The Making of a Drama Princess

More than 20 years ago, Judy Ann Santos's acting career got off to a rolling start and it went downhill before it went anywhere -- literally.

The eight-year-old girl wanted nothing more but to be like her idol Julie Vega, the child actress who made people cry in the film Mga Mata Ni Angelita. Why not? After all, she had Julie's round face, soulful black eyes, and the ability to cry on command. And, when she saw how, in a heart-wrenching scene where Vega, who played the blind girl Angelita, had to fall, trip, and roll pell-mell downhill, Judai proved she could do the same. In her home in Antipolo, she looked for a suitable hill and, for hours, did her own Angelita. "Kahit mag-isa ako noon, nakaka-acting ako. Ginugulong ko ang sarili ko sa bundok, kunwari bulag [din] ako."

It was her fondest dream to meet Julie Vega in the flesh, a dream that would be cut short by Vega's tragic death in May 1985 at the age of 16. She had followed Vega closely not because she aspired to be a star but simply because she felt she could do what Vega did onscreen -- and possibly get paid enough to pay her way to school. But nobody really believed Judai's play-acting and daydreaming would ever amount to anything.

It was by pure chance that she landed a role in Kaming Mga Ulila. Nobody planned for her to go and audition; she merely got dragged into it. "yung boarder namin, si Tita Linda, nabasa niya sa diyaryo yung auditions ng Regal. May dinala siya doon na kapitbahay namin. Sumama lang ako sa kanya kasi ihahatid niya ako sa bahay ng Tita ko dahil doon ako magbabakasyon. Tapos nakita lang ako ni Elwood Perez at ni Mother Lily. Tinanong nila si Tita Linda kung puwede na rin akong isama sa audition."

Since they were there, just inches away from landing her first role on TV, Tita Linda felt pressured to motivate the young Judy Ann and make her cry for the talent casters. She resorted to desperate measures. "Yung time na 'yun, yung mga binubulong-bulong sa akin ni Tita Linda, para maiyak ako, yung talagang kinabubuwisitan kong tao, kaya yung iyak ko, totoong-totoo!" Sure enough, she got the role.

Judy Ann is one actress who distinguished herself by her ability to cry on command. From television to the movies, her crying scenes are well-remembered.

It would be Ula, Ang Batang Gubat that would catapult her to fame. But she wasn't thinking that far ahead yet: at the time, Judy Ann had her eye on another prize -- the coveted title role in Ana Luna, a role that had a number of similarities with the one that made Julie Vega famous. It was also about an api-apihan little girl, just like Vega's Anna Liza. Judy Ann auditioned for the part, and was expecting to land it after receiving a tip that the role was already hers and that it was simply a matter of waiting. So she waited. But when days, then weeks, went by with no call, she started to worry. When news finally came out that another young actress had landed the role, Judy Ann was inconsolable. She learned of the news from a TV news broadcast. "Noon, yung TV pa namin, yung babatukan mo para maliwanag, tapos hahawakan mo yung antenna para makakuha ng signal bilang nasa Antipolo ka. Doon ko nalaman na may Ana Luna na, si Margarita Fuentes. Na-depress ako, nalungkot ako, umiyak ako."

Directors Emil Cruz and Argel Joseph, with whom she had worked in Kaming Mga Ulila, came to her rescue by promising to create a new show just for her. "Magiging batang gubat ka," they told her.

Ula, Ang Batang Gubat, which premiered on the old IBC-13 in 1988, was her first title role. Barely 10 years old when she was cast, she threw herself immediately into the role of the young female Tarzan. She asked that swinging vines be put up in their backyard, and would practice going back and forth, from one to the other, for hours each day. She supplemented that with a diet of infant cereal, believing it would make her stronger. "Nagpa-praktis ako sa dalawang baging na 'yon. Palipat-lipat ako," she laughs. "Tapos, since wala kaming pera, ang kinakain ko, Cerelac kasi ang paniwala ko n'ung bata ako, ang Cerelac, nakakatibay ng tuhod."

Judai not only found work but found a new family on the set of Ula. Because she longed for her parents (her mom had to work in Canada after her father left them), the cameramen and directors became instant father figures to her. Sometimes, during set breaks, she'd fall asleep on the lap of a cameraman. "Kaya noon, I'm always looking forward to taping dahil na-ba-baby ako."

At 14, she starred in an afternoon soap called Mara Clara. Though the show aired on ABS-CBN, it was produced by a blocktimer. In the broadcast lingo of that day, that meant being a second-class citizen; the prime spots, the biggest dressing rooms, the stellar billing, these were all reserved for the stars of network-produced shows. These included Claudine Baretto and her contemporaries on Ang TV. Judy Ann and co-star Gladys Reyes did not receive the royal treatment.

One incident made it very clear to Judy Ann exactly where she stood. It started in the morning, when she and Gladys were summoned to the studio for an early-morning call time at 8AM. ABS-CBN then had only two dressing rooms in the old building. When she and Gladys got back to their dressing room after taping, they found their things in the corridor outside, "kasi nandoon na yung mga taga-Ang TV na babae. Eh sikat na sikat yung Ang TV. Nung pumasok kami ni Gladys para mag-CR, biglang tumahimik, hanggang sa paglabas namin. Nung paglabas namin ng pintuan, biglang nagtawanan, so siyempre, ang feeling namin, kami yung pinagtatawanan."

But the worst was yet to come. When ABS-CBN threw a big party to celebrate Christmas and its 40th anniversary, the guests were asked to come in red. Judy Ann didn't have anything she considered suitable, neither did she have the money to have spend for one, so she asked her brother Jeffrey to accompany her to the Greenhills tiangge. She saw some cute cocktail dresses, but all of them were priced out of her reach. Finally, she saw a pair of velvety blue-violet leggings and a red-and-blue polo. She could afford it and still have money left over to buy a pair of high-heeled sandals. When she got to the Coconut Palace, she was refused entry by one of the talent coordinators because she wasn't appropriately dressed. "Sabi ko, may pula naman ako ah, 'yan, di ba pula 'yan? Tapos tinanong ako kung ano daw ba ang show ko sa ABS, sabi ko, Mara Clara po. Tinanong din kung invited daw ako, sabi ko, opo, may nag-page po sa akin."

ABS-CBN parties then were grand affairs with even grander raffle prizes. That evening, the raffle was being presided over by John Estrada and Randy Santiago. Judy Ann still remembers her ticket raffle number: 409 The prize at stake was a 10-cubic foot refrigerator. When her number was drawn, she was ecstatic, got up, and started walking toward the stage with her head held high. It took her a while to get there because the Mara Clara table was at the far end of the room. As she approached the stage, she heard John say, over the microphone, "Sino itong Judy Ann Santos? Ano'ng show nito?" Judy Ann recalls: "Siyempre, nung una, taas-noo ako, pero pag-akyat ko ng stage, bumababa na yung noo ko. Nahihiya na ako kasi parang hindi nila ako kilala, parang hindi nag-e-exist ang show ko. Awang-awa lang ako sa sarili ko." When she got back to her table, her fellow cast members hugged her tightly. "Parang na-hurt sila para sa akin."

At some point, Judy Ann felt this was a dead end road for her. She couldn't see how she could break through the phalanx of the network-supported stars and get accepted into the mainstream. She was proud that she was earning enough to send herself to school but didn't see a future beyond that. "Sabi ko pagnaka-ipon na, pupunta na lang ako sa Canada, kasama ng mommy ko."

But fate had other plans. Mara Clara, the movie, became a surprise hit. Suddenly, overnight it seemed, she became a box office force to reckon with. "Naalala ko, nag-mall tour kami ni Gladys para sa promo ng Mara Clara. Hindi kami makapaniwala. Standing room sa mga sinehan. Pinipilahan kami!" When she came home that night, she could not hold back her tears. She had turned into what she dreamed of becoming since her childhood: a modern-day version of Julie Vega.

ABS-CBN executives took notice; they did not realize they had a gem in their afternoon soap operas. Mara Clara was followed by one teleserye after the other, all of which built her name as an actress to reckon with. For a time, Judy Ann was tagged as the Soap Opera Princess. Her other notable soap series -- then and now -- include Esperanza, Judy Ann Drama Special, Basta't Kasama Kita, Sa Puso Ko Iingatan Ka, Krystala, Sa Piling Mo, Ysabella, the nurserye Habang May Buhay and George and Cecil.

Since then, while many of her contemporaries faded into showbiz oblivion, Judy Ann has done more than 60 movies, an unbroken string of box office hits.

Taken from Starstudio magazine: Judy Ann Santos special issue