SHARON CUNETA
It’s not every day that singer-actress Sharon Cuneta, dubbed the country’s Megastar, can act like a fan.
Mega was quite naturally thrilled when daughter KC Concepcion took her to a gala fund-raising dinner for the 10th anniversary of the William J. Clinton Foundation at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles on October 13.
Sharon recalled that KC, the country’s ambassador to the UN World Food Program, had met the former US president at the Clinton Global Initiative event in Hong Kong three years ago. Invited to the LA party, KC asked mom to be her “plus one.”
Proud of KC
Mega said she was “especially proud of KC” and that it was “an honor to meet a former US president, especially because I’ve been a Bill Clinton admirer since our days in Boston (when husband, Sen. Francis Pangilinan, studied in Harvard in 1996-1997).” She has read all of Clinton’s books.
Up close, the former president lived up to Mega’s admiration.
“KC reminded him of their meeting in Hong Kong. Napakabait (nice).” And accommodating, she added. “After KC introduced me to him, he got our camera and said: ‘Let John (one of his aides) take it.’ Ang cute!”
As bonus, Mega got to enjoy star-gazing that night.
“(Singer-actress) Barbra Streisand and husband James Brolin, with designer Donna Karan, were two tables away from us,” Sharon recounted. “I got to talk to Barbara. Of course, Hillary Clinton, her daughter Chelsea and Chelsea’s husband, Marc Mezvinsky, were there, too.”
Mega also spotted Jane Fonda, Edward James Olmos, Chevy Chase (who hosted the event), Roma Downey and another fave, Patricia Arquette, who was with sister Rosanna Arquette.
“I told Patricia that I watched all the seasons of (the TV series) ‘Medium’ and she was so sweet,” Sharon reported.
She also singled out another favorite that she saw in the crowd: Julie Benz. “She played Rita, wife of serial killer Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) in one of my favorite TV shows, ‘Dexter.’”
Sharon later learned that actress Jessica Alba was present at the party as well. “But I didn’t get to see her. Among the performers at the dinner were Jerry Lee Lewis and Stevie Nicks.”
After the celebrity-gazing overload, Sharon decided not to catch Clinton’s birthday concert, titled “A Decade of Difference,” at the Hollywood Bowl the following night. “KC watched the show,” she said. “Among the performers were Usher, Lady Gaga, Bono, while two of the presenters were Ellen Degeneres and Ashton Kutcher.”
Needless to say, Mega and KC had a blast during this unique “bonding time” in the United States.