally known as Sanya Lopez (), is a Filipino actress known for her portrayal in the afternoon series, '' The Half Sisters'', as Lorna. In 2016, Lopez gained media attention and rose to ...

. Tolentino also played in the movie '' This Time I'll Be Sweeter'' with

and Ken Chan, and also had appearances in the sitcom '' Inday Will Always Love You'' along with Forteza, one of the show's protagonist. One of her latest roles was a transgender antagonist named Venus Hermosa, who was played by Jason Abalos during his role as Nathan Bravante/Catriona in the afternoon series '' Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko''. She has also appeared in numerous GMA television anthologies such as ''Maynila'', ''

Magpakailanman () is a Philippine television drama anthology series broadcast by GMA Network. Hosted by Mel Tiangco, it premiered on December 2, 2002. The series concluded on December 27, 2007. The series returned on November 17, 2012 on the network's Sabado ...

'' and '' Dear Uge'', among others, due to her impressive versatility in portraying various roles and characters. Her new project was in another villain role, where she portrayed a psycho murderer and cunning mother in '' Madrasta''. In 2021, Tolentino returns to the afternoon series '' Las Hermanas'' who played Minnie Manansala, one of three protagonists, Manansala sisters. In 2022, she also appeared in the action primetime series ''

Lolong Lolong (died 10 February 2013) was the largest crocodile ever held in captivity. He was a saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') measured at , making him one of the largest crocodiles ever measured from snout to tail, and weighing . In N ...

'' as the minor character Celia and played one of the four lead roles, Dahlia Morales-Chua in '' Mano Po Legacy: The Flower Sisters''. In 2024, Tolentino returns to the anti-heroine as Rosario 'Rose' Lirio / Terra who is the older half-sister of Amira (played by Elle Villanueva) in the afternoon drama revenge series '' Makiling''. In 2025, she played another antagonist role as Angela Torres, the evil stepsister of Ikit (played by

Herlene Budol Herlene Nicole Policarpio Budol (; born August 23, 1999), also known as "Hipon Girl" () or "Magandang Dilag" (), or "Binibining Marikit" (), is a Filipino model, comedian, actress, and beauty pageant titleholder. She was a co-host of the Phi ...

) in the afternoon comedy-drama series '' Binibining Marikit''.

Filmography

Television

Film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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Sparkle profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolentino, Thea 1996 births Living people People from Calamba, Laguna Tagalog actresses Actresses from Laguna (province) Filipino child actresses Filipino television actresses Reality show winners Protégé (TV series) participants GMA Network (company) people