Gloria Romero

Biography

Gloria Romero (born Gloria Anne Borrego Galla; December 16, 1933 – January 25, 2025) was an American-born Filipino actress. Regarded as the "Queen of Philippine Cinema", she has appeared in more than 300 film and television productions throughout her career that spanned seven decades. She was Philippines' highest paid movie star of the 1950s and became the biggest box-office draw of the period.

Romero began appearing as a background actor at the age of 16. She made her feature film debut with a secondary role in Madame X (1952) and won the FAMAS Award for Best Actress for her performance as a tobacco-smoking maiden in Dalagang Ilocana (1954). She was posthumously conferred with the Presidential Medal of Merit in 2025 and has been the recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award from government agencies and major award-giving bodies, including the Luna Awards in 2002, FAMAS, Gawad Urian (both in 2004), the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) in 2009 and Film Development Council of the Philippines in 2024.