Judy Anne Lumagui Santos (born May 11, 1978), also nicknamed Juday, is a Filipino actress and film producer. Prolific in film and television in the Philippines, and is known for her dramatic and comedic roles in blockbusters and independent films, as well as for her portrayals of oppressed and impoverished women. She has received various accolades, including a Cairo International Film Festival Award, a Fantasporto International Film Festival Award, a Gawad Urian, two Luna Awards, three Metro Manila Film Festival Awards, and three FAMAS Awards.
Santos began her career as a child with supporting roles in film. At the age of ten, her first leading role was the title character in the children's television series Ula, Ang Batang Gubat (1988). Santos became more recognized when she and Gladys Reyes starred in the soap opera Mara Clara (1992). Her starring roles in the drama series Esperanza (1998), Sa Puso Ko, Iingatan Ka (2001), and Basta't Kasama Kita (2003) established her as a leading actress on primetime television. She received critical acclaim for her role as a woman with dissociative identity disorder in the psychological drama Sabel (2004), for which she won a Gawad Urian and Golden Screen Award for Best Actress.
Among her highest-grossing releases are the Jose Javier Reyes-directed comedy Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo (2006) and its sequel Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo (2007). Santos co-produced the independent drama Ploning (2008) and starred in Mindanao (2019), which were the Philippine submissions for Best International Feature Film at the 81st and 93rd Academy Awards, respectively. She is also a chef and a restaurateur. In 2015, she wrote a cookbook called Judy Ann's Kitchen, which won a Gourmand International's Cookbook Award for Best Authors and Chefs Outside Europe. Santos is married to Ryan Agoncillo, with whom she has three children.
Early life and acting background
Judy Anne Lumagui Santos was born on May 11, 1978, in Manila, Philippines, to Carolina Lumagui (née Fontanela), a bank officer, and Manuel Dayrit Santos, a businessman and proprietor of the now defunct Victoria Supermart in Tanay, Rizal. She has two older siblings: Jeffrey and Jacqueline. The family soon moved to Antipolo, Rizal, where Santos's father worked. In 1986, her parents separated and the children lived with their mother. Three years later, Santos's mother left for Toronto, Canada. Santos and her siblings remained in the Philippines and lived with their nanny, Sabina "Binay" Quinatana, with whom she was close growing up, and moved to Quezon City where she attended elementary and high school.
At the age of eight, Santos began her professional acting career when she made her debut by portraying a minor role in the television series Kaming Mga Ulila (1986). She then unsuccessfully auditioned for the lead role in the soap opera Anna Luna (1989). Her career prospects improved when she was cast by director Argel Joseph, with whom she worked in Kaming Mga Ulila, to play the eponymous character in the children's television series Ula, Ang Batang Gubat (1988). She later appeared in several supporting roles in films, including Impaktita (1989), Regal Shocker: The Movie (1989), and Dyesebel (1990).
1986–2003: Early work and breakthrough
Santos began her career performing as a child on film and television. Her first screen appearance was in a supporting role in the drama series Kaming Mga Ulila (1986) and she made her film debut with a minor role in Sana Mahalin Mo Rin Ako (1988), appearing alongside Nora Aunor and Tirso Cruz III. At age ten, Santos had her first leading role as the eponymous character in the children's television series Ula, Ang Batang Gubat (1988).
Santos's breakthrough came when she starred opposite Gladys Reyes in Mara Clara (1992), a show that aired until 1997, and is one of the longest-running Filipino television series. Santos reprised her role in the 1996 film adaptation and won the German Moreno Youth Achievement Award and Best New Movie Actress at the FAMAS Awards for her performance. That year, she starred in the teen series Gimik (1996) as part of an ensemble cast that included Marvin Agustin, Mylene Dizon, Diether Ocampo, and G. Toengi. After being typecast for previously playing impoverished roles, Santos struggled portraying the role of a socialite in the show. "It's totally out of my comfort zone. Everything about Dianne in Gimik is not me," she said. The following year, Santos left the series and had a reduced role in its 1999 film adaptation.
Esperanza (1997), in which she played the protagonist, was a turning point in Santos's career. She said that while the character is oppressed, she is braver and stands her ground. During its run, Esperanza received the highest Nielsen ratings for a television series episode with a reported 67 percent viewership. The show was later adapted as a film and earned Santos a nomination for Best Actress at the Metro Manila Film Festival. She then co-starred with Wowie de Guzman and Rico Yan in Paano ang Puso Ko? (1997). In 1999, Santos starred in the Judy Ann Drama Special, an installment of ABS-CBN's anthology series Star Drama Presents. She was the youngest actress featured in the television franchise. Next, she was cast opposite Fernando Poe Jr. in Isusumbong Kita sa Tatay Ko... (1999), which became the first Filipino film to gross over ₱100 million (US$1.9 million). Santos was awarded the Box Office Queen title at the 30th Box Office Entertainment Awards.
In 2000, Santos was cast alongside Leandro Muñoz and Piolo Pascual in the romantic drama Kahit Isang Saglit (2000). Pascual was in three releases with Santos from 2001 to 2003. In the first, she played the wife of Pascual's character in the television drama series Sa Puso Ko, Iingatan Ka (2001). Santos trained in boxing for her role in the Boots Plata-directed romantic comedy Bakit 'Di Totohanin (2001). She then starred in Joyce Bernal's comedy Till There Was You (2003) as a woman hired by a single father to pose as his wife. That same year, she appeared in the police procedural series Basta't Kasama Kita opposite Robin Padilla as a lawyer who gives up on her career to enlist as a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agent, which she found a "welcome change" from soap operas.
2004–2007: Transition into adult roles and critical success
Joel Lamangan cast Santos as a woman with dissociative identity disorder in the psychological drama Sabel (2004), whose script she found risky but necessary for artistic growth. The film required her to perform explicit sex scenes with co-stars Wendell Ramos and Sunshine Dizon. Santos's performance garnered critical acclaim; The Philippine Star described her portrayal as "multi-layered" and "one of the most complex female characters ever created for a Philippine film". Johven Velasco from The Manila Times praised Santos for challenging traditional gender roles of women and called the film the "turning point of her career". She won Best Actress at the Gawad Urian and Golden Screen Awards for the film. Santos next starred as the title character in the superhero series Krystala (2004). She considered the role to be a "childhood dream fulfilled", and trained in wushu and Muay Thai to prepare. Santos earned a Star Award for Best Actress for the series. Santos and Lamangan reunited in the period drama Aishite Imasu 1941: Mahal Kita playing a widow who becomes a guerilla leader. Santos said in regards to her decision to take up adult roles, "It was part of [my] desire to mature as an actor, to grow, and to establish my identity and versatility in the public's mind." Reviews of the film were mixed: Gibbs Cadiz from the Philippine Daily Inquirer criticized its "narrative incoherence and shockingly flippant grasp of history", but Rina Jimenez-David commended Santos for leaving her comfort zone with her role in Sabel. Santos received a Metro Manila Film Festival nomination for the film.
After a one-year absence on screen, Santos appeared in three productions in 2006. Her first release was Don't Give Up on Us, a romantic drama set in Baguio and Sagada that reunited her with Bernal and Pascual. Rito Asilo of the Philippine Daily Inquirer lauded Santos's growth in acting versatility and comedy, while Butch Francisco from The Philippine Star asserted that "more than the romance and this wonderful lecture on life ... it is her [Santos] acting discipline that helps make this film succeed as a light romantic drama." She returned to television in the drama series Sa Piling Mo. Santos's final release, Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo, ranks among the most acclaimed of her career. In Jose Javier Reyes's comedy drama, she starred opposite Ryan Agoncillo as the outspoken wife of Agoncillo's character, and the problems that arise as she interacts with her family and in-laws. Critic Nestor Torre Jr. wrote that Santos gave a "gutsy and felt performance", while Asilo praised her "honest-to-goodness portrayal", and said the film "strikes the appropriate emotional tone even as they juggle comedy and light drama". The film became her biggest commercial success to date, earning ₱140 million (US$2.6 million) at the box office. Santos was awarded the FAMAS, Golden Screen, Luna, Metro Manila Film Festival, and Star Award for Best Actress.