By now, everyone knows the story of how Marian Rivera came to be a household name, thanks to GMA-7's top-rating primetime soap Marimar. How the 22-year-old actress was born in Spain, raised by her grandmother in Cavite, landed leading roles in daytime soaps, and got her biggest break to date. But beyond the surface, who is Marian Rivera, really?
As Marian herself reveals to marie claire magazine, she's a lola's girl. "Of course, I love my mom, too," she says, "But my grandma holds first place in my heart."
She is so close to her grandmother that leaving her behind in Cavite to pursue her showbiz career is one of the major turning points in her life. "Since childhood, it's always been the two of us. Always. Then I made the excruciating decision to leave her because I wanted to work."
She starts to tear up before saying, "It was as if after she took care of me, I just suddenly abandoned her to live my own life. That's the hardest and most painful part of it all."
Despite being away from her grandmother, Marian brings with her a deep faith that was instilled in her childhood. Laughing, she tells marie claire how she would even miss classes just to hear Mass and even went to church right after the Marimar audition. "Lahat ng simbahang puwedeng pasukan, pinasok ko," she says, "As long as my schedule permits, I still go to Baclaran every Wednesday."
Her grandmother also taught her to stand on her own feet, lessons that proved to be invaluable when Marian's career had yet to peak and she found herself washing her own clothes by hand and lugging her own things to shoots, a far cry from her pampered existence in Cavite. Marian learned to be her own person, unafraid to be true to herself.
"I didn't finish college just to be belittled by anyone—showbiz or not," Marian asserts, "My principle in life is if you're kind to me, I'll be kinder to you. Pero 'pag tinarantado mo ako, mas tarantado ako sa ‘yo. I'll just reflect the way you treat me."
Such candor may be rare in showbiz, but Marian is quick to say that she has learned to compromise with showbiz. "I learned to [keep] my temper [in control], makibagay sa lahat ng tao, so they'd have nothing to say about me."
Having to deal with all sorts of people prompts Marian to recall her experience of taking up a three-month practicum in the National Mental Hospital. "Mas mahirap pa nga pakisamahan ‘yung mga normal eh," she says, "Kasi[the mental patients], they're real people. Whatever they feel, nilalabas nila. When they're mad, they really show it."
She explains that people in the mental hospital were extremely sensitive and would notice if you cover your nose or try to curb the urge to gag, saying, "Working in the mental hospital requires intense love and understanding."
It's clear that there is so much more to Marian than her Marimar persona— an actress who remains unafraid to be the woman her grandmother brought her up to be, a woman who knows where she wants to go but will not step on anyone just to get there. Of her journey to the top, she says, "Independence, self-confidence, knowing what's right and wrong, the will to act, and faith all led me to where I am now."
Marian Rivera is clearly at the top of her game. marie claire reveals more about Marian in its March issue, available in all leading news stands nationwide at P125 per copy.