Catherine "Alex" Cruz Gonzaga-Morada (; born January 16, 1988) is a Filipino media personality, host, comedian, actress, businesswoman, singer and vlogger. She played the lead role of Diane Santos on the Philippine television drama series '' Pure Love''.

Early life

Alex Gonzaga was born Catherine Cruz Gonzaga on January 16, 1988, in

Taytay, Rizal Taytay, officially the Municipality of Taytay (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Rizal (province), Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 386,451 pe ...

, to Crisanta "Pinty" Cruz and then-Vice-Mayor Carlito "Bonoy" Gonzaga. Her elder sister is TV host and actress

Toni Gonzaga Celestine Cruz Gonzaga-Soriano (born January 20, 1984), professionally known as Toni Gonzaga, is a Filipino media personality, host, actress, businesswoman, singer and vlogger. Gonzaga was the former lead host of ABS-CBN's long-running reality ...

. Alex graduated from the

University of Asia and the Pacific The University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P; ) is a private university in the Philippines. It traces its beginnings to the Center for Research and Communication (CRC), which was established on August 15, 1967, as a private think-tank that cond ...

with a Bachelor of Science in Child Development and Education.

Personal life

In November 2016, Gonzaga began dating Lipa councilor Mikee Morada. On January 16, 2020, Gonzaga announced on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

that she and Morada were engaged. On January 17, 2021, Gonzaga announced on her YouTube channel that she and Morada have been married in a private wedding at the Gonzaga residence in

since November 2020. On October 24, 2020, Gonzaga announced that she and her family announced tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. In 2021, Gonzaga was pregnant with her first child, until she suffered a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...

. In October 2023, she suffered a second miscarriage, followed by a third in December 2024.

Career

2006–2012: Early works

Gonzaga started her career on

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

for the sitcom, '' Let's Go!'', where she played the role of Alex, which also became her personal nickname. Her role lasted until the series' fourth season called '' Gokada Go!''. After her departure from the sitcom, she was cast in different dramas on the same network, such as '' Pangarap na Bituin'', '' Your Song'' and '' My Girl''. In 2008, Gonzaga transferred to TV5 and became one of the hosts for the talk show, '' Juicy!''. She played a lead role in the 2011 soap opera '' Babaeng Hampaslupa''. Further roles on the network include ''

BFGF Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), also known as basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and FGF-β, is a growth factor and signaling protein encoded by the ''FGF2'' gene. It binds to and exerts effects via specific fibroblast growth factor rece ...

'', '' P.S. I Love You'' and '' Enchanted Garden''.

2013–2019: Breakthrough

Gonzaga returned to

in April 2013. She was a co-host for the Philippine version of '' The Voice''. She also served as a guest host for the Philippine version of '' Big Brother'' on its '' All In'' season. During the pilot episode of ''PBB: All In'', Gonzaga was revealed to be the third and final celebrity housemate to enter the ''Pinoy Big Brother'' house, following collegiate athlete Michele Gumabao and actress Jane Oineza. She was given the title as "Sassy Sister ng Rizal". During a diary room session with Big Brother, Gonzaga turns out to be actually a celebrity houseguest and was tasked to avoid revealing the information to the other official housemates. After staying in the ''Big Brother'' house for two months, she returned to the "outside world" on June 14, 2014, and she was replaced by internet sensation Cheridel Alejandrino, also known as "Elevator Girl". Gonzaga went on to play her most major role as the lead character Diane Santos in the hit drama series '' Pure Love'', a Philippine adaptation of

Korean drama Korean drama (), also known as K-drama or Koreanovela, refers to Korean language, Korean-language television shows made in South Korea. These shows began to be produced around the early 1960s, but were mostly consumed domestically until the rise ...

'' 49 Days'', co-starring Yen Santos. ''Pure Love'' aired from July to November 2014. She was also part of the comedy gag show '' Banana Split'', and also starred in the drama anthology ''

Maalaala Mo Kaya (, abbreviated as ''MMK'') is a Philippine television drama anthology series broadcast by ABS-CBN and Kapamilya Channel. Hosted by Charo Santos-Concio, its first iteration was aired from May 15, 1991 to December 10, 2022. It is the longest ...

'' for two episodes. She then released her novel book ''Dear Alex, Break na Kami. Paano? Love Catherine'' (2014), under ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc. The novel received positive reviews from fans and critics alike, most complimenting the novel's "break-up" concept and enjoying its humor. A film adaption for the novel was reported to be in the works, with Gonzaga sharing interest in casting Luis Manzano,

John Lloyd Cruz John Lloyd Espidol Cruz (born June 24, 1983) is a Filipino actor. Regarded as the "''King of Contemporary Cinema''" by the media, Cruz has top-billed several box-office successes. He has more than ten films with box office grosses of ₱100 mill ...

and

Piolo Pascual Piolo Jose Nonato Pascual (, born January 12, 1977) is a Filipino actor, model, singer, television host, comedian and film producer. Pascual began a career in 1993 after landing a bit role in the film ''The Vizconde Massacre Story (God Help ...

for the film adaption. She was also cast on her first film under Star Cinema, '' The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin'' (2014), one of the official entries to the 40th Metro Manila Film Festival. The film was commercially successful and achieved the milestones for having the highest-gross on opening day of any local film and the title of being one of the highest-grossing local film of all time in the Philippines. The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Zig Marasigan from ''Rappler'' described the film in his movie review as "a brainless, hyper-stylized and utterly ridiculous family comedy." Gonzaga released her debut studio album ''I Am Alex G.'' (2015) with the studio album's lead hit single, "Panaginip Lang", under Star Music. The studio album had a grand launch at Eastwood Central Plaza on March 22, 2015, and a concert, AG from the East: The Unexpected Concert, which was later on held at the

Araneta Coliseum The Araneta Coliseum, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Smart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purpose arena, sports arena that is part of the Araneta City in the Quezon City#Cubao, Cubao area of Quezon City, Philippines. ...

to support her studio album on April 25, 2015. She had another major project as the lead star of the fantasy series '' Inday Bote'', a TV adaptation of the classic Filipino film of the same title. She also took hosting duties in the original, local dance competition show '' Dance Kids'', alongside Robi Domingo.

2020–2023: Return to TV5 during the COVID-19 pandemic

After the shutdown of ABS-CBN and loss of the network's franchise, Gonzaga returned to TV5 and was one of the main hosts of Brightlight Productions's variety show '' Lunch Out Loud (Tropang LOL)'', which aired from October 2020 to April 2023.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Chart performance

Concerts

*AG from the East: The Unexpected Concert (2015)

Written works

*''Dear Alex, Break na Kami. Paano? Love Catherine'' (2014) *''Dear Alex, We're Dating. Tama, Mali?! Love Catherine'' (2016) *'' Sissums'' (2018)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Alex Gonzaga Official
on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Alex Gonzaga-Morada
on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzaga, Alex 1988 births 21st-century Filipino singers 21st-century Filipino women singers ABS-CBN people Actresses from Rizal (province) Filipino film actresses Filipino Internet celebrities Filipino television actresses Filipino television variety show hosts Filipino women comedians Filipino YouTubers Living people Star Magic Star Music artists TV5 Network people University of Asia and the Pacific alumni Television controversies in the Philippines People from Taytay, Rizal Filipino sketch comedians Comedians from Rizal (province) Comedy YouTubers