Nanette Inventor (born June 23, 1954) is a Filipino comedian, actress, singer, composer and writer.

Early life

Nanette Inventor was born in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, capital of the Philippines. She had two sisters and a brother. She studied at the

University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

with the intention of joining the diplomatic service of the Philippines. Starting singing in church at the age of seven and trained in classical singing, she continued while at university. She went on the 1974 and 1978 tours of the University of the Philippines Concert Chorus (UPCC) to the US and Europe, together with other future stars, such as Chinggoy Alonso. In joining the chorus, she disobeyed her lawyer father, who warned her there was no money in singing.

Career

Initially a

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

singer and a

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

for

Celeste Legaspi Celeste Kalugdan Legaspi-Gallardo (born March 18, 1950) is a Filipino singer, actress, film and theatre producer. She is an advocate for the rights of the artists. Her singles and albums reached gold or platinum status during the 1960s, 1970s ...

, Basil Valdez, and Leah Navarro, among others, Inventor was discovered by a television producer who saw her performing in a musical and enjoyed her humour. The story goes that she was given a script and told that she would be performing live on television that week. She became famous playing a character called ''Doña Buding'', a gauche,

nouveau riche ; ), new rich, or new money (in contrast to old money; ) is a social class of the rich whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. These people previously had belonged to a lower social cla ...

social climber, on the television show, '' The Penthouse Live!'', premiering in the role on November 14, 1983. Not the original choice for the role, she got the job when the first choice was injured in a road accident and she was recommended by another actress, Tessie Tomas. Although she continued singing, winning the grand prize at the 7th Metro Manila Popular Music Festival in 1984, and becoming the first Filipina to sing at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, alongside the all-male APO Hiking Society, she became better known as a comedian. Doing stand-up shows she blended comedy with music, earning her the title "The Funny Lady of Songs". However, in 2012, she joined the UPCC on its golden anniversary tour of the US, and in June and July 2016 she joined it again for another tour in the US. Also in 2016, she sang with a

Big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

for the first time. Inventor is a frequent performer of stand-up and music shows in the Philippines and the US, usually to Filipino audiences. She has appeared in many films and in television series. She is also a university lecturer, teaching communication skills at the

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 ...

Ermita Ermita is a district in central Manila, Philippines. It is a significant center of finance, education, culture, and commerce. Ermita serves as the civic center of Manila, bearing the seat of city government and a large portion of the area's e ...

, Manila since around 2000 and also teaching at the Wesleyan University Philippines.

Filmography

Television

*1982: '' The Penthouse Live!'' (Starring role) *1987: ''

Tawag ng Tanghalan ''Tawag ng Tanghalan'' (, abbreviated TNT) is a Philippine television reality competition show broadcast by ABS-CBN. Originally hosted by Jaime dela Rosa, Patsy and Lopito, it aired as a reality competition from 1954 to September 1972 and f ...

'' *1991: '' Abangan Ang Susunod Na Kabanata'' *2001: ''Better Home Ideas'' (substitute host) *2008: '' Dyesebel'' *2009: '' Flash Bomba'' *2010–2011: '' Ang Yaman ni Lola'' (Starring role) *2010: '' Panday Kids'' *2014: '' My Destiny'' *2015–2016: '' On the Wings of Love'' *2015: ''Relationship'' *2021: '' Niña Niño'' *2023: '' Love Before Sunrise'' *2025: ''Ang Mutya ng Section E''

Film

*1980: '' Kakabakaba Ka Ba?'' (''Are You Nervous?'') *1982: '' Batch '81'' *1992: ''Ano ba Yan?'' *1995: '' Run Barbi Run'' *1998: ''Honey, Nasa Langit na ba ako?'' *2007: '' One More Chance'' *2008: ''Ikaw Pa Rin: Bongga Ka Boy'' *2015: ''Miss Bulalacao'' *2015: '' Buy Now, Die Later'' *2017: ''

Ang Larawan ''Ang Larawan'', internationally released as ''The Portrait'', is a 2017 Philippine musical film directed by Loy Arcenas. Based on the 1997 stage play, ''Larawan'' which in turn was based on the 1950 literary play ''A Portrait of the Artist as F ...

'' *2021: ''General Admission''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inventor, Anette 1954 births Living people Filipino film actresses 20th-century Filipino women singers Filipino women comedians University of the Philippines Diliman alumni Filipino television actresses Actresses from Manila GMA Network (company) people ABS-CBN people TV5 Network people Comedians from Manila