I FIRST saw Yam Concepcion in 2012 when she starred in the sexy drama film ‘Rigodon’. I thought she played the role quite well considering that she was still relatively new in the entertainment industry.
The movie is not your typical light and romantic film that would leave you feeling good at the end. In fact, the movie is quite senseful and thought provoking and would allow you to question some of your morals and principles in life. The fact that she accepted their role and played it superbly earned my respect as a viewer.
From then on, I have watched her in various roles both in films and television. And I can only say that like wine, she gets better in time. Now that she is finally a lead star in her own primetime teleserye ‘Init sa Magdamag‘, I guess it is time to get to know Yam Concepcion more!
EARLY LIFE
Yam was born as Lorraine May “Yam” Concepcion on May 27, 1988. She has an older brother who is 5 years older than her. She and her brother were raised by a single mom. She comes from a family awesome different bloodlines which includes Chinese and American.
She pursued her elementary education at the Assumption College San Lorenzo. She got her degree in Multimedia Arts from the College of Saint Benilde.
CAREER BEGINNINGS
Yam started her career in showbiz quite late as compared to her other counterparts. She was actually discovered by the Jukebox Queen herself, the late Claire Dela Fuente.
Yam started her show business career appearing in cameo roles in various movies with Star Cinema and Viva films. Her movie debut was in 2011 with the film Who’s That Girl as a cameo. In the same year, she appeared in the romantic comedy film Won’t Last A Day Without You which stars Sarah Geronimo and Gerald Anderson. She also appeared in the blockbuster film The Unkabogable: Praybeyt Benjamin.
BREAKTHROUGH
Yam Concepcion first got her break when she joined the first season of Viva’s Pantaxa, where she won the grand prize. She then on starred on Erik Matti’s Rigodon where she bravely took the sexy route. Gladly, a lot of critics noticed her acting capabilities and shifted to becoming TV star in ABS-CBN.
Yam appeared in various television shows such as ASAP, Maalaala Mo Kaya which is the longest running drama anthology in the Philippines, Pure Love, Two Wives, Dugong Buhay, All of Me, and Ang Probinsiyano. But what is considered as her breakthrough is in her work with the 2018 to 2019 television drama, Halik.
In that drama television series come up Yum work with Jericho Rosales, Sam Milby and Yen Santos. She play the role of Jade Flores, the wife of Lino, played by Jericho Rosales. the drama which has a total of two seasons and ran for 183 episodes catapulted young into national stardom.
NOTABLE WORK
After her work with Halik, Yam continued to land leading roles in other television dramas. In 2020, she landed the role all Dana Wong, the daughter all a Chinese Filipino self-made billionaire in the series Love Thy Woman. She acted besides veteran actors such as Kim Chiu, Xian Lim, Eula Valdez, Sunshine Cruz, Ruffa Gutierrez, ZsaZsa Padilla, and of course Christopher DeLeon.
MOVIES
Although Yam concentrated in making television series, she also ventured in various movies and films throughout the years that she was active. In 2012, just a year after her movie debut she again appeared in the River film movie Rigodon. She was the lead actress opposite John James Uy. In 2016, she starred with Nadine Samonte and James Reid in the romantic drama film This Time.
Her other film projects include Nilalang, Pangil Sa Tubig, Magtanggol, Bakit Lahat ng Gwapo may Boyfriend all of which was released in 2016. She also appeared in Fangirl Fanboy (2017), Amnesia Love (2018) and Nightshift (2020).
RECENT PROJECTS
Yam is now the lead star of Init Sa Magdamag as the barrio lass Rita who will eventually fall in love with two men. From a villain, she is now the protagonist of her own.
The drama which is a combination of romance, thriller, revenge and crime is directed by the veteran director Raymond Ocampo and stars Gerald Anderson and JM De Guzman. The drama is also set to air on the free to air television channels A2Z and TV5.
Who here is excited about Yam’s upcoming television series? Raise your hands! All of us? I’m not even surprised! Let me know in the comment what you think about the first few episodes!
