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Mona Lisa (actress)

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Mona Lisa
Born
Gloria Lerma Yatco

(1922-06-22)June 22, 1922
DiedAugust 25, 2019(2019-08-25) (aged 97)
Other namesFleur de Lis, Gloria Guinto
OccupationActress
Years active1930–2005
AwardsFAMAS Best Supporting Actress
1975 Insiang
Gawad Urian
1999 Lifetime Achievement Award

Gloria Lerma Yatco (June 22, 1922 – August 25, 2019),[1] better known by her stage name Mona Lisa, was a Filipino film actress. Known by the screen name Fleur de Lis before and during World War II, she was one of the renowned Filipina actresses of the late 1930s and 1940s.

Career

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She was paired with Ely Ramos in LVN Pictures' Giliw Ko, along with LVN's first leading actress Mila del Sol and Fernando Poe, directed by Carlos Vander Tolosa, where she made history as the first actress to appear in a Filipino film wearing a bathing suit.

After WWII, she came back to the limelight as Mona Lisa, top billed with Teddy Benavidez in Kalbario ng Isang Ina (1946) and Siyudad sa Ilalim ng Lupa (1949) opposite Fernando Royo.

Mona Lisa paired with some of the Philippines' finest actors of the 1940s such as Ricardo Brillantes in Batang Lansangan, Pag-ibig at Patalim (1948) opposite Teddy Benavidez and Hanggang Langit (1947) with the Philippine actor known as "The Great Profile" Leopoldo Salcedo.

In the mid-40s, Mona Lisa paired several times with action/drama actor Fernando Poe in movies like Intramuros (1946), The 13th Sultan and Sagur, both in 1949.

Before the war struck Manila, Mona Lisa paired with famous debonair actor of the 40s Serafin Garcia in the movie Tinangay ng Apoy in 1940 and second lead only to the Philippines' newest screen siren of the early 1940s Paraluman opposite Fernando Poe.

Mona Lisa portrayed a war-shock civilian in 1952's Ulila ng Bataan opposite Sampaguita Pictures girl wonder Tessie Agana and Buhay Alamang (Paglukso'y Patay), along with Sampaguita actor Fred Montilla combined with premier actress Anita Linda also in 1952.

She resumed her film career in 1970 after an absence of nearly two decades, and remained active in the industry where she got a Best Supporting Actress Award for Insiang, and another Best Supporting Actress Award for the Metro Manila Film Festival in 1977 consecutively, where she portrayed a sex hungry mother of Insiang played by Hilda Koronel.

Some of her films from the mid to late 70s were as a supporting actress to lead actors such as Rio Locsin in Risa Jones: Showgirl! (1979), Atsay (1978) with Nora Aunor, Pagputi ng Uwak, Pag-itim ng Tagak (1978) with Vilma Santos and Bembol Roco, Mananayaw (1978) with Chanda Romero and Phillip Salvador, Hindi Kami Damong Ligaw (1976) with Charito Solis, and Itim (1976) with a promising talent and rising star Charo Santos.

Her last movie Mother Ignacia was released in 1998, in which she plays a nun in a Catholic church.

A book on her life and career in show business, Mona Lisa: A Portrait (From the Memoirs of a Grandmother), was published in 2013 by ABS-CBN Publishing Inc. Her granddaughter was the author.[2]

Death

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Lisa died in her sleep on August 25, 2019, at her home in Manila, three years after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, at the age of 97.[3]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role
1930 Bago lumubog ang araw
1937 Ang pagbabalik
1938 Walang pangalan
Mga sugat ng puso
Makiling
Dasalang perlas
Bukang liwayway
Bahay kubo
Ang magmamani
1939 Giliw Ko
1940 Dilim at liwanag
Tinañgay na Apoy
Datu-talim
1941 Paraluman
Luksang bituin
Puting dambana
Palaris
Bayani ng buhay
Ang viuda alegre
1942 Princesa Urduja
1946 Intramuros: The Rape of a City
Kalbario ng Isang Ina
Barong-barong
1947 Bisig ng batas
Hanggang langit
Maria Kapra
1948 Batang lansangan
Matimtiman
Pag-ibig at Patalim
Sunset Over Corregidor
Outrages of the Orient
Krus ng digma
Forbidden Women Princess Apamena
Beast of the East
1949 Siyudad sa ilalim ng lupa
1949 Sagur
1949 The 13th Sultan
1949 Naglahong tala
1950 Sundalong talahib
1951 Dugo ng Bataan
1952 Buhay alamang
1952 Ulila ng Bataan
1953 Blood of Bataan Lolita Zalasar
1970 Romantika
1970 Romantiko
1974 La Paloma: Ang kalapating ligaw Soledad
1974 Isang gabi... Tatlong babae!
1975 Mga uhaw na bulaklak
1975 Araw-araw, gabi-gabi
1976 Hindi kami damong ligaw
1976 Uhaw na Bulaklak, Part II
1976 Insiang Tonya
1976 Itim Aling Pining
1977 Electrika kasi, eh!
1978 Mananayaw
1978 Pagputi ng uwak... Pag-itim ng tagak Diding
1978 Atsay Lola
1979 Sino'ng pipigil sa pagpatak ng ulan?
1979 Risa Jones; Showgirl
1980 Tanikala
1981 Alfredo Sebastian
1982 Oro, Plata, Mata Lola Desta
1982 Cain and Abel Senora Pina
1983 Hulihin ang ... mandurugas
1983 Minsan pa nating hagkan ang nakaraan Tia Salud
1984 Soltero
1984 This Is My Country Ina ni Turing
1986 Napakasakit, kuya Eddie
1987 Paano kung wala ka na? Mrs. Ledesma
1987 1 + 1 = 12 + 1
1989 Barbi: Maid in the Philippines
1989 Babangon ako't dudurugin kita
1991 Umiyak pati langit Doña Elena
1991 Huwag mong salingin ang sugat ko Mrs.Regala
1994 Chop-Chop Lady: The Elsa Castillo Story Adelina Santos
1996 Pagsubok sa hirap at ginhawa
1998 Mother Ignacia-Ang uliran Mother Ignacia (elder years)
2003 Kiskisan Bining
2005 Camiling Story (Last Movie appearance) Jenny

Television

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Year Title Role Remarks TV Network
1988 A Dangerous Life Francisca Monzon
1992 Maalaala Mo Kaya Episode: "Dapithapon" ABS-CBN
2000 Episode: "Tirador"
Kakabakaba GMA Network
2001 GMA Telesine: Pariwara GMA Network
Maalaala Mo Kaya Episode: "Gitara" ABS-CBN

Awards and nominations

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Year Award-giving body Category Work Result
1976 Metro Manila Film Festival Best Supporting Actress Insiang Won
1977 FAMAS Awards Best Supporting Actress Insiang Won
1983 FAMAS Awards Best Actress Cain at Abel Nominated
1999 Gawad Urian Awards Lifetime Achievement Award Won
2005 Golden Screen Awards Gawad Lino Brocka Lifetime Achievement Award Won

References

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  1. ^ Veteran actress Mona Lisa passes away
  2. ^ "Veteran actress Mona Lisa dies at 97". rappler.com. Rappler. August 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "Veteran actress Mona Lisa passes away at 97, wake details disclosed". gmanetwork.com. GMA Network.
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