MANILA: Nora Aunor, considered by many Filipinos as their country’s greatest actress and singer, has died aged 71, the government and her family said Thursday.
Proclaimed a “National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts” by the Philippines in 2022, the once child snack vendor who would go on to star in 170 films will be honoured with a state funeral.
“It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Nora Aunor, our beloved mother, celebrated television and movie actress,” her adopted daughter Lotlot de Leon announced Thursday on her Instagram page.
The cause of death, which took place Wednesday, was not disclosed. Her first break came when cast in 1967’s “All Over the World”, a typical teen comedy of the era.
Aunor, who had a darker skin tone compared to the half-Caucasian actresses that dominated local cinema at the time – brought a relatability to audiences, earning her the nickname Ate guy, or big sister guy.
She would become a sensation as part of a studio-manufactured “love team” with actor Tirso Cruz III. Together they were known as “Guy and Pip”.
Critical acclaim followed nearly a decade later with starring roles in the dramas “Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos” (Three Years Without God) and “Minsa’y Isang Gamu-gamo” (Once a Moth), both released in 1976.
Splendid career
Aunor also recorded hundreds of songs, including 1971’s “Pearly Shells”, said to be one of the Philippine’s top-selling singles ever.
On Thursday, President Ferdinand Marcos described her as “a gift to the Filipino nation”, and the government’s National Commission for Culture and the Arts said she would receive a state funeral at a date to be determined.
“Throughout her splendid career that spanned more than 50 years, she was our consummate actress, singer, and film producer,” Marcos said.
“Her golden voice was a balm for all. Her genius was a gift to the Filipino nation.”
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The fourth of five children from a family in the poverty-stricken Bicol region southeast of Manila, Aunor, born Nora Villamayor, helped the family make ends meet by selling cold water and snacks at a train station.
Her grandmother taught her to sing, and at 14, she won a nationwide singing contest.
She married local actor Christopher de Leon in 1975, and the couple had one biological child and four adopted children before separating two decades later.
Aunor later immigrated to the United States, and in 2005 was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for drugs possession. She underwent a court-directed drug diversion programme that kept her out of prison.
She returned to Manila in 2011 to resume her acting and singing career.
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