How to Be a Powerful Looking Diva Like Celia Rodriguez and Cherie Gil

Some people just know how to get what they want. Whether it’s the attitude, the way they dress, or simply how they communicate, there really are just some people who were born winners. Born divas, in this case. And who are two of the country’s most powerful divas? None other than our favorite supervillains Cherie Gil and Celia Rodriguez, of course. These two are divas in their own unique ways, and they always get what they want. It’s because of that thing we love most about them: that piercing #PowerLook.

But sometimes, being a diva is not about having the fiercest look or the most fabulous outfit. Sometimes, being a diva means being a good friend or being good at what you do. Below, we dissect what makes Cherie and Celia divas on their own ways…

Here are 5 ways to be a powerful looking diva like Celia Rodriguez and Cherie Gil:

5. As a friend

Celia is a diva, and divas always fight for what they think is right. And that includes having the back of their closest friends. Back in 2011, in the midst of a gossip attacking Marian Rivera, Celia stepped in to defend her friend whom she refers to be like a daughter to her. “You have to take her as she is. Marian is a very nice person!”

A similar thing happened to Cherie, when in true diva fashion, she tweeted the comedian Vice Ganda, calling him one of the ‘scums of the earth,’ and ‘shame on the Filipinos who laugh at such insensitivity and tactlessness.’ This was in response to a bad joke the comedian delivered at a concert. She later retracted this statement, issuing a face-to-face apology to Vice on It’s Showtime. The fact she had the courage to publicly apologize to the person she hurt proved that you don’t need to be mean to be a diva. Sometimes, it’s being true to your word.

4. As a fashion icon

Celia was a huge fashion maverick back in the 1960’s. Up to now, really. From both on-screen and off-screen, you can never see this diva in anything less than fabulous clothes that’ll surely make anyone take notice.

The same goes for Cherie, who is still sexy despite being in her fifties (have you seen her gorgeous Esquire cover?). But she proved she can roll with the most fashionable when she played Diana Vreeland, the fashion doyenne, in the local production of Full Gallop, the play based on the former editor of Vogue. And Cherie performed this 90 minute play all by herself. Who knew talent could be sexy?

3. As reputable actresses

Celia is a diva, all right. But these are not just empty words. This diva reputation is backed by years of experience in the business and awards on her shelf. In the span of her five-decade career, Celia has won four FAMAS awards, a Best Supporting Actress award from the Metro Manila Film Festival, and a Lifetime Achievement Award just last March from the Nora Aunor Foundation Inc. and the Philippine Movie Press Club.

Cherie can keep up in the acting department, having acted in roughly 30 movies for the past forty years. Some of her most memorable roles were in highly-acclaimed films, like the lesbian drug pusher Kano in Manila By Night, the rich haciendera Trining Ojeda in Oro, Mata, Plata, and Lavinia Arguelles in Bituing Walang Ningning. Her portrayals became so iconic that her lines became immortal, like the infamous “You’re nothing but a second-rate trying-hard copycat!”

2. As a loved one

A diva not just on script, but in real life as well, there is no question why Celia and Cherie are successful actors and women beloved by many, especially their relatives. In the 60’s, Celia moved to the US with her three children. Life in America is tough for any immigrants, and at one point the actress who had a comfortable life back in the Philippines had to work two jobs there. But she thrived. Because, as this story proves, there is nothing you can’t do when it is done out of love.

Like Celia, Cherie has three children, but they’re not as known as their famous mother. What we do know about Cherie’s family is that she comes from a long line of actors: Eddie Mesa and Rosemarie Gil are her parents, Michael de Mesa and the late Mark Gil are her brothers, and Ryan, Geoff, Andi, and Gabby Eigenmann, and Sid Lucero (Tim Eigenmann) are her nephews and niece. And if you want proof of their close family bond, you just have to watch the heartbreaking video of Michael reading the family’s statement when Mark passed away.

1. As a resident supervillain with a #PowerLook that gives chill

“Sino ba yang babaeng mababa ang lipad?” (literally “Who is that low-flying woman,” a euphemism for loose woman) For all who have seen the classic 1973 film Lipad, Darna, Lipad, who could forget this line? Celia is known for her feisty kontrabida lines, coupled with that stinging look of hers that we all love to see. Viewers love to hate her, and that is the mark of a great actor—a true diva.

Coincidentally, Cherie also starred in a 1994 Darna movie called Darna: Ang Pagbabalik, where she played the villainess Valentine. But her most unforgettable role was in Bituing Walang Ningning, where she played the singer Lavinia Arguelles. In that now infamous scene, she is approached by Sharon Cuneta, asking if Cherie liked her performance. In the iciest of tones, Cherie responded, “Sinira mo ang kanta. Binaboy mo. Baliw ang nagsasabing isinilang na ang aking karibal. You’ll never make it. You’re nothing but a second-rate trying-hard copycat!” (“You ruined the song. You butchered it. Only a crazy person can say my rival has been born. You’ll never make it. You’re nothing but a second-rate trying-hard copycat!”) She then proceeds to throw a glass of water at Sharon’s face. If looks could kill, Sharon would drop dead. Oh, what an honor it is to be acknowledged and get thrown water at by a diva like Cherie.

Need proof that Celia and Cherie are true divas? Watch this video below!