The granddaughter of art and theater patron Celia Laurel and niece of former movie actor and Miss Saigon alumnus Cocoy Laurel is no neophyte in the biz.
The then 10-year-old had her first taste of TV acting via ABS-CBN Pangako Sa ‘Yo playing a mean, snob daughter of genteel lineage.
Denise considers her Pangako Sa ‘Yo stint an experience, especially for someone who used to do theater at a very young age. She has done stage performances for Repertory Philippines.
The young Laurel has appreciated the great expanse of theater and the intimacy of TV.
After a few projects like Ang TV, she channel switched to play a goody-goody role on GMA 7’s teen show Click.
Her blossoming career then was rudely interrupted by the MTV series Rouge. In the show, she had the chance to work with Asian stars and the job demanded her to be based in Singapore for a while.
After, Denise returned to Manila and to her real home – the Kapamilya network.
Denise is one of the 19 Star Magic stars (along with Shaina Magdayao, Rayver Cruz, Victor Basa and Carla Humphries) who will headline the teen TV series Star Magic Presents: Abt Ur Lav. The show, which premieres on Nov. 25, 5 p.m., follows in the footsteps of Gimik and Tabing-ilog that launched the careers of Judy Ann Santos, Dominic Ochoa, Jolina Magdangal, Marvin Agustin, Diether Ocampo, Piolo Pascual, G Tongi, John Lloyd Cruz, Kaye Abad, Paolo Contis and Desiree del Valle.
"Celine is like the woman of the world," Denise describes her character. "She lives in the Philippines alone. She is kind, a fashionista and works as a gym instructor. She also teaches martial arts."
Denise’s Celine is very close to her heart. Off-cam, Denise dabbles in mix martial arts and soccer. She also lived abroad on her own.
What interests Denise about her role as Celine is her being a "Crush ng Bayan." The younger male cast members follow Celine wherever she goes and attend all her martial arts and gym classes to have a closer look at her and get intimate with her.
Although being cast in a big show (working with 18 other young stars) is been-there-done-that thing for Denise, she still enjoys the idea of fun and even the riot behind it.
"(The show) is everybody’s break," says Denise of what she and the rest can get from the exposure ABS-CBN has given them. "The story revolves around all the characters. Everybody gets the time to shine. It requires teamwork."
Speaking of working together, the cast of Star Magic Presents: Abt Ur Lav has to give their best since the show’s predecessors (Gimik and Tabing-ilog) were all long-running and successful. But for now, Denise will brush aside the pressure and explore her character.
"The acting is light, fun and funky," says Denise. "I’m just acting my age. I want to be known as me."
"In the long run," pauses Denise, "I want to be versatile and prove that I can do drama, comedy and action."