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Remembering Gloria Sevilla: The Queen of Visayan Movies
The veteran actress, Gloria Sevilla, died at the age of 90 in her home in Oakland, California.
Actress Gloria Sevilla, known to today’s generation as Lola Fe from Be Careful with My Heart died on Saturday, April 16 in California. She was 90 years old.
Her granddaughter, actress Krista Ranillo-Lim, who is also based in the US, confirmed the passing of her grandmother on Instagram.
“I’m so thankful we were able to spend time ever since you moved here to the US. It’s still not enough time. I wish we had more time. I wish we had more memories together. It’s been 10 days since we last saw each other and my heart is breaking knowing I won’t see you again. You were going to visit for my birthday. You promised to be at my church wedding in July,” Krista wrote.
“I love you, Grandma. So much. Nino loves you, the kids adore you. I’m thankful to the Lord that the kids got to know their great Grandma. Nate will miss dancing for you. He told me tonight he wishes he danced more for you because it made you so happy. I love you.”
Gloria Sevilla’s daughter, actress Suzette Ranillo, confirmed the passing of their mother in a statement via ABS-CBN as well.
“We will cherish the love of friends and fans who supported her from her younger days as the inimitable Queen of Visayan Cinema as well as her critically-recognized and awarded performances in mainstream films and television drama. The Ranillo-Cortez family appreciates the prayers offered for Gloria while awaiting the funeral arrangements to be held in the US and in the Philippines.”
Queen of Visayan Movies and a call to protect the Philippine movie industry
Long before she was known as Lola Fe, Gloria was known for her body of work in Visayan films, earning her the title of Queen of Visayan Movies. Among the films she did are Leonora, Pailub Lang, Badlis sa Kinabuhi, and Gimingaw Ako. She won the FAMAS awards for her roles in Badlis sa Kinabuhi and Gimingaw Ako.
Additionally, she earned a FAMA Best Supporting Actress Award for the movie Madugong Paghihiganti.
In the last few years, Gloria Sevilla would alternate appearing in teleseryes and films. Aside from Be Careful with My Heart, she appeared on FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, Asintado, Doble Kara, and Nathaniel among others.
In 2019, Gloria was given the Natatanging Gawad Urian award by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino. In her speech, she called on the government to help the movie industry and its workers, which have struggled through the years.
“Ang ating pelikula ay isa sa unang mga na itayo at naitaguyod bilang sining pambansa. Huwag natin itong hayaang mawala at makalimutan,” she said
(Movies are one of the first that were established as one of our national arts. Let’s not allow it to disappear and be forgotten.)
In between working on films and television, Gloria Sevilla was part of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) as well, where she is one of the board members.
Gloria Sevilla: wife, mother, and grandmother
But Gloria is not just an actress. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother. She first married fellow Visayan actor Mat Ranillo Jr., with whom she has five children. Two of her kids, Suzette and Mat Ranillo III, entered showbiz. Granddaughter Krista was also active in showbiz before relocating to the US and starting a family.
Mat Ranillo Jr. died in a plane crash and years later, Gloria married actor and businessman Amado Cortez, who would go on to serve as a consulate in the US before his death in 2003. The two of them had one child.
I had the opportunity to meet her and was supposed to do a story about her back then. I never got to do it as a full profile but from the conversations I had with her, she was happy to have contributed to the industry that embraced her. She hopes that more Visayan films are given the spotlight and that workers are being compensated properly.
May we not forget the contribution of our actors and actresses to our culture. And may their body of work serve as references to people who want to make it to the industry.
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