It’s almost as if the goddesses bestowed Carmina Villarroel with a glow that would remain untouched by time. The face card stays undefeated, yes, but so does the résumé. From memorable teleseryes and family dramas to roles that let her be funny, fierce, vulnerable, and everything in between, Carmina has continued to reinvent herself while remaining one of the most familiar faces on Philippine television.
With Carmina now bringing another layer of intrigue to “The Loyalty Game: Level Up,” we’re taking a trip down Kapamilya memory lane to revisit some her series and shows through the years. After all, a huge part of her career, including much of her prime as an actress, unfolded on ABS-CBN.
Carmina's star burned steadily from an early age. She entered showbiz through a commercial in 1986 at only 11 years old. Come the ’90s, Carmina had blossomed into one of the era’s most admired young actresses, her luminous charm making her just as hard to look away from on the big screen as she is today.
And because just one screen could never contain all that charm, Carmina found her way to television, too, revealing a versatility that would become one of the hallmarks of her career.
In 1991, a teenage Carmina joined the satirical sitcom “Abangan ang Susunod Na Kabanata,” sharing the screen with comedy heavyweights Tessie Tomas, Nova Villa, Roderick Paulate, Carmi Martin, and the late Sammy Lagmay.
As a major part of her Kapamilya roots, she also became a familiar face on the iconic Kapamilya drama anthology "Maalaala Mo Kaya" in the '90s, taking on different lives and stories with every assignment. Her long list of episodes would later include “Dibuho” in 1996 and several more through the latter half of the decade. By 1999 alone, she had three “MMK” appearances, including “Stethoscope,” “Regalo,” and “Taxi,” where she shared the screen with the man who would eventually become her husband, Zoren Legaspi.
Another receipt for her ’90s star power was getting her own production at a time when drama anthologies built around specific celebrities were part of the television landscape. “Star Drama Theater Presents: Carmina” aired in 1994, with Carmina taking on various characters across 13 episodes with her very name on the marquee.
Her star did not shine in isolation, either, as she participated in projects headlined by some of the industry’s brightest names. She guested in “The Maricel Drama Special: Welcome Home Gwen” in 1993, then later appeared in “Star Drama Theater Presents: Camille” in 1997.
Carmina sure had fun stretching her range. In 1999, she stepped into kontrabida territory in “Esperanza,” topbilled by Judy Ann Santos.
She also knew how to trade tears for laughs. Fans of “Oki Doki Doc” will remember her as George, the street-smart ukay-ukay vendor who became part of Doc Aga (Aga Muhlach)’s hilarious adventures. And then she dipped her toes into horror with a guest spot in the weekly supernatural thriller series “Oka Tokat," which she eventually had to leave due to her pregnancy.
The year 2001 was a major turning point in her career as she returned to showbiz and ABS-CBN after giving birth to twins Mavy and Cassie Legaspi. Just when she was finding her footing again as an actress, a new chapter opened with the afternoon series “Recuerdo de Amor,” opposite Diether Ocampo.
Carmina explored other corners of showbiz before finding her way back to ABS-CBN in 2012 through the primetime drama “Lorenzo’s Time.” For her Kapamilya comeback, she starred alongside then-child wonder Zaijian Jaranilla, who played Lorenzo, a young boy with progeria who was placed in cryonic suspension and woke up 30 years later. Carmina played Kathy, his childhood best friend and first love.
In 2013, she brought her star power to the afternoon block anew with “May Isang Pangarap.” She played Vanessa Francisco, whose life was intertwined with Vina Morales’ Karina Rodriguez in a story centered on young dreamers Larah and Julia, played by Larah Claire Sabroso and Julia Klarisse Base.
That same year, Carmina caught everyone's 'gigil' as she played Juliana San-Juan Manansala, Joaquin (Daniel Padilla)'s strict and controlling mother who opposed his romance with Chichay (Kathryn Bernardo) in the globally popular KathNiel series "Got To Believe." She sold the disapproving-mom energy so well that getting annoyed at Juliana became part of the viewing experience.
As an actress, Carmina was never interested in playing it safe, and “Bridges of Love” was proof of that. In 2014, she went for a bolder and more daring role as an obsessive woman who developed intense feelings for Paulo Avelino’s character. The series also starred Jericho Rosales, whom she shares the screen again in the series “The Loyalty Game,” which is set to premiere on free TV on Monday, October 5.
Carmina continued landing meaty roles in the years that followed. In “Doble Kara” (2015), she played Lucille Acosta-Dela Rosa, a manipulative woman who added even more drama to the already complicated lives of the twins portrayed by Julia Montes.
And then she added more color to the JaDine series “Till I Met You” in 2016, stepping into a maternal role as the mom of Nadine Lustre's character.
A decade later, Carmina is back in a fresh Kapamilya era and she's not here to return with a small performance. She's Imelda Madrigal, the mother of Janine Gutierrez’s character in "The Loyalty Game: Level Up," a role Carmina herself describes as one of her most intense yet. Imelda is a socialite born into a prominent family, someone whose life seems perfectly put together until her husband walks away and cracks open that glossy picture. The series of losses reveals Imelda's anxiety and the emotional wreckage that can change a woman from the inside out.
Catch "The Loyalty Game: Level Up," beginning October 5 on ABS-CBN sa ALLTV2, Kapamilya Channel, TV5, A2Z and Kapamilya Online Live (KOL) on Facebook and YouTube. The series will also be available on TFC, while iWant viewers can stream episodes seven days ahead of their television airing.
“The Loyalty Game: Level Up” unlocks new scenes, untold stories on free TV, and iWant this October 5
Carmina Villarroel wants to interview a basher: ‘Ang tatapang nila manlait kapag walang mukha’
Throwback: Kathryn Bernardo as Chichay in “Got To Believe” (2013)
Throwback: Julia Montes as Kara and Sara in "Doble Kara" (2015)