In the ’90s, ABS-CBN would air old Filipino films every afternoon and it made Gloria Romero’s movies so accessible to me. I probably saw her at least once a week. One week, she’s the queen in the Sleeping Beauty episode of Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang; the next, she’s Nida Blanca’s rival in Anak ni Waray vs Anak ni Biday; next, she’s a doña stealing a farmer’s land in Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit. All this while getting to see her play a rich matriarch in Familia Zaragoza and a laidback auntie in Palibhasa Lalake in the evenings! 

She could both be wicked and warm. She would enrage you, but she’d also break your heart. She’s regal and ethereal, but also so grounded and approachable. She’s stern in one project, and goofy the next. And I never, not once, questioned whether she was right for a role. She always was. The Queen of Philippine Movies was queen for a reason.

On January 25, 2025, Gloria Romero passed at age 91. Her career spanned seven decades with almost 300 acting credits, seven FAMAS and three Urian trophies. And as we mourn the loss of yet another pillar of the film and TV industry, we also wish to invite you to celebrate her life and her incredible contribution to Philippine cinema by checking out some of her work. 

Some of Gloria Romero’s movies can be watched on YouTube for free. Here are some of them. 

Dalagang Ilocana

If you’ve seen photos and clips of a young Gloria Romero smoking a huge roll of tobacco in her mouth, this film is where that’s from. This 1954 romantic comedy — which also starred Dolphy and her leading man Ric Rodrigo —earned Romero her first ever FAMAS for Best Actress.

Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit

This Nora Aunor and Tirso Cruz III starrer is a classic mostly remembered for some of Magnolia Dela Cruz’s quotable quotes, but Gloria Romero’s Doña Martina herself had a lot of zingers here.

Besides, it just feels like a major event in Philippine Cinema for two queens of two generations to have the showdowns that they get to have here. Watch it. You’ll find that its themes remain relevant to this day.

Beautiful Life

Gloria Romero leads an ensemble of women (Dina Bonnevie, Amy Austria, Angel Aquino, Michelle Bayle, Aubrey Miles, Iya Villania, Maxene Magalona) as they forge a new path after losing their loved ones to a terrorist attack. 

Nagbabagang Luha

She won her second FAMAS trophy for her performance in this classic directed by National Artist for Film Ishmael Bernal, starring Lorna Tolentino, Alice Dixson, Richard Gomez, and Gabby Concepcion. 

Dahil May Isang Ikaw

When I heard the news of her passing, this film immediately came to mind. Not only because of how much penalty I had to pay the Video City for returning this VCD many days late, but because of a line her character said here. That when she passes, what God would ask her is if she had loved.

Moments of Love

My God, her eyes in this movie. Ten minutes of screentime, and she absolutely crushed it. This queen sat the entire time and easily gave the best performance in this film.

Kapag Langit ang Humatol

She disapproved of Vilma for her son so much she switched her baby with a different one. And you’re probably thinking, “baby-switching in a Filipino story is too much of a cliche!” And yeah, maybe. But trust me, it hasn’t been done in this way before or since. It gets pretty graphic, honestly.

Tanging Yaman

Last but not the least, the film that I believe officially made Gloria Romero so beloved among millennials and gave her a renaissance not typical for actors from her era. The amount of major roles she bagged after it was insane. Bahay ni Lola, Singsing ni Lola, Beautiful Life, Magnifico, Bahay Kubo! 

Yes, it’s true, she was always working. She was never not on our screens. But Tanging Yaman was such a phenomenon that family ensemble dramas are still a staple in MMFF line-ups 25 years later. To see the funny lola from Palibhasa Lalake and the kontrabida from Nora and Vilma movies become this matriarch losing her mental faculties just when her family needed her guidance the most?

To see her frail, and flawed, but still oh so loving despite her shortcomings as a mother? She became even more loved that she just about became the grandmother of an entire generation. It is through this film, which came out 50 years after she started in the business, that she reminded everyone why she was the Queen of Philippine Cinema, and I’ve never forgotten since.

Gloria Romero will never be forgotten.

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