Great Expectations
Like a force of nature, 22-year-old showbiz scion KC Concepcion has been swept into the unforgiving glare of the spotlight. Now back from her four-year stint in Paris, she’s hell-bent on paving her own professional path. PAOLO R. REYES peels away the layers to reveal the anatomy of her instant—but well-earned—celebrity
It was almost as if someone had flicked a switch and fireworks went off.
But there wasn’t any startling staccato of cracks and bangs—only ear-piercing cheers and repeated shrieks of an all-too-familiar name.
There she was, swathed in the unforgiving glare of Shangri-La Plaza’s stage lights, as swirling clouds of confetti tickled and brushed against her preternaturally pretty face.
For a second or two, it seemed as if the applause would never end. But the solitary figure under the spotlight, KC Concepcion—clad in a PG-rated dress, cradling a bouquet of pink carnations in her arms—never quivered.
She stood her ground with a peculiar grace, making confident strides to the left and right of the stage, as she blew flying kisses to the crowd and amused them with occasional bellows of “Wow!” and “Salamat po!”
It was, after all, a coming out party of sorts for the 22-year-old scion of Philippine show business.
Two months earlier, in August 2007, she finally earned her academic stripes from the American University in Paris (the same Left Bank institution Andrea Casiraghi, the eldest son of Princess Caroline of Monaco, graduated from a year before), where she majored in International Corporate Communications and minored in Theater Arts.
Four carefree, independent years in the City of Lights had finally come to an end for the celebrated daughter of box-office queen Sharon Cuneta and actor Gabby Concepcion—veritable royalty in the eyes of the Filipino masses, who catapulted the now-estranged couple and erstwhile “love team” to fame (and fortune) in the 1980s.
Today, she was back—front and center—as the new multi-million peso endorser of local fashion label Bayo, which proudly trumpeted her amid the fanfare of a high-wattage fashion show and against the incessant whir of digital cameras and wailings of her fans.
“Sure, I have my own life to live, my own name to build, and my own burdens to worry about, But someone’s gotta begin the process of resolving unfinished business. Life is just too damn short to be so angry all the time.”
The celebrity of KC Concepcion is an intriguing one, even though it does, at the same time, possess traces of a formulaic plotline: the offspring of a moneyed Mega Star and former matinee idol, step-daughter of a respected senator (Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan), and granddaughter of the late Pablo Cuneta, the longest-reigning mayor of Pasay City.
Barely a year old when her parents went their separate ways, she led a relatively cloistered childhood under the careful watch of her famous mother (who, in contrast, starred in her first feature film, Dear Heart, at age 15, opposite her future first husband).
The controversy-riddled Cuneta, already a multi-awarded actress, wanted to spare her young progeny from the prying eyes of the public and the scrutiny of the entertainment press, of which she was—at one point or another—a victim of.
As a child, KC was schooled in Poveda, a private all-girls Catholic school, and later at the exclusive International School Manila (ISM)—a scholastic environment so removed from the world of showbiz that many classmates possibly had no inkling on who “Sharon” or “Gabby” was.
“I think, in the beginning, those of us who knew her mom didn’t know how to treat her,” shares Manika Yujuico, a classmate from ISM Class of 2003, who also spent time with KC in Toulouse, France one summer. “But she was the type of girl that would, out of the blue, ask how you were and share something about her life. She’s always been a naturally warm person.”
“She was just so damn charming and good with people that she got away with murder . . . and she knew it,” expressed another ISM schoolmate in jest. “Some found that a little annoying, plus the fact that all the boys were in love with her—well, I’d say eighty-five percent. I think she naturally gravitated to those who didn’t know her folks.”
After graduating from the hallowed halls of high school in 2003, a blitzkrieg of billboard, broadsheet, and boob tube advertisements soon followed. It was a breakout year for the 18-year-old, so to speak. And even when she packed her bags and jetted off to France in the fall, the offers—from magazine covers to movie scripts—continued pouring in, and her popularity swelled.
She began writing a regular column for the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s widely-read pop culture section, Super, which humorously chronicled her Parisian adventures and misadventures. She learned the ropes of hosting as an MTV VJ, shuffling in and out of the studios to tape episodes and interview foreign artists on the spot.
She made her much-awaited theatrical comeback, starring in the local adaptation of the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast. Her modeling career blossomed as she signed a brag-worthy contract with trendy clothing line Human, where she learned the art of flashing her most expensive smile.
In the blink of an eye, KC Concepcion was everywhere and, at times, almost omnipresent.
“I’ve had to tweak my mind to adjust to a ‘new’ concept of family through the years; it’s worked out just fine but it wasn’t easy. Sure i’m the daughter of. Get over it, we are all daughters or sons of someone.“
In spite of the speed by which she was thrust into the klieg-lit cusp of celebrity, industry professionals weren’t baffled by her ubiquity.
“She’s a natural talent with a good sense of humor and very light on the set,” says commercial director and Unitel Productions partner, Jun Reyes, who’s worked with KC on a number of beauty product ads. “It’s very rare for someone to have a face, good acting skills, and a voice. Not to mention the name. She knows how to project herself well, and clients are always impressed with the finished material.
“She has a combination of everything—the looks, the lineage, the image, and the public persona that brands like,” adds Reyes.
