Tessie Tomas

Tessie Tomas (born October 31, 1950) is a Filipino actress, copy writer, creative director, television host and stand-up comedian.

She made her screen debut in 1981 thru the gag show Champoy.

Dubbed as the second lady of television and the "Queen of Stand-up Comedy", she is cited as one of the pioneers of impersonation, famous for portraying the likes of Amanda Pineda, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Bonnie Buendia and Meldita aka Imelda Marcos.

In recognition of her contributions to the entertainment industry, she has won countless accloades including "Best Actress" at the Gawad Tanglaw Awards, "Entertainer of the Year" at the Aliw Award, Creative Guild's 'Hall of Fame ' award, "Best Actress" at the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, "Best Actress" at the QCinema International Film Festival, "Best Actress" at the Subic Bay International Film Festival and several nominations from Gawad Urian Awards and American Cable Awards.

Tomas is married to Dr. Roger Pullin, a marine biologist by profession.

She has one son, Robin, who is now based in New York City as a fashion designer.

Tomas first started doing stints as a radio voice talent at the age of 10, nost notably in Tiya Dely Magpayo’s radio show in the succeding years.

She then switched to advertising and worked at different firms in the next 10 years.

She was sent to London and New York for additional training and became the creative head of McCann-Erickson, the first Filipina creative director upon her return.

She first appeared in television through the gag show Champoy from 1981 to 1984.

She was praised for her effective impersonation of then famous weather man Amado Pineda of PAG-ASA.

She then embarked on doing live shows, notable for her performances as Meldita, Loida Dimagiba and Carmeling Lawiswis.

She gained further success as an actress in the 1988 film, A Dangerous Life.

Her performance was met with praises from critics and viewers, earning her nominations at the International Emmy Awards and American Cable Awards.

In her later years, she played several supporting roles in both film and television.

She earned praises from the critics and viewers for her portrayal as the "cane-wielding" Doña Cielo Fierro in ABS-CBN's hit television series, Dirty Linen (2023).

She was the first Filipino actress to score a nomination in the "Best Actress" category at the International Emmy Awards for her performance in the 1989 film, A Dangerous Life.

Tomas is celebrated as one of the "country’s most brilliant artists" and one of the greatest comedians of all time, noted for her "style and distinctive approach on comedy."

She began doing stints as a radio voice talent at the age of 10 and ultimately spent a decade working in the advertising industry at several companies before becoming the first Filipino creative director of McCann Erickson.

She became a resident performer at Music Museum, headlining successful shows as a standup comedy career throughout the 1990s.

Tomas returned to TV as main host of the morning talk show Teysi ng Tahanan and the weekly political satire Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata, playing the wealthy but eccentric Barbara Tengco.

Separada (for which she created the screenplay), Ploning, and 100 are some of her other critically acclaimed films.

Regarded as the original "Queen of Daytime TV", she is best-known for hosting some of the most successful TV programs in the Philippines such as Teysi ng Tahanan (1991), Compañero y Compañera (1997), and sitcoms including Onli in da Pilipins (1997), and Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata (1991).