Became Famous

That was Bubble gang girl Lovely Abella's mantra when she started out in showbiz.

- Juju Baluyot

How badly must you want to be a star to actually become one?

In the case of Lovely Abella, she wanted it so bad since she was eight she was going to shed all her shyness for it, and that was the first thing she did when she set foot in Manila.

“Eight years old ako noon, nag-audition ako agad,” Lovely shares, recalling the time when she first arrived in the capital coming from a humble town in Koronadal City, South Cotabato. To prepare for auditions, “humaharap ako sa salamin, umiiyak ako. Pinag-aaralan ko kung paano umiyak… Bata pa lang, emotera na ako, ganun!”

Like many dreamers before her, she thought show business was a way out of poverty. “Mahirap ang buhay namin [back then in Koronadal]. Tipong kukuha ka lang ng gulay sa bakuran niyo, yun na yung ulam niyo. Yung pupunta ka sa tindahan, bibili ng sardinas. Na-realize ko na ang sitwasyon namin sa probinsya ang nagbigay sa akin ng pangarap sa buhay. Eh sa probinsya, wala namang ibang libangan doon kundi kakanta ka o sasayaw tapos maaaliw sa’yo ang mga kapitbahay, sasabihin sa’yo, mag-artista ka!” Lovely says.

It took a while, though. But when you’ve been through only rejections since you were eight, it couldn’t have come quickly enough—even if it was only for becoming an “extra.” “Unang extra ko, 15 na ako nun. Hindi ko na maalala kung anong project.”

Lovely remembers the time when she thought she had already gotten her big break. She received a call from a talent scout and said that she would be given some lines this time. Having dreamed of this day all her life, she quickly said yes.