Lovely Abella-Manalo (born on December 11, 1986) is a Filipino dancer, host, comedian, model, entrepreneur, and an actress. She is currently under the management of

Sparkle GMA Artist Center Sparkle (stylized in all caps, formerly known as GMA Artist Center, also formally as GMA Talent Development and Management Department and Sparkle GMA Artist Center) is the talent agency owned by GMA Network Inc. based in Quezon City, Philipp ...

and

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), ...

Personal life

An ethnic Ilongga, Abella was born in Manila and raised in

Koronadal Koronadal, officially the City of Koronadal (; ; ; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kurunadal'', ) and also known as Marbel, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the P ...

, an Ilonggo-majority city in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

. Her mother is from

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; ; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Negros Island Region in the Philippines. With a total of 600,783 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, it is th ...

while her father is from

South Cotabato South Cotabato, officially the Province of South Cotabato, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, region in Mindanao. Its capital is Koronadal (also the regional cen ...

. She is married to actor Benj Manalo, with whom she has a son. Comedian

Jose Manalo Ariel Pagtalonia Manalo (born February 12, 1966), known professionally as Jose Manalo (), is a Filipino actor, director, and comedian best known for appearing regularly on the noon-time variety show ''Eat Bulaga!'' on GMA Network and now on T ...

is her father-in-law. She also has a daughter from a previous relationship. In August 2020, Abella contracted

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 ...

. She was asymptomatic throughout her quarantine and eventually made a recovery.

Career

During her teenage years, Abella said that she used to be one of the pranksters in '' Bitoy's Funniest Videos'' portraying as a massage therapist in

Boracay Boracay (; sometimes shortened by non-natives as Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay, Panay Island. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of thre ...

to prank customers. According to her, this was her first-ever acting/comedy stint way back in 2004. This minor appearance opened doors for her as she was given a slot to be one of the '' Wowowee Dancers''. Abella was also previously known as one of the main dancers of

Willie Revillame Wilfredo "Willie" Buendia Revillame (; born January 27, 1961), is a Filipino television host, actor, comedian, drummer, singer, and businessman. He has hosted numerous variety shows, such as ''Lunch Date'', Sang Linggo nAPO Sila'' and ''MTB ...

in ''

Wil Time Bigtime ''Wil Time Bigtime'' (formerly known as ''Willing Willie'') was a Philippine television variety show broadcast by TV5. The show was hosted by Willie Revillame. It aired from October 23, 2010 to January 5, 2013, replacing ''5 Max Movies'' and ...

'' when the latter moved to TV5, but was later promoted to a co-host due to her natural hosting skills and bubbly personality; giving her the opportunity to be one of the mainstays in Willie's game shows until ''

Wowowillie ''Wowowillie'' is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine television variety show broadcast by TV5 (Philippine TV network), TV5. Hosted by Willie Revillame, it aired from January 26 to October 12, 2013. The show earned the distinction of be ...

''. Her rising career in the network gave her many opportunities, such as guesting in various shows and even dedicating an episode for her in '' Star Confessions'' in which she shared her own life story. Before she got her major break in

, Abella made a number of roles as an extra in various shows for both TV5 and

; most notably in '' Madam Chairman'', '' Carmela'', '' 2½ Daddies'', and '' Buena Familia'' where she was left uncredited and unknown for that time being. She briefly had her comedic acting stint in ''

A1 Ko Sa 'Yo ''A1 '' ( / international title: ''You're My A1'') is a 2016 Philippine television sitcom series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Randy Santiago, it stars Jaclyn Jose, Gardo Versoza and Solenn Heussaff. It premiered on June 2, 2016, on t ...

'' before she got her major supporting role in ''

Calle Siete ''Calle Siete'' () is a 2016 Philippine television drama comedy series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Monti Parungao, it stars Ryzza Mae Dizon, Eula Valdez and Christian Vasquez. It premiered on June 13, 2016, on the network's afternoon ...

'' as ''Bonifacia "Bonnie" Suarez''. Her biggest break in GMA Network was when she auditioned to be one of the cast members of the weekend noon-time variety show, '' Sunday PinaSaya'' where she shortly appeared as a guest before becoming a mainstay cast. Due to her potentials in comedy, she was included as a new ''

Bubble Gang ''Bubble Gang'' is a Philippine television sketch comedy show broadcast by GMA Network. Originally directed by Uro Q. Dela Cruz, it was originally starred by Ogie Alcasid, Antonio Aquitania, Sunshine Cruz, Jackie de Guzman, Assunta De Rossi, ...

'' member. Even though she's been exposed to comedy shows as of now, she's still undergoing drama and acting workshops to improve her craft. Abella was cast in the prime-time series, ''

D' Originals ''D' Originals'' is a 2017 Philippine television drama series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Adolfo Alix Jr., it stars Jaclyn Jose, LJ Reyes and Kim Domingo. It premiered on April 17, 2017 on the network's Afternoon Prime line up. Th ...

'', where she played her first-ever major antagonist role as Cristina "Tina" Pineda, a rival and the half-sister of Marge. She has since been frequently cast in various drama series and anthologies offered by

and

GMA News TV GMA News TV (GNTV; visually rendered in uppercase in its logo) is a 24-hour Philippine-based international pay television channel owned by Citynet Network Marketing and Productions Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of GMA Network Inc. It was ...

Filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abella, Lovely Living people Hiligaynon people Filipino female dancers People from South Cotabato GMA Network (company) people TV5 Network people 1986 births Filipino women comedians Actresses from Manila Comedians from Manila Filipino sketch comedians Filipino television actresses Filipino film actresses Bubble Gang cast members