Vivian Zapata Rodriguez (born May 21, 1960), known professionally as Vivian Velez, is a Filipino actress who previously served as Director General of

Film Academy of the Philippines Established in 1981, the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) is the Philippines' official counterpart of the United States' Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The FAP was founded through Executive Order 640-A issued by the Presiden ...

. As one of the radio host of the 8TriMedia's weekly program called ''Double V'' and a DZRJ 810am's program called ''Chit Chat with Double V''. She was known as the "Ms. Body Beautiful" of Philippine movies in the 1980s. She won the

FAP Award for Best Actress in ''Pieta'' (1983) and

FAMAS Award The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards, or simply the FAMAS Awards, are the annual honors given by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), an organization composed of writers and movie columnists, for achieveme ...

and

Metro Manila Film Festival The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is an annual film festival organized by the Metro Manila Development Authority and held nationwide in the Philippines. The festival, which runs from Christmas Day through New Year's Day and into first weeke ...

for Best Actress in ''Paradise Inn'' (1985).

Career

Vivian Velez started her career in show business in 1976 when she was only 16 years old. She won the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) Award for Best Actress for Pieta (1983) and won two Best Actress Awards for her 1985 film Paradise Inn; one from FAMAS Awards and another from the Metro Manila Film Festival. She performed her own stunts in ''Ang Babaing Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang'' (1981), directed by Carlo J. Caparas. In 1983, she appeared in ''Pieta'' with Ace Vergel and

Charito Solis Rosario Violeta Hernández Solís (October 6, 1935 – January 9, 1998), professionally known as Charito Solís, was a Filipino film actress. She was considered among the major dramatic film actresses in the Philippines, with a career spannin ...

. In 1985, she finished four movies: ''Paradise Inn'' with

Michael de Mesa Michael Edward Gil Eigenmann (; born May 24, 1960), known professionally as Michael de Mesa (), is a Filipino actor and director. Early life Born as Michael Edward Gil Eigenmann to performer Eddie Mesa and actress Rosemarie Gil, he and his si ...

, ''Ben Tumbling'' with

Lito Lapid Manuel "Lito" Mercado Lapid (; born October 25, 1955) is a Filipino actor, director and politician serving as a Senate of the Philippines, Senator since 2019, and previously from 2004 to 2016. He started his political career in Pampanga, serv ...

, ''Order To Kill'' with the former President

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor, who served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 until his resignation in 2001. ...

, and ''Riot 1950'' with Rudy Fernandez. Her notable film '' Ang Babaing Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang'' (1981) has been remade as a

GMA-7 DZBB-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Metro Manila, Philippines, serving as the flagship of the GMA television network. The digital service is known as DZBB-DTV by only a few people. It is owned and operated by the network's namesa ...

TV series, 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 ...

. She starred in the 2010 TV series '' Imortal'' (starring

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

Angel Locsin Angelica Locsin Colmenares (born April 23, 1985) is a Filipino actress and humanitarian. She is known for her dramatic roles and portrayals of heroines and mythological characters in film and television. She is a recipient of various accolad ...

), and in the 2013 TV remake of '' Maria Mercedes'' (starring

Jessy Mendiola Jessica Mendiola Tawile-Manzano, known by her screen name Jessy Mendiola (, born December 3, 1992), is a Filipino actress. She first appeared in TV commercials and ventured acting at age 13, portraying minor roles in several soap operas. In ...

), both shown 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 ...

. Velez has appeared in more than 60 movies and television shows. Velez publicly announced in March 2016 through her Facebook account, that she has irrevocably resigned from her show, Tubig at Langis due to the alleged rudeness and humiliation by her co-star

Cristine Reyes Ara Cristine Pascual Klenk (born February 5, 1989) is a Filipino actress. She has been dubbed as the "Ultimate Star" by the local media for her acting prowess and popularity. Her films have collectively earned ₱1.05 billion, making her one o ...

against Velez during several tapings of the drama series.

Politics

Velez was known as a supporter of then-President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

since 2016, and she still supported him even after leaving power. During the heights of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, she lashed out at then Vice-President

Leni Robredo Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona Robredo (; Gerona; born April 23, 1965) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 14th vice president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. She is the mayor-elect of Naga, Camarines Sur, having won the ...

for a supposed political stunt, going as far as calling Mrs. Robredo, "boba" (stupid).https://web.facebook.com/vivianvelez888/posts/pfbid0234puyXfvywUYhr2MDZJzU6Y7owTfsPoZ5ksLDbp5NTRieB4S7SME21YfrZQv2AZ5lhttps://qa.philstar.com/entertainment/2020/08/25/2037806/its-so-fake-vivian-velez-goes-viral-comparing-robredos-look-miss-tapia This garnered backlash from people on the Internet, taunting her "

betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, and stylized as the Greek letter Beta, β in its logo) is a discontinued consumer analog Videotape, video cassette recording format developed by Sony. It was one of the main competitors in the videotape format war ag ...

celebrity sex tape A celebrity sex tape is typically an amateur pornographic video recording involving one or more famous people which has, intentionally or unintentionally, been made available publicly. Such videos have often been released without the consent o ...

from the 1980s.https://x.com/WazzupPilipinas/status/1298212737298751489https://www.bbclubeoficial.com/group/mysite-231-group/discussion/a40d5355-0a5e-4940-a625-c6a2e6ec5eb5 She was also one of the personalities who pushed the Isko– Sara tandem in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, after she mainly supported then-Manila Mayor Isko Moreno's

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

. She took oath as member of

Partido Demokratiko Pilipino The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP, ) is a Populism, populist List of political parties in the Philippines, political party in the Philippines founded in 1982. It was previously known as Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–L ...

in 2024. She was also appointed as one of the party's vice president. On January 13, 2025, she attended the National Rally for Peace organized by

Iglesia ni Cristo The (INC; ; ) is an independent Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church founded in 1913 and registered by Felix Manalo, Félix Manalo in 1914 as a corporation sole, sole religious corporation ...

at the

Quirino Grandstand The Quirino Grandstand, formerly known as the Independence Grandstand, is a grandstand located at Rizal Park, Manila, Philippines. History Contrary to popular belief, the first Independence Grandstand was not originally located on the pres ...

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 ...

; although the event was staged in support of President

Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (, , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials BBM or PBBM, is a Filipino politician who has served as the 17th president of the Philippines since 2022. He is the second child ...

, Velez expressed to SMNI's ''Newsblast'' her desire for Marcos to resign.

Awards and nominations

Awards for Vivian Velez
at IMDb

Selected filmography

Television

Film

Radio

*''Double V'' (2017) *''Chit Chat with Double V'' (2021)

References

https://push.abs-cbn.com/2016/3/10/fresh-scoops/who-is-vivian-velez-5-things-to-know-about-ms-body-131755

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Velez, Vivian 1968 births 20th-century Filipino actresses 21st-century Filipino actresses Living people Actresses from Cebu City Filipino television actresses Filipino film actresses