Awra Briguela (born March 26, 2004) (), is a Filipino actor and comedian who gained recognition after starring in ''

FPJ's Ang Probinsyano ''FPJ's Ang Probinsyano'' (international title: ''Brothers''; ) is a Philippine television drama action series broadcast by ABS-CBN and Kapamilya Channel. The series is based on the 1996 Philippine film of the same title. Directed by Ma ...

'' (2016–2019), personally chosen for the role by the show's lead actor

Coco Martin Rodel Pacheco Nacianceno Jr. (born November 1, 1981), popularly known as Coco Martin (), is a Filipino actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. Known for his performances in action and romantic drama, he is one of the most awarded Filipin ...

. Briguela's life was featured in a titular episode of ''

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 ...

'' in 2016. In 2017, Awra was declared champion in the first season of the Filipino version of '' Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids''.

Career

Briguela started her career off as an internet celebrity.The Amazing Showbiz Journey of Breakout Child Star Awra Briguela
''ABS-CBN Entertainment''. Published on July 21, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017. Briguela became known to her parents for impersonating actresses like

Sarah Geronimo Sarah Asher Tua Geronimo-Guidicelli ( ; born July 25, 1988) is a Filipino singer and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Sarah Geronimo, Her accolades include a Billboard Women in Music, ''Billboard'' Women in Music Award, an ...

and Sarah Lahbati. She was discovered by actor

, who saw her potential in the primetime television series ''

'' (2016–2019), a remake of the 1997 film of the same title and name. Briguela gained widespread for her role as "MakMak" and the series was produced by

Dreamscape Entertainment Television Dreamscape Entertainment is a Philippine television production and entertainment company of ABS-CBN Studios, a division of ABS-CBN Corporation, that supplies telenovelas for its namesake television network ABS-CBN, and sister channels and onlin ...

, who created many successful pictures such as ''

Doble Kara ''Doble Kara'' () is a Philippine television drama series broadcast by ABS-CBN. Directed by Emmanuel Q. Palo, Jon S. Villarin, Erick C. Salud, Trina N. Dayrit and Jojo A. Saguin, it stars Julia Montes, Carmina Villarroel, Mylene Dizon, Ariel ...

'', '' Ina, Kapatid, Anak'', and '' Till I Met You''. Briguela starred in the series opposite

Susan Roces Jesusa Purificación Levy Sonora-Poe (July 28, 1941 – May 20, 2022), known professionally as Susan Roces (), was a Filipino actress. She was the wife of Ronald Allan Kelley Poe, better known as Fernando Poe Jr. Roces was regarded as the "Que ...

Maja Salvador Maja Ross Andres Salvador-Ortega (born October 5, 1988) is a Filipino actress and television personality. Known for portraying Strong female character, strong female leads in Revenge tragedy, revenge dramas in film and television, she has been ...

Bela Padilla Krista Elyse Hidalgo Sullivan (born May 3, 1991), better known by her stage name Bela Padilla (), is a Filipino actress, host, singer, writer, and director. She is best known for her roles in television dramas on GMA-7 and ABS-CBN, as well as ...

Albert Martinez Alberto Pineda Martinez (born April 19, 1961), is a Filipino actor, producer, and director. Dubbed as the "''King of Philippine Teleseryes''", he has since established himself as one of the most omnipresent figures in Philippine television and ...

Arjo Atayde Juan Carlos "Arjo" Campo Atayde (born November 5, 1990) is a Filipinos, Filipino actor and politician who has served as the representative for Quezon City's Quezon City's 1st congressional district, 1st district since 2022. He is best known fo ...

Eddie Garcia Eduardo "Eddie" Verchez Garcia (; May 2, 1929 – June 21, 2019), colloquially known as Manoy, was a Filipino actor, television personality, and filmmaker. Widely regarded as the greatest Filipino actor of all time, Garcia appeared in nearly ...

Agot Isidro Maria Margarita Amada Fteha Isidro (born 20 July 1966), professionally known as Agot Isidro, is a Filipino actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in several telenovelas including '' Tayong Dalawa'', '' Tanging Yaman'', '' Nasaan K ...

Jaime Fabregas Jaime Francisco García Fábregas (; born February 28, 1950) is a Filipino actor and musical scorer. Early life Jaime Francisco García Fábregas was born in Iriga City, Camarines Sur, Philippines to his parents Pedro Fábregas and Isabel Gar ...

, and Simon "Onyok" Pineda, who played the role of Onyok. Briguela won a ''3rd Aral Parangal Awards'' for ''Best Child Performer'', which she won twice, for the primetime series. Her life was featured in an episode of ''

'', playing as herself alongside

Aleck Bovick Maria Teresa Bovick Tambis (born May 18, 1981), better known by her screen name Aleck Bovick, is a Filipino actress. Personal life Her father was Filipino and her mother was half-German. She was in a relationship with Filipino actor Carlo ...

and Janus del Prado who played her mother and father respectively. She made her feature film debut in the '' Super Parental Guardians'' (2016) where she portrayed the role of Megan Gaspar alongside fellow ''Ang Probinsyano'' actors

Onyok Pineda Xymon Ezekiel Nulos "Onyok" Pineda (born October 1, 2010) (), is a Filipino child actor. He came to prominence in 2014 when he joined a segment in the variety show '' It's Showtime''. His acting career started when he played Onyok in the 2015 a ...

and

Vice Ganda Jose Marie Borja Viceral (born March 31, 1976), known professionally as Vice Ganda (), is a Filipino comedian, actor, host, singer and television personality. He is considered one of the most successful entertainers in Philippine show business ...

. Briguela later participated as a contestant in '' Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids (season 1)''.

Personal life

Briguela is fond of impersonating Filipina actresses like

, Sarah Lahbati, and her idol

, who was one of her co-casts in ''FPJ's Ang Probinsyano''. She popularized her screen name "Awra" upon achieving mainstream recognition as an actor and comedian. Raised as a boy, her parents said that she has already shown signs of "being

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

" since she was three years old for expressing preference for

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...

Hello Kitty , also known by her real name , is a fictional character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as a British anthropomorphized white cat with a red ...

and skirts. However by 2023, she reportedly identifies as a

trans woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

. Briguela financially supported her father Oneal Brian's five-year graduate education after having completed college in 2019. Brian earned his

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree from

Philippine Christian University The Philippine Christian University (PCU) is a private, Protestant, and coeducational basic and higher education institution located in Ermita, Manila, Philippines. It was founded in 1946 through the initiatives of the laymen of the Evangelical ...

Legal issues

On June 29, 2023, Briguela was arrested for inflicting physical injury following an altercation at a bar in The Bolthole Bar,

Poblacion, Makati Poblacion is one of the 23 barangays of Makati, Philippines. It is centered on the city's historic ''poblacion'' area and serves as the second most important commercial center in Makati behind the Makati Central Business District. It is also th ...

. According to witnesses and CCTV footage, Awra took exception when a male guest refused to take off his shirt. Awra was later released on July 1 after posting bail.

Discography

Singles

Filmography

Films

Drama series

TV shows

Online shows

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Briguela, Awra Living people 2004 births Filipino transgender women 21st-century Filipino actresses Filipino child actresses Star Magic Actors from Las Piñas Tagalog people Television male child actors Filipino LGBTQ comedians Filipino male comedians 21st-century Filipino LGBTQ people Transgender comedians Filipino male film actors Filipino male television actors Filipino transgender actresses