LIST: Local celebrities you didn’t know were adopted

WE see a lot of movies where the main characters live impoverished lives and then find out they are heirs to the riches of a couple who raised the wrong child. It’s a familiar plot twist to have the protagonist turn out to be an adopted child destined for greater things. 

Stories about adoption make for a good film, but tales of children having grown up in the care of adoptive parents aren’t just a thing of the movies. 

In fact, there are local celebrities who have been raised by people who are not their birth parents. 

Let’s get to know some of them.

1. Angelica Panganiban

It was in 2010 when actress Angelica Panganiban discovered she was adopted. 

In her previous interviews, Panganiban said she came to know about it while taping for her then gag show Banana Split. But even before that, the actress said she’s always had doubts about her identity. 

In one interview, she said when she was in high school, there were people coming up to her telling her they know her real parents. It was then that she started doubting her identity. 

She later found the courage to tell her cousin that she feels she was adopted. Her cousin broke down in tears, and that’s when she learned the truth. 

Eventually, fate gave her the chance to finally meet her dad, American Mark Charlson. She said her father did not bother looking for her because he thought that she and her mother perished in a car accident.

Panganiban’s birth mom died in Singapore in 2008 while her adoptive mom died in 2013. 

2. Angeline Quinto

Singer-actress Angeline Quinto has always been open about being an adopted child. She was raised by her paternal grandaunt Sylvia Quinto, better known as Mama Bob. 

In past interviews, Quinto said she learned she was adopted when she was 6. She met her biological mother in 2012. 

3. Jennylyn Mercado

Kapuso actress Jennylyn Mercado’s life is reminiscent of classic television drama series. In past interviews, she shared that she had been a battered child who suffered abuse in the hands of her stepfather. 

Her biological mother at that time was working abroad and came home only to bail out her daughter’s assailant from jail. 

Her aunt Lydia came to her rescue, took her under her care and raised her as her own.

4. Mark Herras

Kapuso actor Mark Herras grew up in an unconventional family. When he was five years old, he and his mother were abandoned by his birth father. 

After this, his uncle Jun Herras took care of him. His uncle had a partner, Herminigildo Santos, and he considers both of them his parents.

The two have since passed away. Herras has always been vocal that he is not ashamed about being raised by gay parents. 

5. Cristine Reyes

Actress Cristine Reyes has revealed that she had a painful childhood. She was six when she first found out that she was adopted and that her biological mother wanted to take her back. 

In a 2021 interview, the actress said that she felt neglected and unloved when she moved in with her real mother. She also heard hurtful words from her mom, she said.  

She carried her pain up to adulthood, but she also said she wants to “cut the curse” and does not want to spread bitterness, darkness, and hate.