VILMA VALERA

Biography of VILMA VALERA

Vilma Valera, the 1961 Miss Press Photography of the Philippines (PPP) second runner-up winner. She was 15 in 1960 when she was discovered by LVN character actor Alfonso Carvajal (Alma Concepcion's grandfather) and introduced in Bakit Ka Nagtampo? (directed by Tony Santos Sr.), topbilled by Nida Blanca and Nestor de Villa.

Her biggest break was in 1964 in the movie, Salambao with Eddie Rodriguez, Sylvia Gumabao and Van de Leon as her co-stars. she was versatile as an actress landing her in several roles in action, drama, comedy, musical with top actors at that time as her leading men (FPJ, Dolphy, Eddie Mesa, Eddie Gutierrez, among others).

Vilma Valera recorded several albums before her retirement from show business whose '60s hit songs included It Must Be Him and One Day. A Bicolana, Vilma is Vilma Johnson in real life, whose father was also American.

When LVN closed shop soon after, Vilma signed a contract with Larry Santiago Productions which loaned her to other companies.

"I really wanted to be a singer, so I joined a band. We would play in Asian cities, like Okinawa, and when came back I would do a movie or two. Then, alis uli kasama ng band. In one of those trips home, I did a few movies with Sampaguita (Way Out in the Country and Pogi with Eddie Gutierrez, among them). I did films with other companies, including Salambao for Zultana Productions."


She migrated to the US almost at the same time Miriam did. She married American Air Force commander Darrell Arthur Morrow in the early ‘70s by whom she has a son, 34, and a daughter, 31, both married with one child each.

"After my husband died 30 years ago, I did not work because my husband didn't want me to. He wanted me to just raise our kids. But I got bored so I started working with a financing company. After 10 years, I decided to retire."

source:ricky lo