1. Angelita Grace Velasquez Aquino was born on February 7,1973 and is a Filipino actress, fashion model, and television personality.
85 Facts About Angel Aquino
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Angel Aquino has received various accolades, including six Star Awards, two Golden Screen Awards, and a Gawad Urian.
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Angel Aquino's breakthrough came in the erotic drama Laro sa Baga, which earned her a Star Award for Best Supporting Actress.
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Angel Aquino gained wider recognition for starring in Crying Ladies and Donsol, which were the Philippine submissions for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards.
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Angel Aquino established herself as a leading actress playing villainous parts in the drama series Magkaribal, Maria la del Barrio, Apoy sa Dagat, And I Love You So, Till I Met You, and Dirty Linen.
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Angel Aquino received two Gawad Urian nominations in the same year for her roles as a transgender woman in the drama film Porno and a woman desired by a teenage girl in the coming-of-age drama Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita, winning Best Supporting Actress for the latter.
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On stage, Angel Aquino has performed in local theater productions of The Vagina Monologues and Closer.
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Angelita Grace Velasquez Aquino was born on February 7,1973, in Barobo, Surigao del Sur, to parents who are natives of Pampanga.
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Reluctant to disclose aspects of her personal life, Angel Aquino has stated that she is estranged from her father who physically abused her mother, his second wife.
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Angel Aquino has said that her mother always made them feel cared for and that she was driven and ingenious.
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Angel Aquino struggled academically and decided to switch to the mass communications program, where she majored in journalism.
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Angel Aquino was featured in several television and print advertisements for products, and became the face of hair care brand Pantene.
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Angel Aquino began her acting career with a minor role in the action drama Mumbaki, where she was cast as the heiress of a Banaue tribe.
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Angel Aquino found the experience gratifying and has said that she considered the profession her "true calling".
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In 1998, Angel Aquino portrayed a woman who has an affair with a married professor and later develops a relationship with his son in Jeturian's directorial debut, Sana Pag-ibig Na.
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Angel Aquino then appeared in supporting roles in small-scale features, including Serafin Geronimo: The Criminal of Barrio Concepcion, Bata, Bata.
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Angel Aquino won Best Lifestyle Show Host at the Star Awards for Television for her work.
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Angel Aquino had a more prominent role in Olivia Lamasan's drama Minsan, Minahal Kita alongside Sharon Cuneta, Richard Gomez, and Edu Manzano.
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Angel Aquino considered her part to be challenging and an embodiment of "physical and emotional transformation".
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Angel Aquino's performance garnered critical acclaim; the Philippine Daily Inquirers Pablo Tariman described her portrayal as "superbly" acted and one of the "most riveting" in the film.
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Angel Aquino won Best Supporting Actress at the Star Awards for Movies.
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Angel Aquino appeared in supporting parts in the parody fantasy series Marinara and the drama series Hiram.
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Angel Aquino next starred as the widow of Raymond Bagatsing's character in Gil Portes's Beautiful Life, a drama about the grief-stricken family members of casualties from a terrorist attack.
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Angel Aquino's performance was praised by a reviewer from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, who considered her as one of the notable aspects of the production.
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Angel Aquino was a guest performer in the Encantadia prequel fantasy series Etheria, playing an ancient goddess.
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Angel Aquino reprised the role in the franchise's final installment Encantadia: Pag-ibig Hanggang Wakas in 2006.
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Philip Cu-Unjieng of The Philippine Star found Angel Aquino to be a "luminous screen presence", while Butch Francisco thought her portrayal was palpable and convincing.
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Angel Aquino won a Best Actress award at the 2006 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.
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Angel Aquino next starred alongside Cherry Pie Picache and Juliana Palermo in Brillante Mendoza's drama Summer Heat, about a dysfunctional family with a controlling patriarch.
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Angel Aquino received a Gawad Urian nomination for Best Actress.
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In 2007, Angel Aquino portrayed a woman sending anonymous letters to Christopher de Leon's character in Eddie Romero's final directorial effort, Faces of Love, which premiered at the 2007 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.
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In 2008, Angel Aquino starred in the short film God Only Knows directed by Mark Reyes.
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Angel Aquino featured in the supernatural fantasy series Lobo as a werewolf's mortal wife.
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Angel Aquino described her interpretation of Cruz as someone "always upset with everyone, always screaming at the top of her lungs", drawing inspiration from Agot Isidro's character in the television series Tayong Dalawa.
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Angel Aquino found herself challenged by the role and said that working on the project was a "daunting task", though she admitted that her personal experience working in the fashion industry drew her to the part.
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Angel Aquino received a Star Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series nomination, and was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category at the Asian Television Awards for the role.
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In 2012, Aquino featured in R D Alba's dramatic thriller Biktima, portraying a journalist who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after being abducted.
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Angel Aquino then played the lead role of a woman who is forced to care for her two sons after a car accident in the psychological horror Amorosa, directed by Topel Lee.
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Angel Aquino, who has two children of her own, was drawn to the idea of playing a selfless mother and believed certain aspects of her character's life mirrored her own.
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Angel Aquino received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for the coming-of-age drama Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita, in which she played a woman desired by a teenage girl.
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Angel Aquino's performance won the Best Supporting Actress award from the Gawad Urian, the Star Awards, the Golden Screen Awards, and the Gawad Tanglaw.
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Angel Aquino added, "Just the idea, it's hard to swallow for me [because I am not a man]".
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Also in 2013, Angel Aquino again played the antagonist in the suspense drama series Apoy sa Dagat, prompting a journalist for ABS-CBNnews.
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Angel Aquino asserted that her ventures as a television presenter allowed viewers to see her in a different persona.
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Angel Aquino won the Golden Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and received a Star Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
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Angel Aquino then starred with Joel Torre, Gerald Anderson, and Piolo Pascual in Erik Matti's crime thriller On the Job.
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Angel Aquino returned to the stage in the Red Turnip Theater's revival of Patrick Marber's play Closer.
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Angel Aquino found it in the drama series Honesto, which re-teamed her with Torre.
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Angel Aquino described her character as comical and unpolished: "I am enjoying it so much, my bangs, my colored hair".
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Angel Aquino began 2014 by appearing in Ikaw Lamang, a period drama series set in a fictional plantation in 1960s Bacolod, in which she played Rebecca Marivelez, a submissive and unhappy wife of a politician.
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Angel Aquino had a supporting role in the teen drama series Bagito, starring Nash Aguas and Ella Cruz.
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Angel Aquino returned to playing a villainous part in And I Love You So, a family drama series co-starring Dimples Romana, Julia Barretto, and Miles Ocampo.
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Angel Aquino portrayed Katrina Cervantes, a woman who abandons her family and later returns to make amends.
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Angel Aquino was unable to sympathize with Cervantes, as she could neither understand nor respect her character's actions.
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The critic Maridol Ranoa-Bismark described the show as conventional, but praised Angel Aquino's portrayal, writing that she "shifts from pathetic to furious and back with such passion, you want to let her carry you away in her torrent of emotions again and again".
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Paolo Abad from Rappler called the film "mesmerizing" and thought Angel Aquino's role was "eclectic".
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Angel Aquino next joined the cast of the action drama series Ang Probinsyano, in which she starred as the military intelligence officer Brig.
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Angel Aquino considered her character as the "strongest, toughest, most courageous woman I had the honor of being", adding that the role helped ingrain morality and patriotism in her.
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Angel Aquino was reluctant to accept the film producer Deo Endrinal's offer to star in the 2018 erotic romance Glorious, but agreed after the director Connie Macatuno convinced her to take the role.
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Angel Aquino took on the challenge to present a positive image for women, saying that "you should never be ashamed of your body or your age".
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Reviewers for Cosmopolitan Philippines found the film to be "sex-positive", and commended Angel Aquino for being "utterly believable as a smitten middle-aged lady".
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In 2019, Angel Aquino starred with Nar Cabico in the independent film Akin Ang Korona, a comedy that follows the making of a reality television series.
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Angel Aquino played the show's presenter, and based her character's approach on the journalists Korina Sanchez and Jessica Soho.
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Angel Aquino had a guest role in an episode of the anthology series Maalaala Mo Kaya, in which she was paired with Adrian Alandy, as high-school classmates who reconnect later as adults.
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Angel Aquino then reprised her role in the six-part HBO Go miniseries On the Job, a television sequel of the 2013 film of the same name.
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Two years later, Angel Aquino starred as Feliz Fiero in the revenge drama series Dirty Linen.
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Under Dreamscape Entertainment, Angel Aquino portrayed a villainous fashion designer in the drama series Fit Check: Confessions of an Ukay Queen, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on July 6,2023.
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Angel Aquino played Tanya, a tough but reckless mother to twin daughters Sky and Luna ; she loses Luna to suicide but suspects foul play.
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Angel Aquino then took on a brief role in Petersen Vargas's dark comedy A Very Good Girl, featuring Kathryn Bernardo and Dolly de Leon.
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Angel Aquino has been regarded by the media as one of the finest Filipino actresses of her generation.
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Angel Aquino enjoys the variety of starring in both independent and mainstream productions.
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In 2006, Amy Cortez of The Manila Times observed that early in her career, Angel Aquino had a preference for "meatier roles from independent filmmakers rather than take on insignificant offers from mainstream producers".
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Angel Aquino later emerged as "one of the most reliable and sought after personalities in showbiz" after starring in several successful film and television projects.
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Angel Aquino is particularly known for her versatility and adaptability in playing protagonists and antagonists.
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Angel Aquino specializes in portraying emotionally grueling villainous characters, as well as submissive women who suppress powerful emotions.
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Angel Aquino has named Cherie Gil and Sharon Cuneta as two of her favorite and most influential actresses.
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Angel Aquino considers Gil as her inspiration in playing antagonists.
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Angel Aquino has been cited as one of the most beautiful faces in the Philippine entertainment industry by many sources.
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Angel Aquino has advocated for children's education and is actively involved with Juan Day, an initiative which raises money to help provide educational supplies to students in rural areas and from disadvantaged families.
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Angel Aquino collaborated with ABS-CBN News Channel and the Commission on Human Rights Philippines for Kinse, a program that showcased a collection of short films exploring all forms of human rights violations.
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Angel Aquino was in a relationship with Ian Bernardez, whom she met while attending the University of the Philippines Baguio.
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The family lived in Baguio for a time, during which Angel Aquino was completing her degree and filming Mumbaki.
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In 2007, Angel Aquino began dating actor and television presenter Lui Villaruz after they had met while filming a segment for the latter's show Magandang Umaga, Pilipinas.
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Angel Aquino received a Star Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performances in Laro sa Baga and Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita.
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Angel Aquino has received double nominations at the Gawad Urian Awards in the same year, similar to performers such as John Lloyd Cruz, Anne Curtis, and Eddie Garcia.