Then and Now: Iconic Filipina Beauties Define ‘Aging Gracefully’
These ladies are basically ageless!
What exactly makes an iconic beauty? For Filipinos, we know many of them as the celebrities and personalities who grace the pages of magazines and appear on TV and film. We yearn to learn their secrets to beauty, and wish to age as gracefully as they do. Though our standards of beauty have evolved through time and continue to evolve today, there remain a few Filipinas we still look up to for inspiring us to embrace the unique beauty of a woman that comes with age. Here are 18 women who redefine beauty beyond 40!
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Ageless Filipina Beauties
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Sunshine Cruz, 43, Now
… and a beauty until today! To think, Cruz’s eldest daughter (Angelina) is now 19 years old!
Photo Credit: @sunshinecruz718
Aubrey Miles, Then
Kicking off her career at 16, Aubrey Miles started on TV before landing a long-term contract with Regal Films.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Aubrey Miles, 43, Now
Now in her early 40s, she doesn’t even look like she’s aged at all!
Photo Credit: @milesaubrey
Ina Raymundo, Then
At 16 years old, Ina Raymundo was a fresh-faced, curly-haired teen who kicked off her career as the ‘Sabado Nights’ girl.
Photo Credit: @inaraymundo95
Ina Raymundo, 45, Now
Today, she is a wife, mother of five, and still an all-around bombshell!
Photo Credit: @inaraymundo
Carmina Villaroel, Then
From TVCs to TV shows and films, Carmina Villaroel has a storied career that started in the late 1980s.
Photo Credit: Facebook/Ma. Carmina Muniz Villaroel
Carmina Villaroel, 45, Now
Fast foward decades later, she is still slayin’ it in her mid-40s!
Photo Credit: @mina_villaroel
Lucy Torres, Then
Taken by husband Richard Gomez during their honeymoon about 20 or so years ago, this photo proves how beautiful she’s always been!
Photo Credit: @lucytgomez
Lucy Torres-Gomez, 46, Now
Truly ageless, it seems. Lucy Torres-Gomez shows off her still-stunning features, which she maintains with facial gua sha in the morning and a jade roller at night.
Photo Credit: @lucytgomez
Ruffa Gutierrez, Then
A snap of Ruffa Gutierrez when she competed in the Binibining Pilipinas pageant in 1993.
Photo Credit: ABS-CBN Entertainment
Ruffa Gutierrez, 46, Now
If there’s anything to learn from Ruffa Gutierrez’s ageless beauty, it’s that staying grateful and keeping a happy heart is key.
Photo Credit: @iloveruffag
Charlene Gonzalez, Then
A young Charlene Gonzales-Muhlach won Binibining Pilipinas Universe in 1994 and went on to become a TV and film personality. Here, she throws it back to one of her more memorable hairstyles—the short bob!
Photo Credit: @itsmecharleneg
Charlene Gonzalez, 47, Now
Today, she’s still as gorgeous as ever as wife to actor Aga Muhlach and mother to twins Atasha and Andres.
Photo Credit: @itsmecharleneg
Angel Aquino, Then
Angel Aquino first starred in ‘Mumbaki’ (1996) and ‘Goodbye America’ (1997) before becoming the host of long-running lifestyle shows ‘F!’ (1999-2006) and ‘Us Girls’ (2006-2012).
Photo Credit: @_imangelaquino
Angel Aquino, 48, Now
She headlined the film ‘Glorious’ in 2018 where she was paired with Tony Labrusca, more than 20 years her junior.
Photo Credit: @imangelaquino
Gretchen Barretto, Then
Since debuting her career in the late ’80s, Gretchen Barretto has always been known for her beauty—and this photo from 2008 just proves why.
Photo Credit: Azrael's Merryland
Gretchen Barretto, 51, Now
In one of her more recent photos on Instagram, the 51-year-old looks like she’s barely aged!
Photo Credit: @gretchenbarretto
Alice Dixson, Then
A young Alice Dixson first stepped into the limelight in 1986 when she won Binibining Pilipinas International in 1986.
Photo Credit: EverythingQuezon
Alice Dixson, 51, Now
Today, she is considered one of the most beautiful women of her age.
Photo Credit: @alicedixson
Jean Garcia, Then
Who can forget Jean Garcia as the iconic Claudia Zalameda in ‘Panagako Sa’yo’ (2000)? That face!
Photo Credit: Proud Kapampangan
Jean Garcia, 51, Now
“YES I’ve aged with the passing of time, but when a woman loses her youthful appearance, a mature beauty blooms,” writes the actress in one of her Instagram posts in 2020. We couldn’t agree more!
Photo Credit: @chic2garcia
Eula Valdes, Then
Who can forget Janice in the ‘Bagets’ series from 1984? Since then she’s become more memorable as the iconic ‘Pangako Sa’yo’ antagonist, Amor Powers, in (2000).
Photo Credit: @eulavaldes
Eula Valdes, 52, Now
Today, Eula Valdes is still a commanding beauty; not to mention, still a commanding talent in the entertainment industry.
Photo Credit: @tortorre
Dawn Zulueta, Then
The bushy eyebrows, the mesmerizing eyes—Dawn Zulueta turned heads as one of the industry’s most beautiful in 1988…
Photo Credit: @dawnzulueta
Dawn Zulueta, 52, Now
…and remains so until today. We’re living for this gray Princess Diana-esque hairstyle on the iconic Dawn Zulueta!
Photo Credit: @dawnzulueta
Tweetie de Leon, Then
How lovely to take a peek at Tweetie de Leon’s license as an open water diver. Fresh-faced and oh-so-beautiful, she’s the envy of anyone who’s ever taken a bad ID photo. (Read: All of us!)
Photo Credit: @insteegee
Tweetie de Leon-Gonzalez, 54, Now
With barely any signs of aging, this model, television personality, and mother of four is thriving as one of the country’s most beautiful and successful entrepreneurs!
Photo Credit: @insteegee
Cherie Gil, Then
Cherie Gil starred in her first film of the 1990s titled ‘Nagsimula Sa Puso,’ but we all know her as Lavinia in ‘Bituing Walang Ningning’ who was NOT a second-rate, trying hard copycat.
Photo Credit: ABS Restoration
Cherie Gil, 57, Now
In November 2020, she celebrated her first successful vote in the US with a series of jubilant photos in a TDF bodysuit-fur coat-high heels ensemble only THE Cherie Gil can pull off at 57.
Photo Credit: @mariecherieamour
Margie Moran, Then
Margie Moran was 19 when she won Miss Universe 1973, not to mention Miss Photogenic. Here, she’s pictured in Athens during the pageant.
Photo Credit: @margie_moran
Margie Moran-Floriendo, 67, Now
Currently, the former Miss Universe titleholder remains poised and beautiful as ever as the president of Ballet Philippines and chair of Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Photo Credit: @margie_moran
Gloria Diaz, Then
She’s the first Filipina to ever win the Miss Universe crown, which she did in 1969. Throughout her career, she also became a model and a celebrated actress on film and in television—not to mention one of the most beautiful!
Photo Credit: @gloria.diaz69
Gloria Diaz, 70, Now
Her recent appearance in the Netflix series ‘Insatiable’ was short and sweet, but it showed everyone she’s still very much a queen.
Photo Credit: Netflix Philippines
Gloria Romero, Then
There are no words for the beauty that is Gloria Romero. Her career started in the 1950s and became one of the most iconic actresses of all time.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Gloria Romero, 87, Now
Even in her late 80s, old age cannot hide the sheer beauty and talent we’ve come to know through the decades.
Photo Credit: ABS-CBN News
Lead photos via @dawnzulueta, @lucytgomez, @imangelaquino
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