Gina Pareño (; born Geraldine Acthley, October 20, 1947) is a Filipino actress. She is referred to as the "Queen of Philippine Melodrama", being best known for her award-winning portrayals in films like '' Kubrador'', '' Serbis'' and '' Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo''. Pareño received international recognition for her portrayal of a bet collector in ''Kubrador'' (2006), receiving the Best Actress nods at the Osian Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema and at the Brussels International Independent Film Festival. Pareño also received critical acclaim at home for her performance in '' Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo'' (2006), winning Best Supporting Actress at the

FAMAS Award The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards, or simply the FAMAS Awards, are the annual honors given by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), an organization composed of writers and movie columnists, for achieveme ...

s, Film Academy of the Philippines Awards and

Metro Manila Film Festival The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is an annual film festival organized by the Metro Manila Development Authority and held nationwide in the Philippines. The festival, which runs from Christmas Day through New Year's Day and into first weeke ...

. For her work in ''Serbis'' (2008), she became the first Filipino actress to receive an award from the

Asian Film Awards The Asian Film Awards are presented annually by the Asian Film Awards Academy to recognise the excellence of the film professionals in the film industries of Asian cinema. History On January 29, 2007, Wilfred Wong, the Chairman of Hong Kon ...

. and from the Pacific Meridian International Film Festival. In a career spanning six decades, Pareño solidified her reputation as one of the Philippines' most gifted actresses. In 2010, she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th PMPC Star Awards for Movies. In 2011, Pareño was also recognized as an Artist of the Decade at the 34th Gawad Urian Awards. In 2021, she was honored with an Icon Award at the 4th EDDYS (Entertainment Editors’ Choice) Awards for her contributions to Philippine cinema.

Early life

Pareño was born to a

German American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

father, Bouffard Acthleyand a

Filipina Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino, English, or other Philippine languages. Despite formerly being subject to ...

mother, Patricia Dory Ocura. She had two sons, the eldest passed away and a daughter, Racquel Janica Pareño, who starred with her in “Pahimakas Ng Isang Ahente.” She grew up in Gagalangin,

Tondo, Manila Tondo is a district located in Manila, Philippines. It is the largest, in terms of area and population, of Manila's sixteen districts, with a census-estimated 654,220 people in 2020. It consists of two congressional districts. It is also the se ...

, and studied at Immaculate Conception Academy of Manila. She graduated from

Far Eastern University Far Eastern University (), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a Private university, private research non-sectarian university in Manila, Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Institute of Accounts, Business and ...

. In the 1960s, she earned selling banana cue at

Sampaguita Pictures Sampaguita Pictures was a Philippine film production company. It was named for the Philippine national flower, sampaguita. Though no longer functioning, the company's Sampaguita Compound remains in Quezon City. History Sampaguita Pictures was e ...

compound and was also a

tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a Human-powered transport, human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) Three-wheeler, three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for pa ...

driver.

Career

She started her career in the 1960s as an extra in several films and then later on became one of the artists of

. In 1964, she won in "Dance-O-Rama," contest hosted by Boots Anson-Roa. In 2006, she gained international recognition for her role in '' Kubrador'' (''The Bet Collector''), for which she won the Best Actress awards at the Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema and at the Brussels International Independent Film Festival. Pareño also won the

Metro Manila Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress The Metro Manila Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). It was first awarded at the 1st Metro Manila Film Festival ceremony, held in 1975; Nida B ...

as an outspoken and brash mother in the film '' Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo'' and then later on received accolades for the same film and category in the FAMAS Awards as well as the Film Academy of the Philippines Awards in that same year. Pareño and co-actress Jaclyn Jose were cited in the 61st Cannes Film Festival in 2008 for their performance in

Brillante Mendoza Brillante Mendoza (; born July 30, 1960), also known as Dante Mendoza, is a Filipino independent filmmaker. Mendoza is known one of the key members associated with the Philippine New Wave. Career Mendoza was born and raised in San Fernando, ...

's '' Serbis''. The film earned several recognitions including a Best Actress award for Pareño at the 6th Pacific Meridian International Film Festival and an Asian Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. In her

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

account, she has 1.7 million followers.

Political views

In 1986, Pareño campaigned for the reelection of

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

in the 1986 snap election.

Personal life

In the 1990s, she stayed for 18 months in the DARE Drug Rehabilitation Clinic,

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. In 2022, Pareño came out as part of the

LGBT community The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ people, LGBTQ individuals united by LGBTQ culture, a common culture and LGBTQ movements, social movements. These Community, comm ...

. In a July 17, 2022

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

interview with

Ogie Diaz Roger "Ogie" Diaz Pandaan (; born January 2, 1970) is a Filipino comedian, actor, entertainment reporter, and talent manager. He is popularly known as "''Pekto''", the name of his character in the long-running former television show '' Palibhasa ...

, Pareño revealed her intimate partnerhip with Bong Eraña - "Dra. Bong", former actress Nenita Vidal, b. 1940, who starred in the 50s for Puppy Love (1956) and Banda Uno. She further confided that Vidal was a great comfort in her in

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

struggle and finally bestowed her house upon demise.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

International awards

Philippine awards

ref:"ABS-CBN big winner at GMMSF Entertainment Awards"
. ''ABS-CBN News''. Retrieved May 21, 2014.

References

External links

*
article on Pareño with bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pareno, Gina 1947 births Living people ABS-CBN people Actresses from Manila Best Supporting Actress Asian Film Award winners Filipino film actresses Filipino people of American descent Filipino people of German descent Filipino women comedians GMA Network (company) people People from Pandacan Tagalog actresses TV5 Network people 20th-century Filipino actresses 21st-century Filipino actresses Filipino television actresses 21st-century Filipino LGBTQ people Filipino lesbian actresses Comedians from Manila