The screen villainess with an angelic face

She was evil personified in the now-defunct soap opera Tabing Ilog, scheming, wheeling and dealing to win John Lloyd Cruz’s character at all costs. But in person, 16-year-old Dimples Romana looks so angelic you wouldn’t suspect her capable of stealing your boyfriend.

That day she visited the Philippine STAR office to greet President and Chief Executive Officer Miguel Belmonte happy birthday, Dimples’ unmade-up face bore no hint of anything dark or sinister. On the contrary, it oozed with refreshing innocence – the kind untainted by things worldly and mean.

In her hands was her "modest contribution" to the STAR’s annual Damayan project for the less-fortunate, Dimple’s way of giving back to the publication the help it extended her late kid sister, Sarah Mae or Pebbles, who was at the receiving end of financial aid throughout her long drawn-out bout with leukemia.

It was Dimples who combed little Pebbles’ falling hair, carefully hiding the mirror from her sister lest she recoil at the horrifying image it reflected. Times were tough then, and Dimples’ father Joel, an employee at the Post Office, can ill afford the prohibitive cost of medicine for his cancer-stricken daughter.

Thus did he feel compelled to approach the late STAR Founder Betty Go Belmonte, who immediately greenlighted the granting of financial aid to the Romanas. Joel would visit the STAR monthly to thank the Belmontes.

On one occasion, Miguel told him, "Don’t thank me, thank God." Pebbles may have passed away, her death alleviated by the birth of her one-month old sister, Angel. But the Romanas could never forget the help the STAR extended them.

Especially now that Dimples of 16, is earning good money as an ABS-CBN talent, and has bought a house in Parañaque and a car for her family, to boot.

Could it be that a Divine Hand was at work when Pebbles’ death at eight somehow paved the way for her elder sister's entry into showbiz?

Dimples, then nine, was choosing a coffin for her dearly-departed sister, who just lost her two-year battle with cancer. From out of the blue, someone spotted her and saw how that pretty face can light up the silver screen. The unknown "angel" advised Dimples to go to ABS-CBN, which was then auditioning talents for its fourth batch of Star Circle members.

Shy Dimples had to think not just once or twice, but many times, about the offer. After all, she was then a shrinking violet who shunned crowds and public exposure.

But after some convincing, she finally agreed to visit the TV network. She passed auditions and plunged on an intensive personality development crash course. The shy girl blossomed into a self-confident adolescent and Dimples found herself playing character roles in ABS-CBN shows.

As predicted, the 5’8" tall showbiz newcomer caught the eye of talent scouts who offered to groom her as the next Bb. Pilipinas winner. This is why Dimples has chosen to lie low on TV assignments and concentrate on her upcoming big project: Dekada 70, with Vilma Santos, no less.

Like a giggly teenager who just came face-to-face with her idol, Dimples can’t help but gush about her first encounter with Vilma. It was in a hotel, where Dimples auditioned for the role of a navy man’s (played by Carlos Agassi) wife, before director Chito Roño.

"I rushed to the comfort room after reading the script, and that’s where I saw her (Vilma)," Dimples’ eyes sparkle with excitement. "She saw me and said, ‘It’s cold here, isn’t it? Want to borrow my jacket?’ Then, she invited me to eat with her. She was so humble!" Dimples recalls.

The role, needless to say, is the break of a lifetime, and Dimples can’t wait to start shooting her scenes, where she’s expected to don ’70s attire.

And to think it all began because she was a loving sister mourning the demise of her beloved Sarah Mae. Looking at what Dimples has made of herself thus far, little Sarah Mae must be smiling in heaven.