Angel Aquino

Angelita Grace Velasquez Aquino (born February 7, 1973) is a Filipino actress, fashion model, and television personality.

Prominent in independent films, she has also worked on television shows of varying genres, and is known for her versatility and adaptability in portraying protagonists and villains.

She has received various accolades, including six Star Awards, two Golden Screen Awards, and a Gawad Urian.

Angelita Grace Velasquez Aquino was born on February 7, 1973, in Barobo, Surigao del Sur, to parents who are natives of Pampanga.

The eldest of four children, Aquino and her siblings were raised by their mother in Barangka, Marikina, where she attended elementary school.

Reluctant to disclose aspects of her personal life, Aquino has stated that she is estranged from her father who physically abused her mother, his second wife.

The family had limited financial means; they lived on income through their mother's home-based food business.

As a child, Aquino was involved in her mother's business to help make ends meet.

She has said that her mother always made them feel cared for and that she was driven and ingenious.

While attending St. Bridget School in Quezon City, Aquino was a recipient of the Tulong Dunong scholarship funded by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education.

After graduating from high school, she enrolled in the University of the Philippines Baguio, initially pursuing a bachelor's degree in mathematics.

She struggled academically and decided to switch to the mass communications program, where she majored in journalism.

At age nineteen, she was spotted at a shopping mall by filmmaker Jeffrey Jeturian, who arranged for her to audition for talent agents.

In 1993, she began a modelling career and worked with designers such as Peter Lim and Jojie Lloren.

She was featured in several television and print advertisements for products, and became the face of hair care brand Pantene.

A journalism graduate of the University of the Philippines Baguio, Aquino began her career as a model, before making her film debut with a minor role in the action drama Mumbaki (1996).

Aquino began her acting career with a minor role in the action drama Mumbaki (1996), where she was cast as the heiress of a Banaue tribe.

She found the experience gratifying and has said that she considered the profession her "true calling".

The following year, she featured alongside Corin Nemec, John Newton, and Alexis Arquette in the poorly received military action drama Goodbye America (1997).

In 1998, 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.

She then appeared in supporting roles in small-scale features, including Serafin Geronimo: The Criminal of Barrio Concepcion (1998), Bata, Bata... Pa'no Ka Ginawa? (1998), and Isusumbong Kita sa Tatay Ko (1999).

She made her first television appearance as a presenter of the lifestyle show F! (1999).

In her television debut, Aquino served as one of the presenters for ABS-CBN network's lifestyle magazine show F! (1999), which aired until 2006.

She won Best Lifestyle Show Host at the Star Awards for Television for her work.

Her breakthrough came in the erotic drama Laro sa Baga (2000), which earned her a Star Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Aquino had a more prominent role in Olivia Lamasan's drama Minsan, Minahal Kita (2000) alongside Sharon Cuneta, Richard Gomez, and Edu Manzano.

In the film, she played Gomez's jealous and controlling wife, a role she deemed her first villainous part.

Nestor Torre Jr.. of the Philippine Daily Inquirer described her portrayal as "merely serviceable", but believed the antagonistic character changed people's perception of her, as she had previously played "sweet-and-lovely roles".

Chito S. Roño cast Aquino as a woman who begins a sexual relationship with her godson in the erotic drama Laro sa Baga (2000), the script of which she found risky but necessary for artistic growth.

She considered her part to be challenging and an embodiment of "physical and emotional transformation".

The film required her to perform explicit sex scenes, including one in which she had to grab the genitals of co-star Carlos Morales.

Aquino's performance garnered critical acclaim; the Philippine Daily Inquirer's Pablo Tariman described her portrayal as "superbly" acted and one of the "most riveting" in the film.

Lito Zulueta, also from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, praised her "sensitive" delivery.

She won Best Supporting Actress at the Star Awards for Movies.

On stage, Aquino has performed in local theater productions of The Vagina Monologues (2002) and Closer (2013).

Described by various media publications as among the most beautiful and finest Filipino actresses of her generation, Aquino has been involved in charitable work and causes, including education, gender equality, and women's rights.

She gained wider recognition for starring in Crying Ladies (2003) and Donsol (2006), which were the Philippine submissions for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards.

Aquino established herself as a leading actress playing villainous parts in the drama series Magkaribal (2010), Maria la del Barrio (2011), Apoy sa Dagat (2013), And I Love You So (2015), Till I Met You (2016), and Dirty Linen (2023).

Among her notable performances are a widowed mother in the horror drama Amorosa (2012), a military intelligence officer in the action series Ang Probinsyano (2017), and a middle-aged woman smitten by a younger man in the erotic comedy Glorious (2018).

Aquino received two Gawad Urian nominations in the same year for her roles as a transgender woman in the drama film Porno (2013) and a woman desired by a teenage girl in the coming-of-age drama Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita (2013), winning Best Supporting Actress for the latter.