In her recent appearance in Magandang Buhay, wherein she celebrated her 54th birthday, multi-awarded veteran actress Maricel Soriano opened up about her unusual yet happy childhood. Unlike most kids today, she was able to experience and enjoy the outdoor and social games hopscotch (or piko), Chinese garter, and touch-the-color. She even recalled hurting one playmate while playing piko and going frantic over playing touch-the-color with the younger Jolina Magdangal and their other colleagues.
But things suddenly got different for her after the break-up of her parents as their life got extra harder, pushing her to make a tough decision at a very young age – to use her charm and talent to score a job and help their family make both ends meet.
“Gusto kong makatulong sa pamilya ko kasi wala kaming makain. Totoo ‘yon. Hindi ko kinakahiya ‘yon. Kasi wala kaming food on the table. Sabi ko sa ano mang maliit na way na magagawa ko sa edad na sais anyos [gagawin ko]. Nag-aaply talaga ako na mag-aartista ako,” she shared.
That’s when the course of Maricel’s life instantly change after being able to score her first acting role through the 1971 film “My Heart Belongs to Daddy,” in which she played little sister of acclaimed actor Tirso Cruz III and was able to work with Snooky Serna, who was among the most luminous young stars of that time.
It was said to be a cameo role as her screen presence only lasted for only 15 minutes, but it was already enough for her to show everyone her unmistakable prowess in acting, singing, and dancing. This paved her way for her to be included in other movies and television projects, such as “John en Marsha,” wherein she was able to act opposite the Comedy King Dolphy who she referred to as one of her greatest inspiration up to now, and the kiddie TV show Kaluskos Musmos.
Since then, she became one of the most sought-after actresses of her generation, not to mention one of the finest after raking in innumerable accolades and nominations from various award-giving bodies, making her among the most awarded and most respected artists in the country.
But apart from being a great actress, Maricel also amazed everyone with her unbelievable dancing and singing skills, which spawned to a number of bop songs being associated with her up to the present, recording two songs, and a sold-out concert in Araneta Coliseum and a series of live shows here and abroad in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Indeed, she wouldn’t be called the Diamond Star for nothing. Not only because of her brilliance and versatility as a multi-faceted performer, but of her inspiring story of fame and success as well, which proves that a genuine diamond is born out of pressure – pressure brought by the challenges and obstacles that came into her life that she was able to overcome in order to attain a magandang buhay!
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