Whenever celebrities are asked regarding their secret to their compelling performances, one of the common responses we got is by drawing emotions and inspirations from their own experiences. However, this seemingly doesn’t apply to everyone for there are artists who were put in the shoes of characters to whom they can’t completely relate with, such as these Kapamilya actresses who impeccably took on maternal roles despite being still single in real life.
Julia Montes
At 25 years old, Julia already starred as a mom in five teleseryes. She had her debut in maternal roles in the 2012 classic romance drama Walang Hanggan when she was only 17 and wherein her character Katerina got pregnant and gave birth in the middle of the series. It was succeeded by her second mother role in 2014 in Ikaw Lamang, wherein she had a son again with the character of her recurring loveteam Coco Martin.
A year after, she starred in the highly successful afternoon series Doble Kara playing as twins Kara and Sara, who both had their own daughters on the second chapter. Her next teleserye was Asintado, with her character Ana becoming a mom in the last few months of the series.
And upon her comeback after taking a hiatus for more than a year, the Daytime Drama Queen is currently melting our hearts with her portrayal of a courageous security officer-slash-selfless mom in the weekly drama 24/7.
Angelica Panganiban
From astonishing us with her portrayals of damsels in distress in the previous teleseryes she starred in, she eventually amazed us with her brilliant performances as moms in the 2015 incarnation of the iconic series Pangako Sa ‘Yo, wherein she played the role of Madam Claudia Buenavista, and in her latest television project Playhouse.
Despite not having a child yet, her character in Playhouse named Patty still did a great job in being a maternal figure to the orphaned son of her best friend after the latter died due to an accident. Her fight towards getting full custody of her godson might be taxing, but she and partner Marlon (Zanjoe Marudo) refused to surrender and succeeded in the end.
Erich Gonzalez
From portraying supporting roles in her first few years in showbiz, Erich’s biggest break finally came when she was chosen to top-bill the 2009 teleserye Katorse, wherein she absolutely impressed us with her depiction of Elena “Nene” Reyes, a small-town girl whose life turned upside down after she got pregnant at the tender age of 14.
However, it wasn’t actually the first time that she took on a maternal role for she already did it in Agimat: Ang Mga Alamat ni Ramon Revilla Presents: Tiagong Akyat, the TV adaptation of the 1973 Ramon Revilla Sr. film titled “Hulihin Si Tiagong Akyat” aired in 2009. She played the role of Cornelia, who had a son with the titular character (Gerald Anderson) named Martin.
It was succeeded in 2014 by her portrayal of Janine, a mistress with a six-year-old kid from her previous relationship in the Filipino remake of the hit Korean drama Two Wives.
In her last TV project, The Blood Sisters, wherein she astounded us with her versatility in playing three roles as triplets, her character Erika was a loving mom to young boy named Jolo who is her lovechild to former beau Emman (Patrick Garcia).
Her portrayal of a resilient student mom in the “Stroller Bag” episode of Maalaala Mo Kaya broadcast in 2017, and had a rerun on May 2, 2020, was also notable.
Bianca Manalo
Avid viewers of FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano were surely saddened when Bianca’s character, Bubbles, lost the baby in her womb after being accidentally shot during the political rally of Alyanna (Yassi Pressman).
But prior to this, she already took on maternal roles in two of the series she appeared in. First was in the 2015 JaDine-starrer On The Wings Of Love, wherein her character Tiffany had a son to her ex-lover, and second was in the 2016 fantasy drama My Super D, wherein she had a child to the titular character (Dominic Ochoa).
Kim Chiu
In her 14 years in the industry, Kim never failed to captivate us with her every portrayal, especially of maternal roles.
Her debut to this kind of role was in the 2009 romance drama Tayong Dalawa, wherein she bore recurring loveteam partner Gerald Anderson’s character JR a son named Adrian. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to live a happily ever after as a family for her character Audrey died of heart disease a few days after giving birth.
She then became a mom again in Ina, Kapatid, Anak that was broadcast in 2012, but only in the finale episode, wherein her character Celyn and its sister Margaux (Maja Salvador) were seen holding their respective babies during their joint baptism.
Next was in the 2014 drama Ikaw Lamang, as she played Isabelle, a haciendera forced to marry the arrogant heir Franco (Jake Cuenca) to whim she had two daughters named Natalia and Andrea.
And in her latest TV stint Love Thy Woman, Kim’s character Jia Wong is a mom who longs for her lovechild with David (Xian Lim), who they believe is already dead at birth. But, unbeknownst to her, her beloved nephew and the adoptive son of her half-sister Dana (Yam Concepcion) – Michael (JJ Quilantang) – is actually hers.
Yassi Pressman
Fresh from her remarkable gig in Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky Season 7, Yassi Pressman immediately landed her biggest break as a Kapamilya when she was hired to be the leading lady of Coco Martin in the long-running primetime action-drama series FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano. She embodied the gutsy news reporter Alyana Arevalo to whom the titular character Cardo Dalisay fell in love with. They got married and had a son fondly called Ricky Boy, who unfortunately died due to a terrorist attack.
Years after, they decided to adopt an adorable young girl named Letlet (Iyannah Sumalpong), who got orphaned after the demise of her mother.
Maja Salvador
Throughout her 17 years in showbiz, Maja enthralled us with the roles she portrayed which mostly became iconic. But just like everyone in this list, she also had her own share of maternal roles.
Her first take on being an on-screen Mama was in the 2012 series Ina, Kapatid, Anak, in which her character Margaux and her sister Celyn (Kim Chiu) were seen holding their respective babies in the finale episode while being baptized.
She once again became a mommy in her next teleserye The Legal Wife (2014), wherein she played the fierce mistress Nicole Esquivel who later on had a lovechild to the husband of the titular character Monica, impeccably portrayed by Angel Locsin.
And in her latest television project, The Killer Bride, she utterly amazed us with her depiction of Camila Dela Torre, a distraught mom who sought revenge against those people who made her life miserable. She used her adoptive daughter Emma (Janella Salvador), who later on revealed as her long-lost unica hija Vida, in this pursuit. She might be domineering and indifferent towards her, but she still became a great mother figure for her. Unfortunately, Camila was already dead when they all discovered her real connection with Emma.
Shaina Magdayao
From being a popular child star in the 90s up to the early 2000s, Shaina turned to become one of the most sought-after actresses to portray young maternal roles in teleseryes.
Among her notable depiction of moms on television are Rachel in Nathaniel (2015), Samantha in Asintado, and Aileen in The Haunted (2019). Compared to the other two, her stint as a mother in Asintado was only brief since her baby with Paulo Avelino’s character Gael immediately died.
Meanwhile in the 2019 daytime series Nang Ngumiti Ang Langit, she became the stepmother of the lead character Mikmik (Sophia Reola) when her character Grace got married to Michael (RK Bagatsing).
Her compelling and heart-rending portrayals in MMK episodes titled “Courageous Katie” and “Teddy Bear” should not be also overlooked.
Bela Padilla
Being in the business for over a decade, Bela has indeed become an all-around artist for she’s already able to explore the different facets of filmmaking. But it’s acting where she was first known.
In her teleserye debut as a Kapamilya in 2015, she immediately landed a significant role in the top-rating cop series FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano for she was chosen to portray Carmen, the sister-in-law of the titular character. She and Ador (Coco Martin) had a son who they named after the latter. Unfortunately, they weren’t to see him grow anymore after they got treacherously murdered in two different circumstances in two separate years.
Two years after, she once again starred in another primetime series titled My Dear Heart, wherein she took on the role of Clara, who stood as a loving mom to the baby adopted by her beau Jude (Zanjoe Marudo). It was later on found out that Heart (Heart Ramos) was actually his lovechild to his ex-girlfriend, making her the kid’s legal stepmother.
The Kapamilya actress then became a foster mom in the 2019 crime-suspense drama Sino Ang Maysala? Mea Culpa, as she played Juris, a lawyer who decided to keep the baby brought by the woman they ran into when she and her friends went on a roadtrip to Baguio. She and her boyfriend-turned-husband Drei (Tony Labrusca) both agreed to adopt it when they got married. She and their group later on found themselves in hot water after the real mom of the baby surfaced to find her child who got kidnapped upon giving birth to her. The truth still prevailed in the end and she got sent to a mental institution after getting deranged.
Angel Locsin
Ever since her transfer to ABS-CBN in 2007, Angel has appeared in a slew of well-loved teleseryes wherein she was able to further showcase her acting prowess, as well as her ability to take on mother roles.
The first time that we saw her as a mom was in her Primetime Bida debut Lobo (2008), wherein her half-werewolf, half-human character Lyka was seen pushing twin strollers with her husband Noah (Piolo Pascual), hinting that they would have twins, in the finale episode. The same thing happened in its sequel Imortal (2010), wherein it was only in the last episode wherein it was revealed that she had a daughter with her vampire-husband Mateo (John Lloyd Cruz).
And that daughter happened to be Malia (Kathryn Bernardo) in its third installment La Luna Sangre (2018). Reprising their roles as Lia and Mateo, they only appeared on its first week after they got killed during a bloody skirmish between their group La Liga Unida and Sandrino’s (Richard Gutierrez) bloodthirsty vampire henchmen.
She also went on to rivet us with her performance as the distressed wife Monica Santiago in the 2014 melodrama The Legal Wife, wherein her character and Jericho Rosales’ Adrian shared a son.
With their compelling portrayals of the maternal roles given to them on-screen, we’re certain that these actresses are going to be great moms in real life once their turns came. Still, Happy Mother’s Day!