Among the actresses of her generation, nobody is doing it quite like Bianca Umali.
Having started out in the industry by doing commercials at the tender age of two, Bianca now has decades worth of experience, making her one of most noteworthy actresses today.
But is acting all there is for her?
BIANCA AS FUTURE INTERIOR DESIGNER
While it seems like Bianca was practically born into show business, she has other interests that keep her busy whenever she hits a downtime in her main job.
Courses in interior design and entrepreneurship are in the cards for the Gen Z actress.
"It's a dream, because I do like drawing, and I love fixing houses and furniture. So it's a dream of mine to create," she says in all eagerness.
Actors may be creators by nature since they breathe life into the characters they portray.
Bianca, off cam, loves breathing new life into her home, keeps on rearranging, redecorating, and revamping it.
"I can say that I splurge so much on my house that sometimes, it's like, ang sakit din sa bulsa. Like hindi na natapos yung pagpapa-ayos ko ng house. I keep on rearranging, and buying new furniture, and redecorating. That, I splurge on so much."
On the other hand, the passion for business stems from her appetite to hatch the warm and comforting feeling she gets from her home.
"I am putting something up. Something is cooking, but it's not beauty-related, though," she shares.
"But it's something that would make, that makes us, well, makes me feel at home, something that comforts us. Well, me, at least.
"So, I haven't announced it yet, but something is cooking, something really personal."
A business is among the practical, long-term investments she is saving up for, along with houses and education.
"My personal education, because I am going back to school. Hindi lang siguro kaya ng time ngayon, but I will be going back. I mean, it's never too late."
On her pragmatism, she quips, "Sobrang tita ko, 'no?"
At the same time, she takes pride in practicing such a sensible mentality.
READ: Bianca Umali on becoming an Iglesia Ni Cristo member: “It is a personal choice"
BIANCA ON BEACHES and her babies
Stepping outside the walls of Bianca's dwelling comes another identity that completes who she is—a beach baby.
For the 23-year-old Kapuso actress, travel is all about immersing oneself in nature's finest panoramas, imbued with sunshine magic.
So it comes as no surprise that her favorite summer activity is swimming with her dogs in the sea.
"So I brought my dogs to the beach last vacation.
"And then, it was the first time of my big dog. He's a Samoyed [pronounced as suh-mo-yed]. His name is Raja. It's his first time to swim in the sea, and he had so much fun. And it made me so happy that he was such a beach dog," she recounts.
"Beach baby siya, just as how much of a beach baby I am. You see it in their eyes, e, that they are happy. It was so satisfying sa akin that he loves road trips na rin as well. So anak ko talaga."
She states that Raja and her Pomeranian dog named Boop also get a big chunk of her expenditures.
"I splurge so much on my dogs," she reveals.
"They're so spoiled. Super! Oh my gosh! Super sarap ng mga buhay ng aso ko."
To further prove how much of a doting fur mom she is, her dream summer activity involves Raja and Boop.
"I want to go island hopping with my dogs. I haven't done that, like sama sila sa bangka and all that," she says, smiling from ear to ear.
"I want to do that."
She is also interested in trying other outdoor activities.
"I haven't tried parasailing, so that would be fun.
"I haven't tried driving a jet ski as well, so I want to do that, too."
Despite her introvert personality, Bianca admits to being an adventurous traveler who thrives on spontaneity.
"I'm a spontaneous traveler, super. Kahit na super OC ko, I do plan everything. But when it comes to traveling, I like spontaneous trips. I'm also such an on-the-go person, so super bilis ko mag-pack. Mabilis akong mag-ready, mabilis ako."
Bianca was struck with nostalgia upon recalling her first visit to Siargao with boyfriend Ruru Madrid—a memory she cites as her most memorable summer trip yet.
"The first time I went there [Siargao] in 2019, it wasn't that crowded yet," she recalls.
"And, of course, hindi pa rin siya binabagyo noon. Before it got super commercialized, I was able to go there, and that's my favorite time. It was so quiet.
"Parang pa-commercial pa lang siya, because that was when they closed Boracay as well, to clean the beach. So most of the restaurants and business people were looking into Siargao."
"That was the first beach trip that Ru and I went to. It was so spontaneous lang din, kasi we didn't plan on anything.
"We just booked a place to sleep, to go home to, and then, everything else was just like, it just happened. It's fun.
"We like going on spontaneous trips. We don't plan on anything. That is one of the most memorable spontaneous trips of ours.
"We were there for, I think, seven days, maybe just eight, and we were away from our phones."
BIANCA'S FITNESS REGIMEN
Social-media-savvy beach babes know that central to a picture-perfect Instagram post is a bikini-ready figure.
On this, Bianca advises to "never starve yourself just to get a bikini body. It's really bad. Do not abuse your body."
"If you do want to prepare your body first, I would say please do study your own body. Know what diet works for you. Know what workout works for you. Know how much rest you need. Know your limits because your body is a body. It's not a robot. So do not abuse."
She further emphasizes, "Know what you will do with it because even if you try everything, even if you work out hard, diet, if you don't know the right spices, if you don't study your body, it's not going to work. So, that's my tip, know your body."
She adds, "And it's different for everyone, e.
"You can't just, because you know that your friend is doing this kind of diet and this kind of workout, the same things would work for you. It's not like that.
"Well, at least for me, I realized that.
"I started working out when I was 16. In those years, up until today, I realized that for each body, it's a different type. It's a different kind of…It's a different process.
"You have to understand how your body works and what your body wants and what works and what it needs, actually. It's different for all."
By and large, celebrities normally adhere to a proper diet plan to ensure they look their best for every role they take on. Staying fit helps them present themselves to spectators the way only stars can.
READ: Bianca Umali in bikini sets Internet on fire; what's her diet and workout?
Bianca reveals, "I have tried different kinds of diet because I was looking for what works on my body."
"Apparently, only one kind of diet works for me, which is small, frequent meals. I tried doing keto, I tried doing intermittent fasting, I also was a pescetarian for a time. But it's really just small, frequent meals for me regardless of whatever it is that I have to prepare for."
She declares, "So I do eat small meals. Anything that I want, including sweets and carbs and all that. But, um… maya’t maya. I don't eat like big bulk.
"I don't eat one big full meal. I can't. My tummy is also too small for that. So I eat small, frequent meals.
"Small, and then it's not limited to just breakfast, lunch, dinner. I have so many snack times, as in. I love snacks. I run on snacks, cookies."
BIANCA AS A SUSTAINABLE FASHIONISTA
What's a perfect OOTD for Bianca's bikini bod?
"Something practical."
Whether it's hitting the beach or going downtown for a casual stroll, the first thing she considers before scoring a new fashion piece is its longevity.
"I look at how basic it is. Because when I do dress up, I know that I always go for the basic ones because, I like mixing and matching," she says.
Bianca also makes it a point to care for Mother Earth by making sustainable fashion choices.
"Most times, I have my clothes made into something else. Like, for example, pants, we make it into a dress. We upcycle clothes—it's one of our advocacies. So I do stick with that. I always look at how basic it is because I repeat clothes all the time."
She explains, "And the basics are always a must-have, and then, super practical. Super practical. You can mix and match.
"And when I do, for example, it's just a bikini, I don't use it just for summer. I also wear it depending on [the occasion], sometimes with jeans.
"Practical is what my fashion is."
Unlike most public figures, Bianca says retail therapy will never apply to her: "I really handle my money and put my money in things that I know I need.
"Sometimes naman merong mga wants, but not all the time. Parang, I think because I'm wired that way, konti lang yung wants ko, e," she confesses.
"It's rare that I do splurge money on things that I only want, and not need. Yung mga unexpected gastos ko are for those things na unexpectedly kailangan ko pala ngayon so I have to buy it, things like that."
In fact, "The priciest thing I've ever splurged on is not fashion-related. It's my camera. I think my most expensive splurge as of the moment is my camera, which is PHP218,000.
"Agh! When I remember it...," she motions as if to feel guilty about the expense.
"But I knew it's worth it. It was an investment," she guarantees.
"I do use it to shoot all my fashion photos. Again, kasi like all my clothes, I don't really splurge on all the expensive stuff because nga I do go for the practicality, and we do upcycle clothes.
"So wala akong luho in short, except for my books."
BIANCA's BOOKS
Bianca can easily charm people with her beauty; she can also take their breath away with her ideas and thoughts.
She credits this to her prized possessions—her heaps of hardcover and paperback novels.
"To everyone who knows me, I read so much," she laughs.
On set, she brought some good reads which she swears by, including the complete Harry Potter volumes, Women Who Run With The Wolves, Fuck Feelings, Clarity & Connection, Mr. Mercedes, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
"Ito yung mga nagkaroon talaga ng impact on my life, and my experience reading these books were so meaningful that I want to share them with all of you. I do read almost everything. Kung ano lang yung mahawakan ko, basta nagbabasa ako, masaya ako. I don't stick to just one genre."
She says, "Actually, lahat naman ng books na binabasa ko, I would recommend. But ito lang yung naisip ko kasi, siyempre, hindi naman natin puwede dalhin yung buong bookshelf.
"Here I have novels, I have self-help books, I have fantasy, I also have young adult."
Not only are her books influential in shaping who she is, but they come in handy for channeling multiple personas needed for her film or television projects, too.
She sees no reason to straightforwardly experience traumas firsthand, in order to deliver depth in her diversified roles—such as being a third wife to Dennis Trillo in Legal Wives or becoming a daughter of a Badjao refugee in Sahaya.
"I have this process or the process of being an actor is actually hard to explain. Because it's not something na parang, since you have this trauma or you have this bad memory that makes you sad, you use that to act in a scene where you have to cry. It's not that easy."
She explains, "There's a process that you have to understand and you have to experience for you to be able to work on different kinds of scenes.
"So, I mean, yes, marami naman tayong lahat hugot sa buhay, but it's not just that na ginagamit ko para makapag-work o para makapag-acting."
Whatever magnetic performance she gave in HBO's Halfworlds, she owes to the individuals inside the pages of her books.
"I mean, the feel of it like, I felt like I was filming something that I was reading."
Drawing inspiration from fictional people then fleshing out their odds and ends is something she finds pleasure in doing.
"It was super fun. My imagination was like wild, and I love how the story of that went as well, kasi you really know that it's fresh out from like a fantasy world. It's nice.
"It's like a fictional character and a fiction story and everything there.
"Parang we were able to create a reality that you have to read the book to understand, parang ganun. It was a fun experience."
Slipping more into the cliché of bookworms, Bianca reveals that she is actually quite the wallflower, even during filming.
"Aside from my acting coach, I don't really ask for advice from co-stars or whoever, kasi what I do is I absorb what I see, and I try to figure things out on my own so I could build my own kind of process. I'm such an introvert, I get shy to ask for advice from other people."
This is quite unlike her beau, who is "very vocal about what he thinks and what he feels, ako naman opposite."
She resumes, "So what I do is, I show people how I feel. What I think, I do my best to show them. This is how I do things, you know.
"Ru and I both have the same passion for what we do. We both commit so much to acting and to the projects that we are given, that we put in the same amount of dedication. And we would dive in everything that we do. Parehas kami doon.
"But what I discovered sa kanya while working on The Write One, would be how he leads. Kasi ako, what I do is I lead by example.
"I get inspired by each and every veteran that I get to work with. And sa lahat ng mga natututunan ko sa kanilang lahat, I try my best to put everything together, and then that’s how I try to work."
PRODUCTION CREDITS:
SHOOT PRODUCER: Rachelle Siazon, Nikko Tuazon
WRITER AND SHOOT ASSISTANT: Frances Karmel Bravo
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Igi Talao
PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Capuchino
PHOTOGRAPHER'S ASSISTANT: Meinard Navato
STYLIST: John Paul Dizon
MAKE-UP: Thazzia Falek
HAIRSTYLIST: Mycke Arcano
VIDEO PRODUCERS: Rommel Llanes
TIKTOK PRODUCER: Nikko Tuazon
SOCIAL MEDIA PRODUCER: Chino Buenaventura
Special thanks to Marian Grace Antonio of GMA Corporate Communications and Sparkle GMA Artist Center
READ MORE:
- Bianca Umali in bikini sets Internet on fire; what's her diet and workout?
- Ruru Madrid at Bianca Umali, itutuloy na sa bakasyon ang taping sa Paris
- Ruru Madrid on girlfriend Bianca Umali: “Araw-araw ita-trato kita bilang Reyna ng buhay ko”
- Bianca Umali, nagpasalamat kay Ruru Madrid sa pagiging proud sa relasyon nila
