Gloria Romero and Her 10 Most Memorable Performances

(SPOT.ph) Gloria Romero had the kind of acting career only a rare few have been blessed with: After earning acclaim for her early performances as a young star (in movies like Dalagang Ilocana where she played the spunky tobacco farmer Manang Biday, one of her most iconic roles), she would have a very good run decades later, during her senior years, when most actresses would be relegated to the sidelines or worse, never get offered roles at all.

But then Romero—whose career spanned six decades—was a movie queen through and through, and therefore was often top of mind for producers and directors when casting for their films. Very early on, they knew that despite her Virgin Mary vibe and aristocratic features, they could count on her to play against type, that she can go un-glam and get away with it, that putting her in offbeat roles would make for very interesting movie-watching. Which only resulted in a very colorful, wonderfully textured filmography, where she got to play a whole range of personas from, yes, the Blessed Virgin to an Ermita gang lord to an ahead-of-her-time wife of a gay man.

And so while we say goodbye to one of Philippine cinema’s most beloved actresses, TV Tita Minerva for many years, we take heart in knowing she’s left us with such unforgettable performances in movies we can keep coming back to for years to come, and a show we can revisit whenever we need a little back-to-the-90s trip.

Here are 10 of the most unforgettable performances of Gloria Romero: 

As Manang Biday in Dalagang Ilocana (1954)

Proof that as early as the 1950s, producers saw the immense amusement in seeing this regal beauty, with her patrician nose and alabaster skin, play the rough-around-the-edges lady on the big screen. As the feisty cigar-chomping and cigar-rolling, tapis-wearing tobacco farmer Biday, a young Romero won the hearts of audiences with her ease in playing a fearless barrio lass who wins the heart of matinee idol Ric Rodrigo in the end. She also won the following year’s Best Actress award at the third FAMAS.

As Amelia in To Mama, With Love (1983)

In this early Maryo J. Delos Reyes tearjerker, a Regal Films Mother’s Day presentation (back when that was a thing), Romero is the fragile Amelia, abandoned by her husband who moves to the US, leaving her weak, unhappy, and clueless as to how to raise their five daughters. Unable to cope with loneliness and responsibilities, Amelia turns to alcohol and nearly ruins her relationship with her kids (Manilyn Reynes, Janice de Belen, Julie Vega, Snooky and an unforgettable, tough-hearted Maricel Soriano) forever. Watch out for the scene where she basks in her own drunkenness, dancing to the chorus of lasenggeros making fun of her.

As Connie in Condemned (1984)

In what is probably the most un-Gloria Romero of all Gloria Romero roles, the Movie Queen, in this Mario O’Hara portrait of seedy Manila, gets to wear big hair, big kaftans and even gets to have a boy toy (in the person of the moreno 80s actor Dan Alvaro). As Connie, the gang lord of a team of Ermita dollar smugglers, Romero electrifies the screen and faces off with Superstar Nora Aunor who plays a flower vendor who gets entangled in Connie’s web of crime and deceit. Look out for the scene where Romero witnesses Aunor's character literally burn money with a candle’s flame. This duel is a delicious watch.

As Carmen in Saan Nagtatago Ang Pag-ibig (1987)

In this elegant, well-crafted Eddie Garcia melodrama, Romero is the mother who asks the pregnant girlfriend of her son Rick (Ricky Davao) to marry his other son Val (Tonton Gutierrez)—who is mentally ill—in order to save the former’s inheritance and secure a good life for the whole family. Carmen starts out as the cunning co-conspirator out to fool the imperious family matriarch (Alicia Vergel), but when the latter finds out about the ruse, Carmen is set free from the burden of protecting her good-for-nothing Rick. Before the end credits roll, Romero breaks out into one of the most exhilarating fits of laughter ever committed to celluloid, assuring her of at least two acting awards in the Supporting Actress category the following year.

Also read: The 10 Most Memorable Performances of Jaclyn Jose

As Mrs. Monteire in Nagbabagang Luha (1988)

Of course this is really known as the movie where Alice Dixson and Lorna Tolentino play sisters and fight over the heart of Gabby Concepcion. Where the former begs the latter not to take her man away because, “Mamamatay ako.” To which LT replies: “Ipalilibing kita.” But if you watch the film, you'll be treated to another delicious performance from Romero who plays the villainous, Valium-popping Mrs. Monteire, the controlling mother of Concepcion. Watch out for the scene between a furious Tolentino and a nonchalant Romero, where the former accuses the latter of stealing everything important to her including her daughter—all while Romero is seen coolly performing her skincare regimen in the sala.

As Minerva in Palibhasa Lalake (1987-1998)

As the gin-drinking landlady Minerva who runs a boarding house with her two daughters with very disparate personalities—the plain and virginal Amelia (Amy Perez) and the man-hungry Cynthia (Cynthia Patag)—Romero held her own among a cast of towering, obnoxious man-boys (Richard Gomez, Joey Marquez, John Estrada); a relentlessly high-pitched and high-energy Patag; and a host of lively, much younger actors in what is possibly the rowdiest set and sitcom of the 80s and 90s.

As Doña Octavia in Kapag Langit Ang Humatol (1990)

In this radio drama material adapted to the big screen by writers Salvador Royales and Emmanuel "Maning" Borlaza, Romero is the manipulative mahjongera Doña Octavia who makes the lives of the people around her miserable—from her weakling son (Richard Gomez) to the delulu maid he falls in love with and knocks up (Vilma Santos). But her inelegant ways and goon-like ideas ultimately bite Octavia's rich lady ass.

As Loleng in Tanging Yaman (2001)

As the matriarch with Alzheimer’s disease and increasingly becoming a burden to her perennially quarreling children (Johnny Delgado, Edu Manzano and Dina Bonnevie), Romero inspires compassion with her heartbreaking performance, switching from childlike fragility to exhibiting rare moments of lucidity, all the while being the singular reason keeping her family together.

As Lola Magda in Magnifico (2003)

In this Maryo J. Delos Reyes classic tearjerker, Romero plays a small town manghihilot suddenly unable to heal the townsfolk when she falls ill herself. To ease her depression, and make her not feel so bad about her eventual death costing her already struggling household more gastos, Magda’s pure-hearted apo (Jiro Manio) endeavors to build her a coffin by enjoining the help of his neighborhood friends. And then something unexpected happens. Watch out for the scene where the bedridden Magda asks her down-on-his-luck son (Albert Martinez) for a small piece of panutsa, her face all covered in a child’s longing and hope for a sweet treat—and then watch all of that disappear when her manugang (Lorna Tolentino) finds out about the request. Heartbreaking.

As Sylvia Estrella in Rainbow’s Sunset (2018)

As the gentle and selfless Sylvia, the loving wife whose husband (Eddie Garcia) moves out of the family home to move in with the man he’s loved for decades (Tony Mabesa) in order to take care of him in his final hours. Romero’s quiet, sensitive portrayal of the remarkably understanding Sylvia in Rainbow's Sunset won her a Best Actress award at the Metro Manila Film Festival. She was 85.