Maria Luisa "Angelu" De Leon-Rivera (born August 22, 1979) is a Filipino actress and politician.

Early and personal life

Angelu de Leon is the youngest daughter of Luis and Flora de Leon. She attended St. Joseph's College, Holy Spirit and Siena College. She made her first commercial, without her father's knowledge, when she was just ten years old. Her father eventually gave his blessing to her acting career before his death from colon cancer. De Leon became a born again Christian and is an active member of a church in Ortigas where she has attended for a number of years. In 2016, De Leon disclosed that she had been diagnosed with

Bell's palsy Bell's palsy is a type of facial paralysis that results in a temporary inability to control the facial muscles on the affected side of the face. In most cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. Symptoms can vary f ...

in 2009. De Leon is married to Lorenzo “Wowie” Rivera. They married on September 17, 2010. They have three children together: Nicole, her daughter with actor

Joko Diaz Francisco Gutierrez Diaz Jr. (born April 26 1976), better known by his screen name Joko Diaz, is a Filipino actor. Throughout his career, he has won two FAP Awards and is three-time FAMAS Award nominee. He is best known for his antagonist and ...

; Loise, her daughter with businessman Jojo Manlongat; and Rafa, her son with husband Wowie.

Acting career

De Leon started acting on television at the age of 12. She was discovered by Johnny Manahan for a kiddie gag show ''

Ang TV ''Ang TV'' () is a Philippine television sketch comedy show broadcast by ABS-CBN. Directed by Johnny Manahan, it stars Jolina Magdangal, Claudine Barretto, Camille Prats, Paolo Contis, Gio Alvarez, Rica Peralejo, Lindsay Custodio, Victor Ne ...

'' (1992-1993), aired 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 ...

. Among her batchmates were

Claudine Barretto Claudine Margaret Castelo Barretto (; born July 20, 1979) is a Filipino actress, who made her screen debut on the youth-oriented variety show, '' Ang TV''. She became a mainstay in several sitcoms, including ''Home Along Da Riles'', ''Oki Dok ...

Jolina Magdangal Maria Jolina Perez Magdangal (; born November 6, 1978) is a Filipino singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Philippine Pop Culture", she is credited for heavily inf ...

and

Rica Peralejo Regina Carla Bautista Peralejo-Bonifacio (born March 7, 1981), better known as Rica Peralejo (), is a former Filipino actress, singer, and television host. Career Television Peralejo started out as a child star and was part of ABS-CBN's popul ...

. After about a year on the said youth-oriented comedy variety-show, she transferred to

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

, where she became part of ''

Ober Da Bakod ''Ober Da'' () is a Philippine television sitcom series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Ariel Ureta, it stars Janno Gibbs, Leo Martinez and Anjo Yllana. It premiered on September 14, 1992. The series concluded on May 27, 1997. Cast ...

'' (1992-1997) with

Janno Gibbs Janno Ronaldo Ilagan Gibbs (born September 16, 1969) is a Filipino singer, songwriter, comedian and actor. He was a regular host of GMA Network television shows '' SOP Rules'', '' Nuts Entertainment'', ''Eat Bulaga!'', '' Kakasa Ka Ba Sa Grad ...

and

Anjo Yllana Andrés José Salvador Garchitorena Yllana Jr. (born April 24, 1968), known professionally as Anjo Yllana, is a Filipino actor-comedian, television host and politician. He is one of the hosts from ''Eat Bulaga!'' from 1998 until 2020. Career ...

. In the same year, she became a talent of

Viva Films Viva Films, Inc. (also known as Viva Films, stylized as VIVA Films) is a Philippine film production and distribution company owned by Viva Communications. It was founded in 1981 by Vic del Rosario Jr. and his sister Tess Cruz. Viva Films is o ...

, with ''Di Na Natuto'' (1993) as her theatrical debut. During her early years, she mostly played younger sister to more established stars. In 1994, she bagged her first major role in ''Kadenang Bulaklak'' (1993), where she starred alongside Ana Roces,

Vina Morales Sharon Garcia Magdayao (; born October 17, 1975), professionally known as Vina Morales (), is a Filipino singer and actress. Noted for her distinct sultry voice, she started singing in church as a child and first gained recognition after winni ...

, and

Donna Cruz Donna Cruz Yrastorza-Larrazabal (born February 14, 1977) (), is a Filipina singer and actress. Since the middle of the 1990s, she has released 8 studio albums, and featured as an actress in local films. She has also appeared on four soundtrac ...

. In 1995, de Leon got her break when she was included in teen oriented shows like ''

T.G.I.S. ''T.G.I.S.'' is a Philippine television drama series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Mark A. Reyes and later Dominic Zapata, it stars Bobby Andrews, Angelu de Leon, Onemig Bondoc, Michael Flores, Raven Villanueva, Red Sternberg, Di ...

'' or ''Thank God It's Sabado'' (1995-1997) and '' Growing Up'' (1997-1999) with Onemig Bondoc,

Ciara Sotto Ciara Anna Gamboa Sotto ( , born July 2, 1980) is a Filipino actress, singer and host. Personal life She is the youngest daughter of actress Helen Gamboa-Sotto and actor and Senator Vicente Sotto III. She is a first cousin of Sharon Cuneta ...

, Raven Villanueva, Michael Flores,

and Red Sternberg. She became the highest-paid actress on ''T.G.I.S.'' These shows gave her a chance to team up with

Bobby Andrews Robert Riu Andrews (born November 30, 1976), popularly known as Bobby Andrews, is a Filipino actor, TV host and former matinee idol. Starting out as a commercial model, he rose to fame when he teamed up with Angelu de Leon in the famous teen- ...

, and their partnership became one of the hottest onscreen love teams of her generation in the mid-1990s. Among the noted Angelu-Bobby team-up movies were: ''Takot Ka Ba Sa Dilim'' (1996), ''T.G.I.S.: The Movie'' (1997), ''Laging Naroon Ka'' (1997) and ''Wala Na Bang Pag-ibig'' (1997), as well as their first drama series '' Ikaw Na Sana'', which was also turned into a movie. In 1998, at the peak of her career, de Leon became pregnant by fellow Viva talent

. This caused her to go on maternity leave, with projects lined up for her either shelved or passed on to other young stars. A year later, she made a comeback on film, this time bagging mature roles in ''Bulaklak ng Maynila'' (1999) and '' Abandonada'' (2000). Her career was put on hold again when she got pregnant again in 2001 by businessman Jojo Manlongat. Among the films she starred outside Viva were Elmer Jamias'' (2000) and '' Aishite Imasu 1941: Mahal Kita'' (2004). In late 2001, de Leon started bagging mother roles, beginning with ''Sana ay Ikaw na Nga''. In 2006, she went back to GMA's rival station

, where she played supporting roles, including ''

Super Inggo ''Super Inggo'' is a Philippine television drama action superhero series broadcast by ABS-CBN. Directed by Gilbert G. Perez and Malu L. Sevilla, it stars Makisig Morales in the title role. It aired on the network's Primetime Bida line up from ...

'' (2006-2007), its sequel '' Super Inggo 1.5: Ang Bagong Bangis'' (2007) and ''

Parekoy ''Parekoy'' (''Buddy'') is a 2009 Philippine television sitcom series broadcast by ABS-CBN. Directed by Randy L. Santiago and Quark Henares, it stars Jason Gainza, John Prats and Zanjoe Marudo. It aired on the network's Hapontastic line up ...

'' (2009). She returned to GMA with '' Ang Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang'' (2009), starring

Marian Rivera Marian Rivera Gràcia-Dantes (; born 12 August 1984) is a Filipinos, Filipino actress, television host, model and entrepreneur. She is known for her portrayals of Hero, heroines and roles in Romance film, romantic dramas. Her accolades includ ...

and

Dingdong Dantes Jose Sixto "Dingdong" Gonzalez Dantes III (born August 2, 1980) professionally known as Dingdong Dantes, is a Filipino actor, filmmaker, and television personality. He is known for his acting versatility and played dramatic and fantasy-action r ...

. It was for her work in the said soap that she was given rave reviews, complemented with the fact that she was back to her sexy figure and can give other young actresses a run for their money. de Leon is a talent of

Viva Artists Agency Viva Communications Inc., also known as Viva Entertainment Inc. and simply Viva (stylized in all caps) is a Philippine multinational private conglomerate headquartered in Ortigas Center, Pasig. It was founded in 1981 by Vic del Rosario Jr ...

since 2021.

Political career

De Leon entered into politics when she filed her candidacy for councilor in

Pasig Pasig, officially the City of Pasig (), is a highly-urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people. It is located along the eastern border of Metro Mani ...

's 2nd district for the May 2022 polls under

Aksyon Demokratiko Aksyon Demokratiko (, ), or simply Aksyon, is a political party in the Philippines founded by Raul Roco. It was recognized as a national political party in 1998 by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and is considered to be one of the major p ...

. She was included in the Giting ng Pasig coalition of Mayor

Vico Sotto Victor Ma. Regis "Vico" Nubla Sotto (; born June 17, 1989) is a Filipino politician who has served as the 12th mayor of Pasig since 2019. He previously served as a member of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, Pasig City Council for the first district ...

. She garnered 138,427 votes, making her as the topnotcher councilor for Pasig's 2nd district.

Filmography

Television

Talk show

Film

Awards and nominations

Acting awards

Other awards

Nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:De Leon, Angelu 1979 births Living people Filipino child actresses Filipino film actresses Filipino television actresses GMA Network (company) people Viva Artists Agency Actors from Olongapo Actors from Pasig Actresses from Zambales Aksyon Demokratiko politicians Tagalog actresses Metro Manila city and municipal councilors Converts to evangelical Christianity Filipino Christians Filipino evangelicals Filipino actor-politicians Independent politicians in the Philippines