WOW Pinoy: Hollywood Celebrity

Lalaine Vergara-Paras FilAm Hollywood Celerity

Written by **Billyboxergirl on Sunday, April 27, 2008

"I'm proud of my ethnicities and I will always be proud of being a Filipino".

BIO:
Lalaine Vergara-Paras (born June 3, 1987 in Burbank, California), also known as Lalaine, is an American actress, singer and spokesperson.

Personal life
Born to Filipino parents originally from Batangas and Pampanga Philippines, she grew up and currently lives in Los Angeles, California. She is the youngest of four siblings, Marian, Francisco and Cristina. She is of Filipino, Chinese and Spanish descent. In an interview, she stated, "People ask me, 'Are you Spanish?' ... "I say I have Spanish in me but I'm not just Spanish. I'm proud of my ethnicities and I will always be proud of being a Filipino". Lalaine is also involved in many charity events, such as the AIDS benefit concert and *NSYNC's challenge for the youth.

Acting career
Lalaine has recently finished acting as the lead in the new movie Royal Kill, also starring Academy Award nominees Eric Roberts and Pat Morita.

Lalaine is normally credited by her first name only. She is commonly known for playing the best friend, Miranda Sanchez on Disney Channel's Lizzie McGuire, alongside Hilary Duff. She reprised this role on the pilot of a spin-off series What's Stevie Thinking? about Miranda's younger sister, but this did not air in 2005 as originally expected and was scrapped because Disney Channel made Wizards of Waverly Place. Lalaine's acting career began when she was cast in the Broadway production of Les Miserables in the roles of Young Cosette and Eponine.

When Lalaine returned to California, she acted in several television commercials, including some for Microsoft and Burger King. She also worked in the play Brundibar. Lalaine's voice has been used for many movies, including Inspector Gadget and Lolita. She also played orphan "Kate" in the Wonderful World of Disney ABC-TV version of the movie Annie. She starred alongside AJ Trauth in the Disney Channel movie You Wish as "Abby." Lalaine portrayed "Chloe," a young Slayer-In-Training who commits suicide, on the TV-Series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When the First Evil assumes her form, Lalaine plays the malevolent force. In 2004, Lalaine went to Philippines and made guest appearances on the GMA Network including the SOP Gigsters. She began hosting her own Filipino travel show Flipside, where she travels around the islands. She also promoted GMA Pinoy TV in San Francisco, California in 2005.

Music career
In 2003, Lalaine released her independent album, Inside Story. Lalaine wrote six songs on the album, including "Life Is Good", "Can't Stop", and "Save Myself". She has been working with Radio Disney, performing her songs in Southern California, and went to Hawaii with Disney's Imagineers. For six months Lalaine's song "You Wish", written for the movie of the same name, was in the Top 4 Radio Disney songs. She has signed a record deal with Warner Brother's Records. She performed on the last episode of All That. Her most recent single was "I'm Not Your Girl". The lyrics of the song, and the video itself, could be viewed as an attack on Hilary Duff's public image. In the video, Lalaine portrays herself and two girls in blonde wigs (both looking similar to Duff's character on Lizzie McGuire), and the lyrics speak of how Lalaine is not "someone who's quiet and polite, likes staying home on every Friday night." Duff had said in an interview with Blender magazine in 2006 that she is a quiet girl who likes staying home on Friday nights, and did not feel badly doing so while knowing that many other girls her age liked going out and partying. A few songs from her unreleased album Haunted have leaked. "I'm Not Your Girl" and "Did You Hear About Us?" were included on a physical single, and "Haunted", "Real Life", "No More", "Doing Just Fine", and "More Than Words Can Say" leaked onto the internet. Lalaine wrote her pop rock record with various writers including Glen Ballard, Oliver Leiber, Danielle Brisebois and others. Now, Lalaine is reworking her record rhythmically with producer J. R. Rotem , Outkast producer Rico Wade and songwriter Evan "Kidd" Bogart.

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| Posted in » Hollywood Celebrity

Anna Marie Perez De Tagle and Kara Crane

Written by **Billyboxergirl on Friday, April 25, 2008

TWO Fil-Ams, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle and Kara Crane, are two of Disney Channel’s newest stars. The girls, both 17-year-olds, are featured in Disney channel made-for-TV movies—Perez de Tagle in the upcoming “Camp Rock” in June, and Crane in “Minutemen,” which premiered on Jan. 25 on the Disney channel.

Anna Maria Perez de Tagle
Anna Marisa, who besides starring in “Camp Rock” plays mean girl Ashley Dewitt on “Hannah Montana,” shared in an exclusive interview with Janelle So on “Kababayan L.A.” that she learned a lot about singing and acting through her famous grandmother, singer and actress Sylvia La Torre.
“”I’m very close to my grandma—she’s quite the icon in the Philippines,” laughed Anna Marisa.
“She taught me my first Filipino song “Bahay Kubo.” Whenever she’s on stage she says ‘Oh my apo, she’s following in my footsteps,’ and I can’t disagree. When it comes to singing and acting, I owe it all to her.”
Anna Marisa shared that despite her Hollywood career, her parents still raise her with conservative Filipino values and rules.
“Well, my parents say I can’t date until I’m 30!,” Ana Marisa joked.
“They always make me have a chaperone—my older brother’s always there. But he’s a cool brother, he’s not like one of those brothers who’s behind my back everywhere I go.”
But she did share that her parents are willing to compromise on certain things, such as spending time with her fellow Disney stars—but only to an extent.
“We go on group dates, you know with the Jonas Brothers (her co-stars in “Camp Rock”) or Zack Efron (star of Disney channel’s smash hit “High School Musical”)…but I can’t go out past 11 [p.m.] or anything like that.”
Yet Ana Marisa doesn’t mind her parents’ relatively strict dating rules, as she is completely focused on honing her singing and acting skills.
“If a guy were to ask me out, they would definitely have to know that I’m really focused on my career right now.”
She also enjoys the fame she has already received from playing Ashley on “Hannah Montana.”
“Little girls come up to me and say ‘You’re the girl from ‘Hannah Montana!,’” Ana Marisa laughed.
“Sometimes they even think I’m mean because I play a mean girl on the show, but I explain to them that it’s just acting. But I definitely love my fans!”
Anna Marisa clearly enjoys being part of the famous Disney channel family, its perks including hanging out with superstars like Zack Efron and the Jonas Brothers.
“They’re such nice guys,” Anna Marisa says about the Jonas Brothers.
“We actually filmed in a remote place in Canada where there was no cell phone reception and no Internet so we became really close.”
About watching her upcoming projects including “Camp Rock” set to come out in June, Anna Marisa had this to say to her fellow Filipinos.
“Filipinos please, please, please support me.”
“I’m really happy where I am and I love being in the Disney family.”

Kara Crane
Also in an exclusive interview with Janelle So on “Kababayan L.A.,” Kara Crane, who has a Filipina mother and a Russian father, talked about her already successful Disney film “Minutemen.”
“The film (“Minutemen”) got 7.3 million viewers and was the most watched program of the week so I’m really excited,” Kara said.
“In the movie, I play kind of like the sidekick of three boys. It was a nice part—I loved it so much.”
Kara, who has been acting and singing since she was 9 years old, shared that her road to acting all started with her love for theatre.
“I’ve always been involved in a lot of theatre—community theatre, shows at my school…I just love musicals and all that.”
“I auditioned for ‘The Sound of Music’ when I was nine-years-old and I got the role of Marta Von Trapp! Ever since then, I just loved it. It just escalated from there. I got an agent and we’ve been going out on auditions for the past couple of years.”
And although she doesn’t understand or speak Tagalog (her mother is from Zamboanga and speaks Chabacano), she is ready and willing to visit the Philippines.
“We’re actually planning a trip in August or September; we’re going to stay out there for maybe a month or so, I’m really excited!,” Kara said.
When asked if she was willing to try showbiz in the Philippines, Kara exclaims “I’d love to—it’d be awesome!”
Kara also shared that she is currently in a relationship.
“I do have a boyfriend. They (my parents) know about it!,” Kara laughed.
“He’s an actor, and we’ve been together a couple of months. I’m really happy,” she said.
During the exclusive interview, Kara’s mom Leslie commented on the challenges of raising a daughter in the entertainment industry.
“It’s hard, but they’re all good kids,” Leslie said.
“All you have to do is you just have to discipline them.”
When asked by Janelle if she ever had to palo her kids, Leslie laughed, “Of course!”
As for upcoming projects, Kara shared that despite the writers’ strike slowing Hollywood down, she is optimistic about future movie roles.
“I’ve been having a lot of movie auditions lately—hopefully something good will happen,” she said.
As for other young Fil-Ams trying to make it in U.S. showbiz, Kara had this advice.
“Just follow your heart, I wanna say,” she said. “If you think you can do it, you can. You can accomplish anything you put your mind to. So if you really want it, you’ll get it.”

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| Posted in » FilAms, Hollywood Celebrity

Cris Judd - Ex-Husband of Jennifer Lopez

Written by **Billyboxergirl on Monday, March 24, 2008

Cristan Lee Judd (born August 15, 1969, in Abilene, Texas) is an American actor and choreographer. He is best known for his failed marriage to Jennifer Lopez.

Before Hollywood, Judd spent his early years growing up on Air Force bases in Angeles City in the Philippines and Hawaii. His mother is Filipino, his father is white. The Air Force then moved his family to Niceville, Florida, where he attended Niceville High School. While in Florida, Judd, an avid athlete, spent a lot of time surfing and golfing. With a golf handicap of four, he even considered going pro after graduation, but instead decided to go to college. While in college, he landed his first job at Disney World with friend and colleague, Wayne Brady.

At age 21 Judd became interested in dance. Within a year, he switched jobs and began dancing professionally with Disney. He was hired to dance with Michael Jackson for the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards and then danced with Jackson on both the Dangerous and History tours, eventually becoming lead dancer for the tour. In 1999, he performed at the Billboard Music Awards with Celine Dion, the MTV Music Awards with N'SYNC, and in 2000 at the American Music Awards with Enrique Iglesias and Brian McKnight, and for "Best Song" nominee That Thing You Do at the 69th Annual Academy Awards. Judd also teamed up for the first time with choreographer Eddie Garcia, a collaboration that continues to this day, to choreograph the 2000 Tour for Jordan Knight.

Since that time, Judd has danced in and choreographed numerous music videos including My Way for Usher, Jump, Jive, & Wail for the Brian Setzer Orchestra, If I Could Go for Angie Martinez and Tango for Julio Iglesias. He also directed the music video, Ain't It Funny-Remix, with Ja Rule. Judd then became creative director for Handprint Entertainment, overseeing a $5 million budget and delivering NBC's concert special "Let's Get Loud."

He met future wife Jennifer Lopez in Spain when he was hired to direct her music video for "Love Don't Cost a Thing". They were married on September 29, 2001. The marriage ended in June 2002. He also composed Jennifer Lopez's song, "Alive", which was selected as the theme song for the movie Enough.

Judd and his partner Eddie Garcia produced an interactive dance DVD released in summer 2005, and has prepared the Midnight Fantasy musical for the Luxor Resort in Las Vegas.

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| Posted in » Dancer, Hollywood Celebrity

Vanessa Hudgens of Disney High School Musical

Written by **Billyboxergirl on Friday, March 21, 2008

ABOUT HER
Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut in 2003 and appeared in the Hollywood films Thirteen and Thunderbirds, before reaching fame in the 2006 hit Disney Channel film High School Musical series. Hudgens also began a music career and released her debut album, entitled V, in 2006. In 2007, Hudgens became the spokesperson for Neutrogena. She will also be in the up coming movie Will. Her sophomore album is also being released in June.

Hudgens was born in Salinas, California, the daughter of Gina (née Guangco) and Greg Hudgens. She has a younger sister, Stella Hudgens, who is also an actress. Hudgens's father is an American of Irish and Native American descent, and her mother, who grew up in Manila, is a Filipino-born of Filipino, Spanish and Chinese descent. Hudgens has been home-schooled since after her seventh-grade year at the Orange County High School of the Arts.

Starting at the age of eight, Hudgens performed in musical theater as a singer, and appeared in local productions of Carousel, The Wizard of Oz, The King and I, The Music Man, and Cinderella, among others. Hudgens successfully auditioned for a commercial and subsequently moved to Los Angeles with her family, with whom she is still close.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3
From High School Musical 1 & 2 that Vanessa Hudgens Role as Gabriela Montez, High School Musical 3: Senior Year will be the next installment in Disney's popular High School Musical franchise, scheduled for a theatrical release on October 24, 2008.
It has been confirmed that all six primary actors from the previous two films will reprise their roles.

THE SCANDAL
Despite early speculation that Vanessa Hudgens would be dropped from High School Musical 3 due to her nude photo scandal, The Walt Disney Company denied the reports, saying, "Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment. We hope she's learned a valuable lesson."

Although it was reported by OK! Magazine that Vanessa would be replaced by Adrienne Bailon or Sabrina Bryan from the Cheetah Girls in High School Musical 3, Access Hollywood has confirmed that the cast is still in negotiations and Vanessa will not be cut from High School Musical 3. Vanessa's representative quoted, "Totally untrue. It is an old rumor," the representative told Access, "OK! Magazine never bothered to check the fact with me, but they did call Disney who said it wasn’t true, but yet OK! ran it anyway. Apparently, OK! Magazine was having a slow news day

THE BOYFRIEND
Zac Efron (20 )as "arguably the biggest teen star in America right now." In 2007, right before the release of High School Musical 2, Rolling Stone declared him the "poster boy for tweenyboppers" and featured him in their late August issue

Vanessa Hudgens Websites:
http://vanessa-hudgens.com/
http://myspace.com/vanessahudgens

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| Posted in » Hollywood Celebrity, Singer

Vannessa Minnillo - MTV reporter

Written by **Billyboxergirl on Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Vanessa Joy Minnillo (born November 9, 1980) is an American television personality. A former Miss Teen USA, she is mostly known for hosting Total Request Live on MTV from 2003–2007 as well her past reporting as a New York-based correspondent for Entertainment Tonight.

Her father, Vince, is an American of Italian and Irish descent. Her mother, Helen Berecero, is a Filipina from the province of Pampanga and Leyte, that Vince met while based in the Philippines, though Minnillo referred to her mother as Polynesian on at least one occasion. Vanessa has a two years older, adopted brother, Vincent.

As a child, Minnillo's family moved numerous times due to her father's work in the United States Air Force, including living in Washington, California, Nevada, Florida, Germany and Japan and placing Minnillo in eight different schools within nine years.[4] Minnillo's parents separated in 1983, divorced in 1986.[5]

Subsequent to Helen's remarriage to a United States Air Force serviceman, Minnillo and her brother moved to Turkey with their mother and stepfather. By 1990, as a result of Desert Shield, Minnillo and her brother returned to their father's home, eventually settling in Charleston, South Carolina where she attended Bishop England High School and was a cheerleader.[6]

Minnillo is fluent in English and has passing knowledge of two languages spoken in the Philippines: Kapampangan and Tagalog. She has a close relationship with her stepmother Donna Minnillo and brother Vincent, but is estranged from her mother.

Minnillo entered the public eye as Miss South Carolina Teen USA 1998, and went on to be crowned as the winner of the 1998 Miss Teen USA pageant. She was the first delegate from South Carolina to capture the title and the first winner of the pageant to be chosen as Miss Congeniality.

She later co-hosted the Miss Teen USA 2004 pageant with Tony Potts and Miss Universe 2007 with Mario López.

Hosting
She is best known for hosting MTV's Total Request Live (TRL), 2003–2007.

Minnillo was a finalist in E!'s competition to find a replacement for Brooke Burke as host for the show Wild On[citation needed], though the job went to Cindy Taylor.

Advertising
Since exiting MTV and Entertainment Tonight, she has been featured in a print and web-based advertising campaign for BONGO Jeans' Spring/Summer 2007 collection[8] as well as becoming the spokesperson of Flirt! Cosmetics, a line she helped create that debuted in August 2007 in Kohl's department stores.

In May 2006, Maxim magazine listed Minnillo as #15 in its Hot 100 issue.[10] She has also graced both covers for Maxim's October issues in 2006 and 2007.

Minnillo was also featured on covers for Shape in March 2007 and Lucky magazine in July 2007.

Website:
Official MYSPACE
http://www.blogger.com/www.vanessaminnillo.com
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