Gina Pareño (Tagalog: [ˈdʒinɐ paˈrɛɲo]; born Geraldine Acthley, October 20, 1947) is a Filipino actress. She is referred to as the "Queen of Philippine Melodrama", being best known for her award-winning portrayals in films like Kubrador, Serbis and Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo.
Pareño received international recognition for her portrayal of a bet collector in Kubrador (2006), receiving the Best Actress nods at the Osian Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema and at the Brussels International Independent Film Festival.[1] Pareño also received critical acclaim at home for her performance in Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo (2006), winning Best Supporting Actress at the FAMAS Awards, Film Academy of the Philippines Awards and Metro Manila Film Festival.[1] For her work in Serbis (2008), she became the first Filipino actress to receive an award from the Asian Film Awards.[2] and from the Pacific Meridian International Film Festival.[3]
In a career spanning six decades, Pareno solidified her reputation as one of the Philippines' most gifted actresses.[4] In 2010, she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th PMPC Star Awards for Movies.[5] In 2011, Pareño was also recognized as an Artist of the Decade at the 34th Gawad Urian Awards.[6] In 2021, she was honored with an Icon Award at the 4th EDDYS (Entertainment Editors’ Choice) Awards for her contributions to Philippine cinema.[7]
Pareño was born to a German American father, Bouffard Acthleyand a Filipina mother, Patricia Dory Ocura.[8] She had two sons, the eldest passed away and a daughter, Racquel Janica Pareño, who starred with her in “Pahimakas Ng Isang Ahente.”[9]
She grew up in Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila, and studied at Immaculate Conception Academy of Manila. She graduated from Far Eastern University. In the 1960s, she earned selling banana cue at Sampaguita Pictures compound and was also a tricycle driver.
She started her career in the 1960s as an extra in several films and then later on became one of the artists of Sampaguita Pictures. In 1964, she won in "Dance-O-Rama," contest hosted by Boots Anson-Roa.
In 2006, she gained international recognition for her role in Kubrador (The Bet Collector), for which she won the Best Actress awards at the Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema and at the Brussels International Independent Film Festival. Pareño also won the Metro Manila Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress as an outspoken and brash mother in the movie Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo and then later on received accolades for the same film and category in the FAMAS Awards as well as the Film Academy of the Philippines Awards in that same year.
Pareño and co-actress Jaclyn Jose were cited in the 61st Cannes Film Festival in 2008 for their performance in Brillante Mendoza's Serbis.[10][11] The film earned several recognitions including a Best Actress award for Pareño at the 6th Pacific Meridian International Film Festival[12][13] and an Asian Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In her TikTok account, she has 1.7 million followers.[14]
In the 1990s, she stayed for 18 months in the DARE Drug Rehabilitation Clinic, Manila.
In 2022, Pareño came out as part of the LGBT community.[15]
In a July 17, 2022 YouTube interview with Ogie Diaz, Pareño revealed her intimate partnerhip with Bong Eraña - "Dra. Bong", former actress Nenita Vidal, b. 1940, who starred in the 50s for Puppy Love (1956) and Banda Uno. She further confided that Vidal was a great comfort in her in drug addiction struggle and finally bestowed her house upon demise.[16][17]
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