IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Female celebrities who are standouts in their fields

The entertainment industry is home to innumerable women much deserving of the spotlight this Women’s Month. While there is still a lot that needs to be addressed, it is worth noting that the industry has been progressing into an era wherein women rightfully claim the platform they deserve.

To mark the celebration, let’s put the spotlight on these five notable female celebrities who have recently stood out and earned recognition in their fields. While a woman’s achievement does not define her worth, it does represent the devotion she poured into her craft to remain unfazed amid naysayers. 

Dolly de Leon

The woman of the hour, Dolly de Leon, has brought the country with her in several international awarding ceremonies that acknowledged her acclaimed performance in “Triangle of Sadness.” 

Aside from bagging the best supporting actress award at the Guldbagge Awards and Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (LAFCA), the veteran actress also became the first Filipino actor to be nominated in the Golden Globe Awards and British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA). She was also named as one of this year’s National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ (NCCA) Ani ng Dangal awardees. 

Prior to her Palme d’Or-winning satirical black comedy film, De Leon may have been confined to supporting roles but her filmography includes significant portrayals. Some of which are her roles in the horror anthology series “Folklore” and the award-winning “On the Job: The Missing 8”—both helmed by acclaimed director Erik Matti. 

In an interview with American magazine GQ, De Leon admitted she has always felt “oppressed” and “discriminated” because of her stature in life—a sentiment she shares with her “Triangle of Sadness” character Abigail. A single mom of four, De Leon has soldiered on in the show business for over 30 years and she surely has been reaping the fruits of her labor. 

With the accolades she already has and would soon attain, De Leon has absolutely carved her name in the entertainment industry both locally and abroad. 

Samantha Lee 

Samantha Lee is one of the many filmmakers who advocates for women and LGBTQIA+ community representation in the local cinema. Her most recent queer series, “Sleep With Me,” which stars Janine Gutierrez and Lovi Poe, bagged the Audience Award for Best Episodic in the Outfest LGBTQ Film Festival in Los Angeles. It was also chosen as one of the official selections at the 34th NewFest, New York City’s largest presenter of LGBTQ+ film and media.

In an interview with lifestyle magazine Tatler Asia, Lee, who identifies herself as queer, lamented how members of the LGBTQIA+ community were being shown in the local media as characters that “had no agency, no depth, and no other purpose to serve in the narrative other than to provide some cheap laughs.” 

This became Lee’s driving force to finish a film degree in the University of the Philippines-Diliman, and make it her life’s mission to tell stories and shine light on the existence of their community.

Lee made her directorial debut in 2016 with “Baka Bukas,” a romantic drama about a lesbian who falls for her best friend, which was also recognized in film festivals abroad.  

R’Bonney Gabriel 

Miss Universe 2022 R’bonney Gabriel, the first-ever Filipino-American to have won the title, proved that more than her beauty, she’s a woman of talent and compassion. Before pursuing pageantry, the beauty queen had already been managing her own sustainable clothing line, R’Bonney Nola. Her design house has also provided sewing classes to women who survived domestic violence and human trafficking. 

The journey to the crown was not an easy path for Gabriel as she also experienced losses. Gabriel joined Miss Texas U.S.A. in 2021 but fell short of winning the crown. The following year, she joined the competition again, won, and represented Texas in the Miss USA 2022 pageant. She emerged as the winner of the said pageant but her win was hounded with controversy, with some of the contestants claiming that the results were “predetermined.” 

Gabriel maintained that the pageant was not rigged, and has proven she was worthy of the crown during the Miss Universe 2022 competition.

In her stint as the Miss Universe 2022 titleholder, Gabriel is aiming to be a “transformational leader” who uses her platform as well as fashion “as a force for good.” She also aspires to be an inspiration to women and young girls to “conquer their goals by owning who they are.”

Hidilyn Diaz

Hidilyn Diaz has dominated the weightlifting scene with a collection of several gold medals from competitions including the Olympics, the Asian Games, the Southeast Asian Games, and her most recent, the World Weightlifting Championship. 

The 32-year-old weightlifter, who won the country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in 2021, has made it a point to set standards for herself and overcome it in every competition. She confessed that being the first ever Olympic gold medalist in the country brought a responsibility much bigger than her previous wins, but nevertheless, she considers it as a blessing.

While pursuing her goals in weightlifting, Diaz was also able to juggle her studies and love life in the sidelines as she completed her business management degree and married her coach-trainer Julius Naranjo in 2022. 

In her commitment to inspire her fellow weightlifting athletes and aspirants in pursuing their dreams, Diaz put up an academy where she serves as one of the trainers. With this, Diaz hopes to give back to the weightlifting community and also give rise to the next generation of weightlifters.

Michelle Yeoh

Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh has recently made history with her sci-fi action adventure film “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which earned her acting awards and nominations from several award-giving bodies. On top of winning her first Golden Globe award, Yeoh became the first Asian actor to have bagged the best actress honor at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, and who has earned an Oscars best actress nomination. 

Yeoh’s character as Evelyn in the film was her first lead role in her 40-year acting career, though she starred in supporting roles in numerous films including “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000), “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018), and the Marvel movie “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (2021). 

Before delving into acting, Yeoh was a regular at pageantries and was crowned Miss Malaysia in 1983. In the same year, she also emerged as the winner in Miss Moomba and Queen of the Pacific pageants in Australia. 

The 60-year-old actress dedicated her historic wins to fellow Asians who have not been recognized and heard, and regarded the film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” as the “best gift” that came to her. EDV

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