There’s definitely no denying that she’s one of the most gorgeous and versatile actresses of her generation, who continues to be in-demand up to the present. However, from captivating us as one of the promising talents in the 1990s – the era when she began her acting career as a teen star – Sunshine Cruz has been among the top picks to portray as the mother of the main characters in both her television and film projects since the early 2000s.
As she’s about to warm our heart anew with her depiction of Kai Estrella, the selfless mom of lead protagonist Jia Wong (Kim Chiu) who will endure living with the legal family of her lover Adam Wong (Christopher de Leon) in the forthcoming afternoon soap opera Love Thy Woman, let’s recall her maternal roles in Kapamilya teleseryes through this feature.
Arguably, many of us aren’t aware that it was in 1992 when she had her debut in ABS-CBN via the series Valiente, wherein she took on the young version of veteran actress Glenda Garcia’s character Leona Braganza. It was succeeded by her appearance in the family drama Kapalaran, which was aired in 2002 on the ABS-CBN Regional Network Group in Cebu.
Her role as on-screen mom began when she took part in the 2004 fanstaserye Marina as Reyna Istah, the Queen of the Sea who stood as the titular character’s (Claudine Barretto) loving foster mom when she was sent by her mom to the sea.
She might not be a mom in her stint in the TV adaptation of Mars Ravelo’s Lastikman in 2007, but Sunshine indeed mesmerized us with her transformation into a supervillain named Mothra, who’s also known as the ex-beauty queen and interior decorator Susan Navarro.
The following year, she had a guest appearance in the action drama series Palos as Grazella Caranzo y Reviera, the deceased mother of the lead protagonist Giancarlo “Palos” Caranzo played by Jake Cuenca.
After taking a hiatus, she made a showbiz comeback in 2012 by appearing in the highly successful daytime drama Be Careful With My Heart as Alexandra Lim, the first wife of lead male protagonist Richard Lim (Richard Yap) who died in a plane crash.
2013 was indeed a busy year for the 42-year-old actress as she became part of two teleseryes, namely, Carlo J. Caparas’ Dugong Buhay and Jim Fernandez’s Galema, Anak ni Zuma, wherein she portrayed two different mother roles whose names were both Isabel.
A year after, she was tapped to play Lorraine Santos, the mother of Alex Gonzaga’s character Dianne in Pure Love.
In 2015, we truly admired her for being the genuinely kind Aunt Lucy to Janella Salvador’s character Sophie Cepeda in the inspirational daytime drama Oh My G!. It was then succeeded by her stint in the 2016 primetime romance series Dolce Amore as Alice Urtola, the long-lost affectionate mom of Liza Soberano’s character Serena Marchesa (or Monica Urtola).
Her most intense role to date was in the 2017 controversial revenge drama Wildflower, where she astonished us with her ferocity as Camia delos Santos-Cruz, the estranged mom of lead protagonist Lily Cruz (Maja Salvador).
Sunshine’s last teleserye appearance was just last year, through the weekly fantaserye Hiwaga ng Kambat where she played Melissa Enriquez-Baron, the mom of the main characters portrayed by young talented heartthrobs Edward Barber and Grae Fernandez.
For sure, you’re excited as us to see Sunshine Cruz in her newest maternal role in the much-awaited afternoon soap opera Love Thy Woman. Catch her on Kapamilya Gold weekdays starting February 10.