Yasmien Kurdi can sure talk before the shoot, she's telling YES! that she's getting a bit frantic because her pet dog, a two-year-old shih tzu named Charming, has been showing signs of dog dengue.
"Si Charming kasi, naka-confine ngayon," says the young actress-singer. "Kaninang madaling araw, sinugod namin siya sa hospital."
Hardly pausing for breath, she turns to her mom, Miriam and asks, "Ma, kamusta na ba daw si Charming? Tawagan natin 'yong doctor."
After Yasmien is assured that Charming—named after her popular character in the 2006 GMA-7 drama series Bakekang—is doing fine at the vet (she updates: "Nagwa-wag na raw siya ng tail!"), she's back to her candid self, brimming with stories from her life in Kuwait to her future plans.
"Chopsuey ako," Yasmien proudly says of her lineage. She was born in the Philippines in 1989 to a Lebanese father, Mike Kurdi, and a half-Filipina, half-Chinese mother, Miriam Yuson.
When Yasmien was one year old, the family moved to Kuwait, where her dad was based. But because of the ongoing Gulf War in the Middle East in the early '90s, they traveled to her dad's home country Lebanon, came back to the Philippines when she was three, and then returned to Kuwait when she was six.
"Masaya ang buhay doon, kasi hindi ka hirap," she says of life in Kuwait. "Doon, kaagad may trabaho. Doon, in one week, puwede kang kumita ng malaking money. Hindi ko nga akalain, like, 'yong baon ko in one day doon, parang mga 500 pesos pala dito. Parang naisip ko lang, kung kaya inipon ko 'yong lahat, di ba?"
Growing up in the Middle East, Yasmien says, made her a tough cookie, but the toughness she got from her Kuwaiti upbringing has often been misinterpreted by Pinoys. She was 12 when she returned to the Philippines with her mom.
"Na-culture-shock ako dito! Kasi, kami doon, competitive kami. I mean, hindi kami 'yong lalamya-lamya. Gusto ng Pinoy, underdog. Doon, hindi. Ayaw ka ng tao pag underdog ka. Kailangan strong ka, kailangan competitive ka. So nanibago 'ko dito. Feeling ng tao, ang yabang ko. Feeling ng tao, ang angas ko, maarte. Pero di nila alam, 'yon ang kinalakihan ko. So nag-adjust ako sa ways dito."
She adds, laughing: "Dati, mas madaldal pa 'ko, e. Ngayon, na-lessen na 'to, actually."
Since she was young, Yasmien knew she was bound for showbiz. In her former schools abroad, she would join different contests, including singing competitions and spelling bees. As a part of the Kuwait Filipino Cultural Club, she had the chance to perform in front of Kuwaiti royalty. So when she came back home, it wasn't long before she joined the Pond's Facial Ms. Soft Skin Search. She didn't win that one, but she became a Pond's print model afterwards.
In 2003, she secretly auditioned for GMA-7's teen talent search, StarStruck.
"Ayaw nina Mama at Papa na mag-artista ako. E, makulit ako. Sinamahan ko 'yong kaklase ko. Nag-cutting-classes kami."
She laughs at the memory. "May dala kaming damit, 'tapos 'yong minus one. 'Yong lipstick, ginawa kong blush-on. Sobrang bilis lang talaga. Last day ng GMA audition at last contestant pa 'ko. Ako 'yong sa mga artista pag sinasabi nila na 'Pusong bato na 'ko, kasi wala na 'kong nararamdaman sa 'binabatong intriga.' Pero alam mo, dumating ako sa point na ganoon. Like now, pag nangyayari 'yon, kahit ano'ng nababasa ko about myself, kahit siraan na 'ko, parang, 'Bakit ba?'"
The most recent intriga about Yasmien has to do with her sexy photos splashed in the tabloids.
In an interview with GMA-7's Showbiz Central on August 17, 2008, Yasmien clarified that the pictures, which showed her wearing a two-piece bikini, were taken last year in Zambales during the taping for her series Pasan Ko ang Daigdig. She had uploaded the photos on Facebook, the Internet social-networking site.
"Nakuha po 'yon sa Facebook account ko," she told Showbiz Central. "Pero naka-private-account po 'yon, kaya hindi ko alam kung sino ang kumuha sa mga friends ko. Naku, hindi ko nga alam kung bakit nila ginagawang big deal 'yon, e, sa cellphone lang naman 'yon. At saka nasa beach ako. Alangan namang magpantalon ako or mag-abaya ako."
(Abaya is a traditional Islamic dress. Yasmien's dad is Muslim, but she herself is with the Iglesia ni Cristo.)
There are also rumors that Yasmien is planning to quit showbiz for good to pursue her studies. She has denied this in an interview with YES! Magazine's Internet affiliate, PEP—(Philippine Entertainment Portal).
"Nag-aaral naman talaga ako, she told PEP. "Nagkataon lang na may mga kailangan akong tapusin na importanteng subjects na ang schedule niya M-W-F talaga, at dapat sundin dahil wala akong magagawa kung hindi ko matatapos."
The rumors likely began when she informed reporters that she was asking permission from the network to free certain days of the week for her academic schedule. The 20-year-old Angelicum College student wants to take up international studies and plans to take up some subjects at the New Era University, then eventually shift to the University of the Philippines.
"Gusto kong magtrabaho sa embassy, kasi, sa lahi ko, makaka-relate ako, and I like traveling talaga," she tells YES! "Proud na rin ako na parang nakakapundar at nakakapag-save ako for my future. Kasi may gusto pa 'kong ibang field. Siyempre, hindi naman forever ang showbiz."