Angel Aquino

Angelita Grace Velasquez Aquino is a Filipino actress, fashion model, and television personality. Prominent in independent films, she has also worked on television shows of varying genres, and is known for her versatility and adaptability in portraying protagonists and villains. She has received various accolades, including six Star Awards, two Golden Screen Awards, and a Gawad Urian. A journalism graduate of the University of the Philippines Baguio, Aquino began her career as a model, before making her film debut with a minor role in the action drama Mumbaki (1996). She made her first television appearance as a presenter of the lifestyle show F! (1999). Her breakthrough came in the erotic drama Laro sa Baga (2000), which earned her a Star Award for Best Supporting Actress. She gained wider recognition for starring in Crying Ladies (2003) and Donsol (2006), which were the Philippine submissions for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards. Aquino established herself as a leading actress playing villainous parts in the drama series Magkaribal (2010), Maria la del Barrio (2011), Apoy sa Dagat (2013), And I Love You So (2015), Till I Met You (2016), and Dirty Linen (2023). Aquino received two Gawad Urian nominations in the same year for her roles as a transgender woman in the drama film Porno (2013) and a woman desired by a teenage girl in the coming-of-age drama Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita (2013), winning Best Supporting Actress for the latter. Among her notable performances are a widowed mother in the horror drama Amorosa (2012), a military intelligence officer in the action series Ang Probinsyano (2017), and a middle-aged woman smitten by a younger man in the erotic comedy Glorious (2018). On stage, Aquino has performed in local theater productions of The Vagina Monologues (2002) and Closer (2013). Described by various media publications as among the most beautiful and finest Filipino actresses of her generation, Aquino has been involved in charitable work and causes, including education, gender equality, and women's rights.