Cherie Gil dies at 59

MANILA, Philippines – Showbiz icon Cherie Gil died on Friday,  August 5. She was 59.

Her death was confirmed to GMA News by her nephew, actor Sid Lucero.

Based on her recent Facebook posts, Cherie had been receiving treatment at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

As part of a showbiz clan that included her parents Eddie Mesa and Rosemarie Gil, and brothers Mark Gil (+) and Michael de Mesa, Cherie had an early start in entertainment, receiving supporting roles in various films before bagging the title role at the age of 15 in the film Problem Child, starring opposite her mother.

Cherie would go on to star in films such as Manila by Night in 1980, Oro, Plata, Mata in 1982, and as Lavinia Arguelles in Bituing Walang Ninging in 1985 – the film where she would utter the now-iconic line “you’re nothing but a second-rate, trying hard copycat!”

After taking an 11-year break from showbiz in 1994 to focus on family, Cherie made her comeback in the film Sugatang Puso, which earned her the Best Supporting Actress award at the Metro Manila Film Festival.

In 2018, she appeared briefly in the film Citizen Jake, which gave her her first Gawad Urian Award.

She continued to perform on screen and onstage well into her 50s, taking on roles in the one-woman play Full Gallop which she also produced, and in Atlantis Productions’ Angels in America, where she played multiple roles.

In the pandemic, she became an acting mentor, giving online masterclasses for aspiring and experienced actors.

In February 2022, she revealed that she left the Philippines to move to New York and be with her kids. – Rappler.com