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| jillian ward with co-stsrs sofia pablo and althea ablan |
THE PROBLEM with little girls is they grow up so very, very fast. She was only 3 years old when she became a Little Miss Philippines contestant in “Eat Bulaga” then GMA got her as a child actress to play the role of Daldakina in “The Last Prince”. She was then launched to stardom at 4 years old, playing the title role in the remake of “Trudis Liit”. We remember her at the presscon then, so cute, bubbly and talkative.
Ten years have passed since then and she’s now 14 years old last February. She never left showbiz even during her so-called awkward stage as she’s always playing a role in soaps like “Poor Senorita”, “Sa Piling ni Nanay” and “Super Ma’am”, and she also became a mainstay in “Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko” which is now on its third year.
She now plays her first lead role in “Prima Donnas”, the new Afternoon Prime soap that will start airing on Monday to replace “Bihag”. At the presscon, the former child star is now unmistakably a young lady. Dalaga na! So what’s her role in “Prima Donnas”?
“Ako po si Donna Marie, the eldest sa triplets with Katrina Halili as our surrogate mother na nagbuntis sa amin,” she says. “My sisters are Althea Ablan as Donna Belle and Sofia Pablo as Donna Lyn. Magkakahiwa-hiwalay po kami. Marami po kaming mga hirap na pagdaraanan. Hindi naman alam, buhay pa ang tunay naming ama, si Wendell Ramos. Ako po, matitira sa bahay ng lola namin, si Chanda Romero as Lola Prima Rosa Claveria at aapi-apihin po ako roon ni Aiko Melendez at ng anak niya, si Elijah Alejo.”
Jillian is not only a good actress but also a good singer. She’s the total package, so to speak, so we’re not surprised that GMA Network is really taking good care of her as she has the potential to be a big star. Their director in “Prima Donna”, Gina Alajar, says she has no problem with her child stars when it comes to their dramatic scenes because they cry so easily.
“Ang problema lang,” says Gina, “malalabo ang mata nila. Kapag walang contact lens, wala nang makita. Kapag naka-contact lens naman, hindi na makaiyak, their tears won’t come out. So kapag crying scene na, tatanggalin muna yung contact lens para lumabas ang luha nila. Buti na lang si Chanda, tinuruan sila to use a lubricant sa contact lens nila para makaiyak sila. Si Jillian, ang bilis natuto, nakakaiyak na ngayon kahit may contact lens.”
We heard that eventually, a new character will be introduced in the show to play the leading man of Jillian. This is no other than Joaquin Domagoso, the good looking son of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, but they’re still fixing his schedule as his school will allow him to do tapings only on weekends.
