Latest news with #Aunor
New York Times
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- 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.'
Filipino Times
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Filipino Times
Marcos, Office of the President paid Nora Aunor's hospital bills, other expenses
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. and the Office of the President covered the hospital expenses and other debts of National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Nora Aunor, a senior Palace official confirmed. Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Senior Undersecretary Analisa 'Ana' Puod clarified to reporters that it was not the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) that paid the bills. 'It was the Office of the President and President Marcos himself,' Puod said. She added that aside from Aunor's hospital bill, other debts and expenses were also settled using the President's personal funds. Puod explained that while Aunor was entitled to hospitalization benefits as a National Artist, the cost of her stay at a private hospital exceeded what the standard benefits could cover. 'On top of the hospitalization benefits, the President and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos personally provided additional financial assistance,' Puod said. The exact amount covered was not disclosed. Nora Aunor, whose real name was Nora Cabaltera Villamayor, passed away on April 16 due to acute respiratory failure. She was 71 years old. Earlier this week, she was laid to rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City. Known as the 'Superstar,' Aunor built a celebrated career in both music and film, starring in classics like Himala, T-Bird at Ako, Bulaklak sa City Jail, and The Flor Contemplacion Story. She was also behind hit songs such as Handog and Ikaw ang Superstar.
South China Morning Post
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Remembering Nora Aunor: actress, ‘rebel' and the Philippines' ‘Superstar'
To generations of Filipinos, Nora Aunor was not just a film star – she was the embodiment of their hopes, hardships and quiet resilience. Advertisement Celebrated as the Philippines ' one and only 'Superstar', the diminutive actress with a golden voice and uncommon charisma rose from poverty to become a national icon – not for her glamour, but for her ability to portray the unvarnished lives of ordinary Filipinos. 'She was full of contradictions, simple yet complicated,' said screenwriter and long-time collaborator Ricardo Lee, who delivered one of the most poignant tributes following Aunor's death on April 16 at age 71. Aunor was laid to rest on Tuesday with full state honours at the Heroes Cemetery in Manila. But as Lee stressed in his eulogy, it was not the pomp and circumstance of her funeral that defined her – it was her bond with the people she portrayed, especially the marginalised. Nora Aunor, who died on April 16, was celebrated as the Philippines' one and only 'Superstar'. Photo: Facebook/Janine Gutierrez One moment stood out for Lee: in 1993, while in Hong Kong for a staging of his play D.H. – short for 'domestic helper' – with Aunor in the lead role, they visited the city's Central District, where she warmly embraced Filipino migrant workers gathered in the park. Advertisement 'Hundreds of DH were there,' Lee recalled. 'Guy' – the nickname her fans lovingly used – embraced nearly each one and asked about their problems, as if this was the most normal thing for superstars to do.
Observer
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Observer
Philippine film legend Nora Aunor dies aged 71
Nora Aunor, considered by many Filipinos as their country's greatest actor and singer, has died aged 71, the government and her family said Thursday. Proclaimed a "National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts" by the Philippines in 2022, the once child snack vendor will be honoured with a state funeral. "It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Nora Aunor, our beloved mother, celebrated television and movie actress," her adopted daughter Lotlot de Leon announced Thursday on her Instagram page. The cause of death, which took place Wednesday, was not disclosed. Aunor starred in 170 films and got her first break when cast in 1967's "All Over the World", a typical teen comedy of the era. With a darker skin tone compared to the half-Caucasian actors that dominated local cinema at the time -- Aunor brought a relatability to audiences, earning her the nickname Ate guy, or big sister guy. She would become a sensation as part of a studio-manufactured "love team" with actor Tirso Cruz III. Together they were known as "Guy and Pip". Critical acclaim followed nearly a decade later with starring roles in the dramas "Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos" ("Three Years Without God") and "Minsa'y Isang Gamu-gamo" ("Once a Moth"), both released in 1976. - 'Splendid career' - Aunor also recorded hundreds of songs, including 1971's "Pearly Shells", said to be one of the Philippine's top-selling singles ever. On Thursday, President Ferdinand Marcos described her as "a gift to the Filipino nation", and the government's National Commission for Culture and the Arts said she would receive a state funeral. Aunor's daughter Leon later posted on Instagram that the funeral will take place on April 22 at the National Heroes Cemetery. "Throughout her splendid career that spanned more than 50 years, she was our consummate actress, singer, and film producer," Marcos said. "Her golden voice was a balm for all. Her genius was a gift to the Filipino nation." The fourth of five children from a family in the poverty-stricken Bicol region southeast of Manila, Aunor, born Nora Villamayor, helped the family make ends meet by selling cold water and snacks at a train station. Her grandmother taught her to sing, and at 14, she won a nationwide singing contest. She married Filipino actor Christopher de Leon in 1975, and the couple had one biological child and four adopted children before separating two decades later. Aunor later immigrated to the United States, and in 2005 was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for drug possession. She underwent a court-directed drug diversion programme that kept her out of prison. She returned to Manila in 2011 to resume her acting and singing career. —AFP
USA Today
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- 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."
