Pretty and talented
starlet fears going blind

She happened to be one of the most talented in her batch. She was also tall, well-endowed, and gifted with pretty features.

No wonder that she was, at least, doing three shows simultaneously.

To a confidante she confessed the reason why she fears she might go blind. "Noong bata pa raw siya minsang nakikipaglaro siya sa isang kapuwa bata, tinusok siya ng thumb tacks sa kanyang mata ng kalaro," said the confidante.

Didn’t she have her eyes treated by an eye doctor? We asked.

"She did," the confidante replied. "Pero, alam n’yo naman sa probinsiya, kapag nakaramdam na ng kaunting ginhawa, stop na ang pagpapatingin sa doctor. Not because they don’t want to continue with the treatment. Pero dahil magastos nga naman ang magpa-gamot. Ito exactly ang nangyari sa starlet."

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One of the most prolific child stars under contract to Star Magic is Celine Lim, who turned eight years old last January 10.

Didn’t she have a party to mark her birthday? We asked Celine.

"I had a party. Pero sa school lang. And I shared the party with a classmate, who also turned eight years old on January 10," Celine replied.

But since joining showbiz, she became an above average student.

Celine said she joined showbiz because she really wanted to become a star. "Kinulit-kulit ko ang Mommy na sama-han ako sa audition, para maka-sali ako noon sa pa kontes ng ABS CBN, ‘SCQ Kids.’

"I didn’t win. Sharlene San Pedro (another busy child actress) was the grand champ."

Her first big break was when she was assigned to play the young Anne Curtis in "Huwag Kang Lilingon." This was soon followed by the teleserye, "Sana Maulit Muli," where she was assigned the role as the young Kim Chiu.

Her biggest break, so far, as a teleserye actress was in the horror-suspense drama, "Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara." Here she plays the daughter of Jodi Sta. Maria, who would make use of Celine to torture Barbara (played by Kris Aquino) whom Jodi suspected is the real love of her husband (Albert Martinez).

While doing "Patayin...," Celine revealed that there were evenings when fear would overcome her.

Celine said: "Para bang nagiging multo lahat ng kasama ko sa cast. Sabi ng Mommy ko, in instances like this, I should pray always."

Slowly and surely getting to be an effective comedienne, too, Celine shares comedy talent with seasoned comedians, Bayani Agbayani, Roderick Paulate, and Nova Villa in "That’s My Doc," with her tito Aga Muhlach playing the title role.

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Charlene Gonzales will soon host the talk program, "Proudly Filipina" on QTV or Q-11. She replaces Daphne Osena-Paez, who gave up the show so she could have a little more time for her two girls.

Daphne is still hosting a TV show on urban living on ABS-CBN.

Charlene used to host "At Home Ka Dito" on the Kapamilya network.

Gigi Santiago-Lara, who is the producer of "Proudly Filipina," said Charlene is a perfect replacement to Daphne, as she is equally articulate and profound. A former beauty queen, Charlene, like Daphne, is also a mom to two beautiful kids, twins Atasha and Andres.

Charlene, as we all know, is married to dashing award winning actor Aga Muhlach.