Make way for ‘motel heiress’ Ellen Adarna
It seems that our very own Ellen Adarna has a lot in common with Hollywood's Paris Hilton in that they are both riddled with intrigues, controversies and even scandals in their younger years. While the latter was tagged as the "hotel heiress," Ellen could be called the "motel heiress!" No malice intended in this provocative title because Ellen is actually the eldest child of the owner of the chain of Queensland Motels in Cebu, Manila and Davao.
Unlike Paris though, Ellen worked in her family’s motel business. While most children her age spend summer vacation having fun, she would work the whole day to earn her keep. She said her father does not provide her any allowances during the summer. Ellen said she needs to earn it by working in their Cebu motel wherein she had various jobs, from housekeeping to being her father’s secretary. This began she said when she was still in Grade 4.
"Lahat napagdaanan ko kasi Grade 4 pa lang ako nagtratrabaho na ako. Hindi naman ako nahirapan kasi nag-enjoy naman ako. Mahirap lang talaga 'yung pakipag-deal ko sa Papa ko at yung pressure na nanggagaling sa kanya. Siyempre pag anak ka, times two ang expected sa 'yo compared sa ordinary worker," Ellen recalled.
She added that her dad wanted to make her know and understand the value of money at an early age. Her basic needs were provided but she had to work hard for extra money.
Ellen said, however, she never regretted working to earn her own money in her younger years. In fact, her early work experience helped her survive after running away from home a number of times; the last time was two years ago when she had a "major fight" with her dad.
"Every time I ran away from home, mga three months usually. Nag-aapply ako ng jobs and I'd get jobs. Noong 17 years old ako nag-apply ako as Call Center Agent tapos na hire ako sa Human Resource Department nila," she shared.
"Buti na lang may offer ang GMA 7 kaya umalis na talaga ako sa dad ko kasi may trabaho naman ako sa GMA 7," she related. "Nag-away kasi kami at alam niya na fault niya. Pero marami rin naman akong faults kasi pasaway naman talaga ako noon!"
So is Ellen leaving the motel business for good for showbiz?
"Alam ko naman na babalik din ako sa Papa ko. Maybe when I decide to get married babalik na ako kasi alam ko mas stable ako sa kanya," she replied.
With regards to her similarities with Paris, Ellen has also left her "sweet image" for a sexier one. Proof of this is the breast enhancements she had recently.
Her career move though doesn't mean that she's going to do more daring projects in the near future. What she intends to do is to work harder to improve her acting so that she can someday be in a drama series and the movies.
Ellen, who is earning raves for her FHM Philippines cover this January, is currently in "Bubble Gang" and is a semi-regular in the upcoming Bea Binene starrer "Alice Bungisngis" airing this February on GMA 7. She is also scheduled to start shooting in an indie-film directed by Topel Lee.