Regine Tolentino: The Makings of A Diva
By Excel V. Dyquiangco
At first glance, no inkling of her inhibitions showed, even as projected onscreen. But 28-year old actress-dancer-TV host Regine Tolentino admits, she truly was a shy girl.
What changed her? And how did this contribute to her success as a morning show host, as endearing wife to former actor Lander Vera-Perez, and as a doting mother to two wonderful children?
At the tender age of three, Regine had studied ballet for ten years in her hometown in Anaheim, California. It was her mother’s dream. “My mother, who also loves to dance, claimed I first started to dance before I could walk,” she said with a laugh.
“It also helped when I started ballet, but of course, hilig ko din talaga. From then on, I wanted to try out everything – from tap dancing, ice skating and even cheerleading. I was very persistent in trying out all of these things and I kept on pushing my mom to let me join all of these activities. After ballet, the idea of dancing, in general, actually didn’t come from her. I was more influenced by my friends and peers in California but of course, it all started when I had fun dancing ballet.
It was when she was still in high school when her parents convinced her to come home to become a ramp model. “I didn’t even finish high school there,” Regine says. “Umuwi ako at dito ko na tinapos ang high school ko.” But when she arrived here, everything changed.
At 16, she instantly was lured into the limelight. She first got a glimpse of the showbiz world when she visited the set of That’s Entertainment, where she was supposed to join the cast. But then, as Regine felt, she was just too shy to join. Yet show bizness truly beckoned. She was watching Sang Linggo nAPO Sila when she was introduced to Mr. Johnny Manahan, or simply called Mr. M, the star builder of ABS-CBN, and immediately was drafted to join what was then known as Star Circle Batch 1. Along with the likes of Rico Yan and Maricel Morales, it was what she considered as the starting point of her career.
This finally erased her “shyness” attitude. “Nakakapagod talaga noon,” Regine says. “Ang daming project na binigay at talagang wala kaming pahinga noon.” Along with workshops now and then, she had gone through almost every show at ABS-CBN, from Palibhasa Lalaki, ASAP, Game na Game na and Keep on Dancing, in which her skills and styles in dancing were noticed. This also paved the way for her to become known now as a dancing goddess.
So, considering that she had gone through almost every show and had done well as an actress, a TV game show host and a dancer, among all of these, which is the most difficult part to do?
“Heavy drama,” she says with a laugh. “I am a happy person and I just couldn’t motivate myself to cry. I even have to call my husband and he’ll be the one to motivate me.”
After seven years at ABS-CBN from 1997-2002, she decided to switch stations and got her first assignment at GMA as a host at Digital LG Quiz with Paolo Bediones. From then on, she stayed and now has shows like Unang Hirit on GMA and Shall We Dance on ABC 5.
What is the hardest thing that she had gone through as an actress?
“The rumors,” she says. “I heard that I first got pregnant before I got married, or had affairs with married men. Of course, these weren’t true at all. But with the support of my family and prayers, I was able to deal with all of these graciously.”
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02 Jan 2007 Syobis Pinoy
