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More than a thriving career for Coleen

Coleen Garcia (File photo, NPPA Images)
Coleen Garcia (File photo, NPPA Images)

First, she was discovered as a stunning teen newcomer who made heads turn and eyes glued to her weekly youth-oriented drama on ABS-CBN every Sunday.

In the first Yahoo! OMG Awards in 2011, she was among the nominees based on Yahoo! Search for Amazing Female Newcomer and really proved her worth by garnering a surge of popular votes. But she lost out in the homestretch to an already prized talent in a rival network.

Immense potential

She indeed showed her immense potential that time but it seemed Coleen Garcia needed to wait for that big break, not for being that gorgeous, cute face, but for the real , impressive talent she could reveal amid a fiercely competitive stable of young stars, who like she, are battling for good projects and precious exposure in the Kapamilya network.

While it seemed newer stars are basking in the limelight, Coleen was unfazed with the setbacks and was fully satisfied with the blessings that came her way.

One important blessing in her career was her inclusion as a regular co-host of It’s Showtime, where she was able to “SAM-POL” or showcase her multi-faceted nature as an entertainer—apart from being the pretty face who can act and sing, to the personality we always welcome each noontime with her impressive hosting and, even comedic skills in the presence of the likes of Vice Ganda and Vhong Navarro. She took the challenge, overcame it, and turned out a rousing success, even effectively subbing for main female hosts Anne Curtis and Karylle when they were unavailable.

Difficult role

But this Holy Week became the opportunity for Coleen to further showcase what she can do as an artist—something that she had always dreamed of doing from the start. She showed to the world that she can really act and essay a difficult role that would leave a lasting impact on televiewers.

That happened on April 16, Wednesday, on a Holy Week drama special featuring It’s Showtime hosts portraying the difficult yet fulfilling lives of ordinary people who stepped on the show’s stage as contestants and truly made a difference. Coleen portrayed the role of a lesbian, Chucks Ledbetter, one of the finalists of the show’s “That’s My Tomboy” competition.

Coleen bares her acting chops as Chucks Ledbetter. (ABS-CBN)
Coleen bares her acting chops as Chucks Ledbetter. (ABS-CBN)

‘A revelation’

Her performance was clearly not the stereotypical, skit-like impression of the character she imbibed, but an effectual, profound, and even altruistic presentation of one complex yet incredible individual. The program netted the Top Trending Topic on Twitter (#ColeenGarciaShowtimeHolyWeekSpecial), and drew praise from her followers.

Twitter users call Coleen a “revelation” and mentioned that her performance made them “appreciate her even more” as an artist. Some other tweets called on ABS-CBN to further take notice and offer a breakthrough role she truly deserves in a major TV drama series or movie project—becoming yet another primetime drama princess.

It’s a tall order, considering how the network is juggling its precious airtime among so many of its current royalty of talents.

But even if this breakthrough may not come sooner, we are still very happy with the way Coleen’s career is going—even with her personal life as we see family photos with her sharing priceless moments with her loved ones, relatives, and that familiar bud also hosting the noontime show, whom we think is already part of the family.

Now that is what the spoils of any drama queen or princess, even with multitudes of movies, TV shows, or endorsements, can never buy.