IN the last few years, there have been many instances of unexpected intrusions of beauty in the life of Beauty Gonzales—actress, wife, art enthusiast and mother.
Ever since Gonzales threw herself into the local Big Brother reality TV show many years ago that opened many doors for her, life has never been more exciting, and much to her delight projects continue to come in one after another. Gonzales made the big move to GMA just about a year ago, where she was right away entrusted the lead character in the afternoon drama series Loving Miss Bridgette. This year saw her doing I Can See You, a miniseries that paired her with Dingdong Dantes, and this was followed by the very successful The Fake Life, which showed her pitting talents with A-lister Sid Lucero.
Now comes the third parcel of the Mano Po TV series, titled The Flower Sisters, produced by Regal Entertainment for GMA, which began airing this week. Gonzales takes on one of the two lead characters who are half sisters in this series about the intricacies and complexities of contemporary Filipino-Chinese families.
“I am really thankful that the roles being offered to me lately have been really amazing ones, and the projects I choose to accept involve actors who are always at the top of their game. I mean, take for instance, this one I’m doing right now, with me sharing stellar billing with Aiko Melendez. I have always had high regards for her and I’ve been secretly wishing we could be cast alongside each other. Then this new series happened. I am just grateful,” Gonzales said.
Growing up in the province of Negros in Central Philippines, Gonzales’s beauty was always her passport to her dream of being in the spotlight. She was crowned Miss Teen Philippines-Central Visayas when she was 15, and she also was part of Cebu’s Prettiest Teens before joining the Big Brother reality show, where she came in fourth in the final standings.
Gonzales’s star shone brightest when she was given her breakthrough role in ABS-CBN’s long-running and high-rating Kadenang Ginto. Her character Romina Mondragon became a household name for many viewers, and Gonzales started to solidify her fan base through the series.
Despite her busy schedule as an actress, Gonzales found love after she was “spotted” by businessman and art curator Norman Crisologo when she did a cover for the magazine FHM. The two hit it off really well and they toured Europe together and got married eventually. They have a beautiful daughter named Olivia, who is the core of Gonzales’s world these days.
“My life changed when I met Norman. Our lives changed when we had Olivia. Every single thing I do now is for her, for this family that we are raising, for our daughter’s future,” she shared.
And because her husband is an art curator, Gonzales has found herself appreciating the arts more. “I am actually drawn to the works of contemporary artists. I try to invest in a few of these works, but I am not a collector—not yet. I am not like others who buy exorbitantly priced branded bags and lavish signature clothes. When I have extra money, I buy art.”
Gonzales has previously said that she is already thinking of retirement in the next few years. “I truly and seriously plan to retire while I am still at my peak. I have programmed my life like that ever since I got married and became a mom. I am sure motherhood will open a lot of new doors and being a wife will unravel many more adventures and there will be other things to explore after I retire from being an actor.”
But for the meantime, Gonzales is enjoying what she is doing, and finding both happiness and fulfilment in acting, and in being a wife and a mother. There is truly a lot, lot more beyond the Beauty Gonzales that we have come to know.