Bianca Umali Is GMA-7's Top Bet For Teen Stardom As 2015 Starts

BIANCA UMALI looks so pretty and no doubt she can act so a lot of entertainment writers are placing their bets on her as the teen star to watch as 2015 starts. Her full name is Maria Isadora Bianca Umali and she started as a TV commercial model, then GMA-7 got her as a child star in “Darna” when she was 9. She then joined the award-winning kiddie show “Tropang Potchi” and later acted in other soaps like “Kaya Kong Abutin ang Langit”, “Magic Palayok”, “Love & Lies”, “Unforgettable”. She was first paired with Miguel Tanfelix, her “Once Upon a Kiss” leading man, in the afternoon soap “Paroa, Sa Daigdig ni Mariposa”, followed by “Mga Basang Sisiw, “Nino”, “Ismol Family” and “Seasons of Love”.

Everyone knows she’s an orphan as her mom succumbed to cancer and her dad died of heart attack before she was 10. She’s raised by her grandparents. How did she spend the Christmas holidays? “Medyo malungkot po kasi naaalala ko ang parents ko,” she says. “Pero tuloy-tuloy po ang taping namin for ‘Once Upon a Kiss’, kaya trabaho pa rin with Direk Joyce Bernal. Tapos na naman ang buong first and second week.”

Did she give a gift to herself? “Bumili po ako ng bagong car para may magamit papunta sa locations kapag may taping at sa personal appearances. Necessity po, e.”

What’s her role in “Once Upon a Kiss”? “Ako po si Ella, anak mahirap. Mother ko si Manilyn Reynes and dad ko si Keempee de Leon, na namatay agad. Lola ko po si Nova Villa. Bata pa po, naging magkaibigan na kami ni Miguel kahit anak mayaman siya. Binigyan niya ako ng book of fairy tales at paulit-ulit ko yung binabasa. Matagal kaming hindi nagkita kasi sa Manila siya nag-aral. Nang maging teenagers kami, bumalik siya, pero mayabang na ang dating niya kaya, sa simula, naaantipatikuhan ako sa kanya. Pero may mangyayari po sa story, may makakatulog sa’min, parang fairy tale, at magic kiss lang ang makakagising sa kanya.”

Miguel and she want to thank GMA-7 for believing in their love team and giving them this big a project on primetime TV as “Once Upon a Kiss” starts airing tonight after “More than Words”. “Miguel and I promise na gagawin namin ang lahat para magustuhan ng viewers ang aming show at maging mataas lagi ang ratings,” she says.