Anne enjoys being the National Sweetheart

MANILA, Philippines - That beautiful face, that quirkiness, that relaxed vibe and spontaneity (think about her just blurting out into a song, mindless of her pitch nor tone!), just that pure loveliness. All these qualities have made Anne Curtis, hands down, the country’s National Sweetheart.

The Fil-Aussie actress and TV host is well-loved for her versatility onscreen, switching from drama to comedy to other genres seamlessly. Her fun, quirky hosting personality has also won her legions of fans from all over the world. People seem to love the bubbly, fun, multimedia star more and more through the years.

We caught up with Anne as she was wrapping up a photo shoot for Plains & Prints, the clothing brand she has been in perfect partnership with since last year. Anne took time out from her dizzying sked (including all-nighters for her teleserye Dyesebel) to model Plains & Prints’ Pre-Fall Collection before the lens of photographer Marc Nicdao. The collection will be launched by Anne on June 19, 3 p.m. at the Shangri-La Plaza mall.

Anne is one of the country’s top stars. With a slew of acting awards, two jam-packed concerts and countless magazine covers to her name, she is the embodiment of a star. However, Anne is not one to let success go to her head.

“I could say that I’m still not used to all this. Sometimes, it still hasn’t sunk in that I have these many followers or that I’m able to fulfill all my dreams,” she enthused. “Sometimes, I say to myself, ‘Wow! This is really happening.’”

She added that she has learned to live in the moment all throughout her showbiz career.

“It’s moments like seeing all these people turn up to watch my concert or checking my Twitter and Instagram accounts and seeing the number of followers that make me feel so blessed to have my job,” Anne said.

Asked what her favorite part of the job is, Anne says it’s being able to do what she loves for a living.

“I’m definitely having fun in my job. In fact, it doesn’t feel like a job since I’m doing what I love. I love acting, I love hosting and I love singing even if I don’t really sing very well,” she responded with a chuckle.

Anne’s singing is something that many people have used to attack her. Especially as a celebrity, she is not immune to criticisms online such as when a group of anti-fans bashed her rendition of Nessun Dorma during her recent Annekapal concert. However, she has learned to deal with all these — with a smile.

“I just ignore it. There’s really no use if I get angry at those who put me down. You get a lot of these when you’re in the public eye, so I think this is the best way to deal with it,” explained Anne.

Undoubtedly, singing has always been something that Anne enjoys, something that is very evident in her two concerts. She has also mentioned an upcoming album with tracks written by some of the country’s top singers such as Christian Bautista, Jay-R and Kris Lawrence. However, she would like to clarify that, actually, she isn’t a singer.

“I’m not a singer; I’m a performer. What I lack in vocal quality, I make up for in other elements like stunts and costumes,” Anne expounded.

Anne is not just a star onscreen and onstage, but she is an Internet star as well. She has over 6.4 million followers on Twitter and 1.7 million followers on Instagram, the most followed Filipino celebrity on both social media platforms. Anne admitted that she goes on social media a lot, particularly on the way to and on breaks during tapings.

One more fun aspect of the job, Anne said, is being able to dress up in various creative ways to express her moods, her styles, her fashion sense and brand of girly sophistication. Plains & Prints helps Anne a lot in this department.

“I will always be the fun-loving, girly-girl that I am, but I have also become more mature. I guess that’s how to describe how I dress,” said Anne, who appeared giddy upon checking out the Plains & Prints clothes that stylist Liz Uy had lined up for her pictorial.

Plains & Prints launches four new pre-fall collections that range from the playful, to the romantic, to the sophisticated — California Dreaming, Fleur de Lys, Uptown Girl and Flights of Fancy, all designed by Rhett Eala.