CARLA ABELLANA:  TV'S NEWEST SWEETHEART


[PHOTO AT LEFT - CARLA REYES ABELLANA Photography by Sara Black]

MANILA, JANUARY 29, 2010 (STAR) PEOPLE ASIA - She is television’s latest and sweetest sweetheart, the lead star in a TV soap, Rosalinda, that is topping the ratings chart.Born to actors Rey “PJ” Abellana and Rea Reyes 23 years ago, Carla Angeline Reyes Abellana is the middle child in a brood of three, which includes siblings Erica and Carl. Her parents co-starred in Anna Liza, an early evening soap opera featuring the late Julie Vega, which this writer religiously watched after coming home from grade school. Anna Liza aired years ago over GMA-7, which coincidentally, is now also Carla’s home studio.

“I never really felt that showbiz side with regards to my family. My parents got married at an early age. I was about three years old when they separated. They tried their best, I’m sure they did, but things just didn’t work out well.

“I grew up with my mom and my lola. When you have showbiz roots, people automatically expect you to be as good as your parents or as your grandmother. They assume that you were born to be a great actress already but no, that’s not just the case. Having a father who’s an actor and a grandmother who’s an actress was just about very normal,” this Gemini-born charmer reminisces.

Her maternal grandmother, as every showbiz chronicler knows, is Delia Razon, one of LVN Pictures’ superstars and a noted actress. Among her silver screen credits include Gitano, El Robo, Lapu-Lapu and Mutya ng Pasig.

“When I look at Carla and my other grandchildren, I know they are very good children. I’m really proud of all of them. As for Carla’s entering showbiz, I was one of the last to know that she finally said ‘Yes’ when I learned about her contract signing,” the doting grandma revealed during a recent TV interview.

“My advice to Carla now that she’s here? To be a good person, to be humble and to be nice to everyone. After all, showbiz denizens could make you yet they could break you as well,” Delia added.

Carla tells that her entry into acting really came as a surprise to everyone, she being the least expected to break into that field. The female lead of the well-loved primetime drama series Rosalinda admits that her folks were not influential in her being an actress; instead, they were there whenever she sought their advice. To this, she is very grateful, most especially to mom Rea and lola Delia.

“It feels great to be recognized as the apo of Delia Razon. I’m very proud of my grandmother. She raised us very well and I owe everything to her. She had a great career and I look up to her. Until now, we all still stay with her in her house (in San Juan City),” Carla shares.

In between sips of her chilled tamarind tea at Dusit Thani’s Basix coffee shop, Carla likewise cites the importance of her family and how she values them as very significant factors in her life — for love, guidance, bonding, support and everything else in between.

“In this line of work, they have taught me that the slightest mistake can lead to something big, which is normally blown out of proportion,” she relates. “I also never forget to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground and always remember where I came from.”

In Full Bloom

Carla reiterates that showbiz was really the farthest thing from her mind. From kindergarten to high school, Carla was a diligent student at the OB Montessori in Annapolis, Greenhills. In college, she pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at the De La Salle University. After graduation, she took on a pre-school teaching career but was eventually lured by the corporate world as a Human Resources associate for Rockwell Land Corp. Her winsome personality and sunshiny disposition proved to be assets in the field of recruitment, training and employee relations.

It was, however, during the wedding of her good friend Cheska Garcia (to hardcourt heartthrob Doug Kramer) in October 2008 that things suddenly took a surprise turn. Her current manager Arnold Vegafria, happened to be one of the wedding guests. Upon zooming his eyes on our lovely cover subject, Arnold wasted no time in offering Carla a shot at a promising showbiz career.

The rest, just like in true telenovela fashion a la her nightly TV stint in Rosalinda, is history. This November, Carla’s hosting skills will likewise be highlighted as she shares the stage with fellow Kapuso star Dingdong Dantes in the fifth season of GMA-7’s successful reality-talent search StarStruck.

“Everything happened so fast; one thing led to another and the next thing I knew, I was in. It’s been four months; everything is still new to me and adjustments on my part remain to be a continous process. It’s been tough and harder than I thought, draining even! But it’s also fun and I’m enjoying myself!” she exclaims.

Lest she be branded as being a flash-in-the-pan dudette or simply a case of too much-too soon, Carla is focusing on her goals.

“I really want to be recognized as a good and versatile actress. I know that I’m such a blessed person right now, what with so many actors working so hard to climb their way to the top. I’ve been given so many opportunities and I’m very thankful for that. I’m here not just to be a celebrity but to hone my craft as well,” she concludes with a flash of her pearly whites.

Just like the name of her character on TV, Carla Abellana, indeed lives up to Rosalinda. That of being a beautiful rose… inside and out!