Julie Vega | |
|---|---|
 Vega,c. '80s | |
| Born | Julie Pearl Apostol Postigo[1] (1968-05-21)21 May 1968 Quezon City,Rizal, Philippines |
| Died | 6 May 1985(1985-05-06) (aged 16) Lung Center of the Philippines,Quezon City, Philippines |
| Cause of death | Pneumonia |
| Resting place | Loyola Memorial Park Marikina, Philippines |
| Other names |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1975–1985 |
Julie Pearl Apostol Postigo (21 May 1968 – 6 May 1985), better known by her stage nameJulie Vega (Tagalog:[ˈdʒulɪˈbɛga]), was a Filipino actress, singer andcommercial model.[2] She remains very popular in her native Philippines, years after her death at the peak of her career at age 16.[3] She won twoFAMAS Awards for Best Child Actress during her brief showbiz career.
Julie Vega was born as Julie Pearl Apostol Postigo on 21 May 1968 at the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center (UERRMMC) inQuezon City, Philippines[4] to a practicingRoman Catholic family[5] and was the youngest and only daughter of six children of dentists Julio Postigo (1931–1991) fromZamboanga del Sur and Perla Apostol (1932–2023)[3] fromIligan City. Her family nicknamed her Darling[1][3] and Tata, which was given to her by her nanny Flor Argawanon and means "youngest child" in theVisayan language.
Vega was discovered by film and stage directorLamberto Avellana and actressBoots Anson-Roa in 1975 while performing at a Christmas party at theQuezon Institute where her mother then worked, thus starting her career the following year at the age of six as acommercial model in television forPurefoods andBand-Aid. She first used the screen nameDarling Postigo and appeared in her first film entitledAng Pag-ibig Ko’y Huwag Mong Sukatin[6] as the young daughter of the characters played by Anson-Roa andDante Rivero.[7] It was not until she appeared in her first major lead and breakthrough role in the 1978 filmMga Mata ni Angelita (Angelita's Eyes) that she started using the screen name Julie Vega upon the recommendation of film producer and director Larry Santiago, who owned Larry Santiago Productions which produced the film. She had been chosen to play the title role despite placing only third among over 200 applicants for the role.[5]
Although Vega later had to turn down the title role ofFlor de Luna due to her schedule with acting and school,[8] she would finally have her own soap opera when she was cast as the title character inGMA Network’sAnna Liza. Her portrayal of the sensitive, sad-sack and frequently oppressed title character drew the sympathy and affections of the Filipino viewing public and further solidified her star status. The success ofAnna Liza made her the chief soap opera rival ofJanice de Belen, a fellow child star who also enjoyed success withFlor de Luna, the title role Vega previously turned down, as the two dramas rivaled each other for the attention of the television-viewing public. Yet despite being rivals, the two were best friends in real life.[9] De Belen once mentioned, "There could be no me if Julie accepted the role as Flor de Luna."[8]
Aside from her work inAnna Liza, Vega also starred in several films and won twoFAMAS acting awards overall. She won Best Child Actress forMga Mata ni Angelita andDurugin si Totoy Bato and was nominated for Best Child Actress forMga Basang Sisiw and Best Supporting Actress forIsang Bala Ka Lang!.[10]
When Vega became a teenager, she was signed toRegal Films by producerLily Monteverde, who also owned the film company since its inception in 1962. She was then included among the so-called Regal "Cry Babies" along with then fellow teenaged actresses De Belen,Maricel Soriano, andSnooky Serna. She did a total of six films for Regal, includingWhere Love Has Gone,Mother Dear,To Mama with Love, andDaddy's Little Darlings, all of which became certified box office hits.[8]
Aside from acting, Vega also became a successful singer in her own right. She initially refused to pursue a singing career of her own, but after repeated prodding from her older brother Joey, who noticed her beautiful singing voice, she finally consented to doing so. She took formal voice lessons under renowned songwriter Cecille Azarcon to further hone her singing voice. With the training she received, she was able to sing many of the theme songs of the movies she appeared in likeDear Mama,Where Love Has Gone,Don't Cry for Me Papa andIiyak Ka Rin.[8]
It was during one of her singing promotions forWhere Love Has Gone that Vega was discovered byBong Carrion, who then offered her to be a recording artist for the then newly formed Emerald Recording Company owned by Carreon and his then wife, the famous Filipina singerImelda Papin. Her debut singleSomewhere in My Past, composed by Mon Del Rosario, was a major hit which became a certified gold record in only its first few weeks of release and would prove to be her most enduring hit and the one song she would be most identified with. The single's success prompted Bong Carreon and Imelda Papin to launch Vega as a full-time solo artist by coming up with the latter's 1985 debut albumFirst Love, which includedSomewhere in My Past and produced her further hit songs likeSomeone Special,The Memory Will Remain, and the eponymous title track itself.[8]
According to Vega, she particularly liked singing because it is through this medium that she is able to best express her inner thoughts and feelings. This became especially true after the loss of her brother Joey, to whom she was very close to. Joey was stabbed to death in a car by a hired killer who mistook him as a member of fraternity that he was supposed to kill, while inside the car with his friends in the night of March 24, 1983. His untimely death at the age of 22 proved to be devastating for the young Julie, who then repeatedly wished to join him in death.[5]
In spite of her hectic showbiz schedule, Vega was still able to attend to her studies in school. She studied at the Our Lady of Sacred Heart School from grade school[11] until first year high school before transferring toSt. Joseph's College where she finished her high school education. The schools proved to be accessible to her since both are located not far from where her family used to live at 11th Avenue, Murphy,Cubao,Quezon City.
Not long after her high school graduation in 1985, Vega began complaining of extreme weakness and lack of sensation, particularly on her lower body. This prompted her parents to bring her to a private hospital. She was later diagnosed with a form ofdemyelinating disease,[5] which was highly suspected to be eitherGuillain–Barré syndrome[12] ormultiple sclerosis.[13] As Vega's condition became worse, her parents were forced to have her confined to theQuezon Institute as they could no longer afford the increasing amount of her hospital bills. Sometime after her confinement there, she contractedbronchopneumonia, making her condition even worse than before.[5]
Vega was transferred to theLung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City at about 5:00 p.m.PHT on Monday, May 6, 1985, where she died suddenly around 1½ hours later at the hospital'sintensive care unit, just fifteen days shy of her seventeenth birthday.[3] Her cause of death was officially listed ascardiac arrest secondary tobronchopneumonia. Vega's father Julio would himself die of lung cancer exactly six years later in the same hospital. Her untimely death leftAnna Liza with an incomplete storyline and the Filipino people in total shock. After lying in state atMount Carmel Parish in Quezon City, her body was laid to rest right next to those of her father, mother, 3 brothers and paternal grandmother at theLoyola Memorial Park inMarikina[14] in a funeral attended by millions of grieving fans and colleagues from Philippine showbiz.[8][15]
At the time of her death, Vega left behind a large body of unfinished work aside fromAnna Liza. She was supposed to promote her debut albumFirst Love,[5] do a second album for Emerald containing allFilipino language songs, perform withImelda Papin in singing engagements both in the Philippines and abroad,[8] start hosting two television shows (her own,Julie and Friends onMaharlika Broadcasting System, and as alternate host ofStudent Canteen onGMA[16]), and star as one of the mainstays of the then upcoming teen-oriented talent showThat's Entertainment on GMA.[citation needed] She was also supposed to attend theUniversity of the Philippines for her college education.
Vega's life story was most notably shown on film throughThe Life Story of Julie Vega, which was shown shortly after her death. Nadia Montenegro portrayed the ill-fated movie and soap opera actress and singer, Jimmy Morato andAlicia Alonzo portrayed her parents, while her brother Steve and nanny Flor appeared as themselves.That's Entertainment mainstaysJestoni Alarcon,John Regala and Hero Bautista also portrayed her brothers in the film.[17]
On television, she was portrayed byAngelica Panganiban andJane Oineza on the October 2, 2003 episode ofMaalaala Mo Kaya entitledUnan (Tagalog forPillow). Vega's parents were portrayed byMichael de Mesa andRio Locsin. The said episode was acclaimed by both critics and Julie Vega fans alike and is noted not only for Panganiban's resemblance to the real Julie Vega, but also for its use of actual footage of Vega's burial which featured not only fans but also celebrities likeFernando Poe, Jr.,Chiquito,Nida Blanca,Herbert Bautista and best friendJanice De Belen in mourning her death. The video footage was lent by the Postigos themselves to theMaalaala Mo Kaya producers to be aired on the episode.[15]
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Due toAnna Liza's success, Vega was dubbed the "Original Soap Opera Princess". Director Ruel Bayani, the producer ofABS-CBN'sremake ofAnna Liza, commended Vega, calling her portrayal of the role "iconic" and that she set a high standard on being a "child star".[18]Judy Ann Santos once stated on StarStudio's special issue that she is a fan of Vega, and when she learned about the latter's death, she first disappeared into her room and then into the bathroom. She turned the bathroom's doorknob quietly, pushed the door shut then stood in front of the sink. She then looked at herself in the mirror and cried.[19]
Her rivalry with Janice De Belen ranks among the more famous female rivalries in Philippines' entertainment industry alongside that ofVilma Santos vs.Nora Aunor.[20]
In December 2010, Vega was posthumously awarded her own star on theEastwood City Walk of Fame.[21] She also has another star atGMA Network's "Kapuso Walk of Fame" just outsideGMA Network Center.
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| Year | Title | Character/Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Ang Pag-ibig Ko'y Huwag Mong Sukatin | Herself |
| Mortal | Mylene | |
| Mga Tinik ng Babae | Herself | |
| 1978 | Mga Mata ni Angelita | Angelita |
| 1979 | Roberta | Roberta |
| Durugin si Totoy Bato | Lucia | |
| 1980 | Pompa | Pompa |
| Kape't Gatas | Wewet | |
| Angelita ... Ako ang Iyong Ina | Angelita | |
| Anak ng Atsay | Lisa | |
| 1981 | Mga Basang Sisiw | Herself |
| Flor de Liza | Liza | |
| 1982 | Ang Milagro sa Porta Vaga | Herself |
| Where Love Has Gone | Liza Grande | |
| Mother Dear | Lagring | |
| Roman Rapido | Carmen | |
| 1983 | To Mama with Love | Mylene |
| Isang Bala Ka Lang! | Angela Rodriguez | |
| Iiyak Ka Rin | April | |
| Don't Cry for Me Papa | Gigi | |
| 1984 | Dear Mama | Joy |
| Daddy's Little Darlings | Chiqui | |
| Lovingly Yours, Helen: The Movie | Ida |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1979–1985 | GMA Supershow | Co-host |
| 1979–1985 | Eat Bulaga! | Guest & Performer |
| 1980–1985 | Anna Liza | Anna Liza Santiago |
| 2003 | Maalaala Mo Kaya | Posthumously featured |
| 2015 | Tunay na Buhay | |
| Sabado Badoo | ||
| 2016 | Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho | |
| 2017 | Matanglawin | |
| 2019 | Aha! | |
| 2020 | Kahapon Lamang |
All songs were written by Mon Del Rosario except for "First Love", which was written by Alex Catedrilla.
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | FAMAS Awards | Best Child Actress | Mga Mata ni Angelita (1978) | Won |
| 1980 | Durugin si Totoy Bato (1979) | Won | ||
| 1980 Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Child Performer | Kape't Gatas (1980) | Won | |
| 1982 | FAMAS Awards | Best Child Actress | Mga Basang Sisiw (1981) | Nominated |
| 1984 | Best Supporting Actress | Isang Bala Ka Lang! (1983) | Nominated | |
| 1985 | Awit Awards | Song of the Year | Somewhere in My Past (1985) | Nominated |
| Emerging Female Singer of the Year | Herself (1985) | Won | ||
| 2010 | Eastwood City Walk of Fame | Posthumous Celebrity Inductee | Child actress, singer, television host (1975–1985) | Won |
