Star of Philippines cinema Nora Aunor dies at 71
Nora Aunor, who became one of the biggest stars of Philippines cinema during a career that spanned seven decades, has died.
Aunor died on Wednesday, according to social media posts from her children. She was 71. No further details on the cause or place of her death were immediately given.
Filipina actor Lotlot de Leon said on Instagram that her mother 'touched generations with her unmatched talent, grace, and passion for the craft. Her voice, presence, and artistry shaped a legacy that will never fade'.
De Leon said funeral plans and other details will be shared later.
Aunor, born Nora Cabaltera Villamayor to an impoverished family in eastern Camarines Sur province, sold water in a train station in her home town in her youth.
She first gained fame in her teens as a singer in the 1960s before moving on to films. She amassed more than 200 credits in film and television and won dozens of acting awards.
Memorable roles included 1976's Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos (Three Years Without God), 1984's Bulaklak sa City Jail (Flowers Of The City Jail) and 1995's The Flor Contemplacion Story.
She swept best actress awards in the country for her performance in 1990's Andrea, Paano ba ang Maging Isang Ina? (Andrea, What Is It Like To Be A Mother?') and won best actress at the Asian Film Awards for her portrayal of a midwife in 2012's Thy Womb.
Aunor was still acting as recently as last year, starring in the film Mananambal (The Healer) and appearing on the TV series Lilet Matias, Attorney-at-Law.
Aunor was named a National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts – the country's biggest honour for actors – in 2022. In 2014, then-president Benigno Aquino III had denied her the honour because of a previous drug arrest in the US, provoking broad outcry.
Aunor's lawyer said the 2005 arrest at the Los Angeles airport came because of a pipe found in a bag she did not pack, noting she was travelling with four assistants at the time. The charges were dropped in 2007 after she completed a diversion programme, her lawyer said in 2014.
Aunor was married to actor Christopher de Leon from 1975 until 1996.
She is survived by their children Lotlet, Ian, Matet, Kiko and Kenneth de Leon.
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New York Times
14-05-2025
- New York Times
Nora Aunor, Singer-Actress Called ‘the Superstar' in Philippines, Dies at 71
Nora Aunor, a powerful Filipina actress and singer who for nearly 60 years captivated audiences — her devoted fans were called Noranians — earning the nickname 'the Superstar,' died on April 16 in the city of Pasig, near Manila. She was 71. Her death, in a hospital, was announced by her family. The cause was acute respiratory failure after an angioplasty, according to news media reports. 'Over the decades, she built a career that shaped the very soul of our culture,' her son Ian de Leon said at a news conference. Ms. Aunor was known widely for her petite stature, expressive eyes, which could convey a breadth of emotions, and a somewhat darker skin than was commonplace in Filipino show business when she was starting out. Movie stars in the country then were 'usually mixed race, with prominent Spanish or Caucasian and American looks, some of whom were children of American G.I.s,' said José B. Capino, the author of 'Martial Law Melodrama' (2020), about the visionary Filipino director Lino Brocka. Ms. Aunor's movie career began in the 1960s with teeny-bopper films and romcoms but graduated to serious fare like 'Bona,' a 1980 drama directed by Mr. Brocka in which she portrayed the title character, a middle-class teenager obsessed with a handsome, narcissistic bit player in movies. Bona leaves home to move into the man's shabby flat and essentially become his maid, attending to his whims while enduring his womanizing. When he tells her to move out, she gets her revenge. 'The chilling ferocity, vulnerability and abandon exuded by Aunor's performance is so indelibly inscribed on Bona's face that she haunts every scene,' Andréa Picard, a senior curator at the Toronto International Film Festival, wrote in 2024, when a restored version of 'Bona' was screened by the organization. The film had been shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1981 and was declared a Cannes Classic in 2024. Ms. Aunor's portrayal of Bona earned her a FAMAS Award, the Filipino equivalent of an Oscar, for best actress. She won four others, also for best actress, and received a lifetime achievement award from the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Science in 2011. To convey the extent of Ms. Aunor's popularity, Mr. Brocka recalled a scene outside the lobby after the premiere of another film they had made together, 'You Are the Mother of Your Daughter' (1979). 'People were unruly,' he was quoted as saying on the Filipino film critic Noel Vera's blog in 2024. 'Her car was being bumped by the crowd. All she did was put a finger on her lips and raise her right hand, and it was like the parting of the Red Sea. You could hear a pin drop.' (Mr. Brocka died in a car accident in 1991 at 52.) Ms. Aunor's more than 200 screen credits include roles as a midwife in 'Thy Womb' (2012); a World War II revolutionary in 'Three Years Without God' (1976); a pregnant woman incarcerated for murder in 'The Flowers of the City Jail' (1984); and a Filipina domestic worker who is hanged in Singapore for the murder of another maid and the child she was caring for in 'The Flor Contemplacion Story' (1995), which was based on a true story. Emanuel Levy, in his review of 'The Flor Contemplacion Story' in Variety, wrote, 'Aunor invests her role with powerful emotions and utmost conviction, showing how a humble, self-sacrificing mother became a victim of corruption and abuse — and later, a national symbol adored by her countrymen.' For her portrayal of Ms. Contemplacion, Ms. Aunor won the best actress award from the Cairo International Film Festival. In 2024, the Metrograph, an art-house theater on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, held a mini-restrospective of Ms. Aunor's work, showing 'Bona' and Once a Moth' (1976), in which she starred as a nurse whose plan to emigrate to the United States ends after her brother is shot to death by an American soldier. 'She had a great screen presence,' Inge de Leeuw, the theater's director of programming, said in an interview. 'Her roles were humane, and she had a lot of heart in how she portrayed different people.' Nora Cabaltera Villamayor was born on May 21, 1953, in Iriga, in the province of Camarines Sur, to Antonio Cabaltera, a porter, and Eustacio Villamayor. To help her poor family, Nora sold water at the railroad station where her father worked. By the sixth grade, she had become a fan of Timi Yuro, a soulful American singer who was popular in the Philippines, and sang almost all the time, Nick Joaquin, a well-known Filipino journalist, wrote in 1970 in the Philippines Free Press, a weekly magazine. Between ages 12 and 14, Nora won amateur singing contests, bringing her record and movie contracts. (She took her professional surname from an aunt.) 'Her influences ranged from Streisand to Nancy Wilson,' Mr. Joaquin wrote, 'but a Nora style was developing. Whether belting out a hot number or crooning a kundiman' — a traditional Filipino love song — 'the Aunor voice is defined by a certain huskiness of tone, quite remarkable in so young a girl.' Her voice was heard on hundreds of singles and albums, on her long-running variety show and in concerts until one of her vocal cords was damaged during a botched cosmetic surgery in 2010. Her repertoire included English-language covers of songs like 'People,' 'Moon River' and 'Pearly Shells,' a 1971 release that reportedly sold more than one million units, as well as many ballads sung in Filipino. 'Personally, in my heart, I really like music,' she told The Jersey Journal in 2000 when she performed at Newark Symphony Hall. 'Acting is one part of me which satisfies me, too. It fulfills me. Maybe it's a combination of both.' She added: 'I can't let go of one and be partial to the other one.' Her career hit a detour in 2005, when she was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport, accused of possessing eight grams of methamphetamine and a glass pipe in her carry-on bag. She pleaded guilty to drug possession and entered a county drug program; after three months, she was allowed to travel for concerts. Later that year, Noranians held a celebration of Ms. Aunor's 39th year in show business in Quezon City in the Philippines, and the city of Killeen, Texas, which has a significant Filipino population, held a day in her honor. 'You have truly made a difference in all our lives,' Tim Hancock, Killeen's mayor, told Ms. Aunor at the event. In addition to her son Ian, her survivors include her four other children, Lotlot, Kiko and Kenneth de Leon and Matet de Leon-Estrada. Her marriage to Christopher de Leon ended in divorce. Although in declining health, Ms. Aunor continued to work in the Philippines through last year, in the horror film 'Mananambal,' as a traditional healer, and in a recurring role in the TV series 'Lilet Matias: Attorney-at-Law.' Martin Escudero, who worked with Ms. Aunor in 'Mananambal,' told The Manila Standard this year that her acting had a positive effect on others in the cast. When he acted opposite her, he said, 'you don't have to force anything. With just a look from Ms. Nora, you feel her presence, and that makes you act naturally.'
USA Today
17-04-2025
- USA Today
Nora Aunor, most awarded actress in Filipino cinema, dies at 71: 'Touched generations'
Nora Aunor, most awarded actress in Filipino cinema, dies at 71: 'Touched generations' Actress Nora Aunor, known as one of the Philippines' most prominent stars, has died at 71. Aunor's death on April 16 was announced by her daughter, fellow actress Lotlot de Leon, on Instagram the same day. "It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Nora Aunor, our beloved mother, celebrated television and movie actress, and a true National Artist of the Philippines," de Leon captioned a black-and-white photo of the late star. "She touched generations with her unmatched talent, grace, and passion for the craft. Her voice, presence, and artistry shaped a legacy that will never fade." No cause of death has been given. Aunor is thought to be the most awarded actress in Filipino cinema, with multiple lifetime achievement awards and several international awards, including an Asian Film Award for best actress. The record-breaking singer and theater actress was known for the Filipino films "Bona" and "Taklub," both shown at Cannes International Film Festival; "Himala," the biopic "The Flor Contemplacion Story," "Andrea, Paano Ba ang Maging Isang Ina?" and "Thy Womb," which was shown at Venice International Film Festival. She also starred in the television series "Bituin," "Little Nanay," "Onanay" and "Bilangin ang bituin sa langit." Aunor's final acting credit, for "Lilet Matias, Attorney-at-Law," came in 2024. The Philippines' National Commission for Culture and the Arts announced on social media that Aunor would be given a public funeral and ceremony. The film and television star was granted the country's Order of National Artist by the Office of the President in the field of Film and Broadcast Arts in 2022. "The 'Superstar' has an extensive filmography of more than 170 films," the commission wrote. "This number is exceeded only by the number of awards and citations she has received from local and international organizations." Aunor is survived by her five children, including actors Lotlot de Leon, Ian de León and Matet de Léon-Estrada. "She was a star not only on screen, but in the hearts of many—and stars like hers never stop shining," Lotlot de Leon continued. "Her light lives on—forever loved, never forgotten."
Los Angeles Times
17-04-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Nora Aunor, veteran performer who was beloved in the Philippines, dies at 71
MANILA, Philippines — Nora Aunor, who became one of the biggest stars of Philippine cinema during a career that spanned seven decades, has died. Aunor died Wednesday, according to social media posts from her children. She was 71. No further details on the cause or place of her death were immediately given. Filipina actor Lotlot de León said on Instagram that her mother 'touched generations with her unmatched talent, grace, and passion for the craft. Her voice, presence, and artistry shaped a legacy that will never fade.' De León said funeral plans and other details will be shared later. In a statement released Thursday, Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Aunor 'was our consummate actress, singer, and film producer.' He praised the performer for her 'golden voice' and her 'genius,' which he said was a 'gift to the Filipino nation.' Aunor, born Nora Cabaltera Villamayor to an impoverished family in eastern Camarines Sur province, sold water in a train station in her hometown in her youth. She first gained fame in her teens as a singer in the 1960s before moving on to movies. She amassed more than 200 credits in film and television that included many classics of Philippine cinema, and won dozens of acting awards. Memorable roles included 1976's 'Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos' ('Three Years Without God'), 1984's 'Bulaklak sa City Jail' ('Flowers of the City Jail') and 1995's 'The Flor Contemplacion Story.' She swept acting awards in the country for her performance in 1990's 'Andrea, Paano ba ang Maging Isang Ina?' ('Andrea, How Is It Like to Be a Mother?') and won lead actress at the Asian Film Awards for her portrayal of a midwife in 2012's 'Thy Womb.' Aunor was still acting as recently as last year, starring in the film 'Mananambal' ('The Healer') and appearing on the TV series 'Lilet Matias, Attorney-at-Law.' Aunor was named a National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts — the country's biggest honor for actors — in 2022. In 2014, then-President Benigno Aquino III had denied her the honor because of a previous drug arrest in the U.S., provoking broad outcry. Aunor's lawyer said the 2005 arrest at the Los Angeles airport came because of a pipe found in a bag she did not pack, noting she was traveling with four assistants at the time. The charges were dropped in 2007 after she completed a diversion program, her lawyer said in 2014. Aunor was married to actor Christopher de León from 1975 until 1996. She is survived by their children Lotlet, Ian, Matet, Kiko and Kenneth de León. Times staff writer Alexandra Del Rosario contributed to this report.
