TONI GONZAGA needs no further introduction. You’ve seen her in films, excessively so. She appeared in numerous television shows, daytime shows, and hosts reality shows for years.
Not only she is a stable in the television, over the years, she is also a prolific recording artist, having produced numerous albums and held numerous concerts throughout the years.
Now that she is turning a year older, let’s look back at the life of the television darling, Toni Gonzaga-Soriano.
Early life
Toni Gonzaga was born Celestine Cruz Gonzaga on January 20, 1984 in Taytay, Rizal to parents Carlito “Bonoy” Gonzaga and Pinty Gonzaga. She is the eldest among two siblings, the other one is the famous actress, youtuber, endorser, Alex Gonzaga.
She studied mass communication for a few years at the Dominican College in San Juan. But due to her hectic commitments, she transferred to the Asian Institute for Distance Education to study AB English. She is currently enrolled at the University of the Philippines Open University, pursuing multimedia studies.
Start in Showbusiness
Not a lot of people know that Toni has already been in the showbusiness since she was a teenager, specifically, when she was 13. In 1997, she joined and ultimately won the singing competition “Metropop Star Search” that was aired at GMA Network.
Her biggest break was when she was chosen to appear at the famous Sprite television commercial alongside Piolo Pascual. Considering she was not the first choice for the lead model, she managed to get the attention of the commercial director due to her bubbliness and go-getter attitude.
When she was eighteen, in 2002, she managed to land a hosting role in the afternoon variety show, Eat Bulaga. In the same year, she debuted as a television actress in the series “Habang Kapilang Ka” opposite Angelika Dela Cruz.
Breakthrough
Although she has been a constant face in the television, her star shone brighter when she transferred to rival network ABS-CBN in 2005. Staying true to her roots, she became the host of the Pinoy Big Brother series during the weekdays and also a host-performer during Sundays at ASAP.
While she was in ABS-CBN, she starred in numerous blockbusters films. Her first was as a leading lady at the comedy-horror film “D’Anothers” with Vhong Navarro. She was first paired with Sam Milby in the movie “You Are The One” in 2006. For this film, she was awarded the 2007 GMMSF Princess of Philippine Movies. From then on, she continued to appear in numerous films, television shows, reality shows and various commercials.
Toni Gonzaga is one of the reigning romcom queens of the Philippines. Some of her films include You are the One, You Got Me, My Big Love, My Only You, My Amnesia Girl, Starting Over Again, Last Night and Mary, Marry Me.
Discography and Concerts
Toni’s first love is really singing. While she busied herself with numerous movies, series and shows, she made dure that she stayed true to her calling. She released her self-titled album “Toni Gonzaga” in 2002. It was followed four years later by her second album “Toni: You Complete Me”.
Her other Gold and Platinum album releases are: “Falling in Love” (2007), “Love Is…” (2008), “Love Duets” (2009), “All Me” (2010), “Celestine” (2014), and “My Love Story” (2015). With these numerous albums, she also had numerous concerts locally (Cebu, Davao, Cagayan De Oro, Bacolod) and abroad (Abu Dhabi and Australia).
Personal Life
A lot of eligible gentlemen have been linked with Toni Gonzaga over the years. But it was with Paul Soriano, who she was with a relationship over 8 years, whom she had settled. They were married in 2015 in Taytay, Rizal, Toni’s hometown. Toni gave birth to their first child, Severiano Elliott on September 30, 2016.
Current projects
With the help of her husband, Paul Soriano, Toni established her own production company- TINCAN. So far, the company produced the film “Mary, Marry Me” in 2018 and two other films “The Exorcism of My Siszums” and “Love The Way U Lie” in 2020. The release dates for the two films are still unknown.
Toni is also active in YouTube with her own channel – Celestine Gonzaga-Soriano. In her channel, she shares her passion, wisdom and private life with her family. Currently, the channel has over 2 million subscribers.
Crazy how we’ve seen her as a teenager fan girling about the lovable Piolo Pascual, to the mature woman, wife and mom to Sevi. Throughout the years, she always served as an inspiration to the youth, men and women alike. Many happy returns, Toni!
