Is Geraldine Jennings the next most important star this 2024?

Touted as the "next most important star in 2024" by her handlers, Geraldine Jennings is set to be launched this year both as an actress in a movie paying homage to '80s director Joey Gosiengfiao and as a singer by recording a ballad penned by hitmaker Ogie Alcasid.

The good-looking and multi-talented performer of mixed Filipino and Irish-British loves singing and acting equally that she'd rather not choose one over another. She points out, "I can be versatile. Singing is my first love, but I love acting as well. I love doing new things. I like to challenge myself, to step out of my comfort zone, that's why I'm also making a movie."

Geraldine, who was born in the Philippines but spent a big chunk of her life in the United Kingdom, recalls her mom, a Filipina from Ilocos Norte, enrolled her in several singing and guitar lessons at a young age. That's how she discovered her love for performing and how she transforms from being reserved to "completely different" on stage. Then, at six years old, she bagged her first acting gig in a TV ad for a shampoo brand.

She later got into Miley Cyrus' music, singling out the Hollywood star's 2009 hit song "Party in the U.S.A." as her all-time favorite, while also appreciating the 2024 Grammy Awards' Record of Year, "Flowers." The aspiring singer-actress considers Miley as her "inspiration, musical-wise," along with current favorite, British sensation Dua Lipa, exclaiming, "I love her style, I love how she sings, I love how she performs, how she improved a lot."

At Geraldine's media launch, though, she opts to perform Rihanna's sexy retro ballad, "Love on the Brain," with her playing the guitar and singing. She later explains about her choice of music: "I really love the song, its meaning. It's relatable. I wanted to add my spin to it, so when I heard it, 'How can I do this song differently?' So tried to make it my own version, that's why I chose it."

Much later in the program, she sings the Alcasid composition that's been especially written for her, titled "If I Will Ever Love Again," and describes it as a "really sweet, beautiful" love song. The composer then says in a video message that he's "so proud and honored" to give Geraldine her first recorded song and tells the promising artist, "I know that you'll go places."

Making her own mark

Aside from having the same last name, Geraldine clarifies she's not related to Anthony Jennings, who currently makes waves with Maris Racal in the romantic drama series Can't Buy Me Love. She also doesn't tread the TV route but goes straight instead to film.

Geraldine's upcoming debut starrer, Isla Babuyan, takes inspiration from Gosiengfiao's campy movies, particularly Katorse (1980), which launched the career of multi-awarded actress Dina Bonnevie. Isla Babuyan is in bankrolled by Solid Gold Entertainment Production, with Gina Jennings and Yohann Soyangco as co-producers and Dennis Evangelista as line producer. Its screenplay was written by Jessie Vilabrille from a story he conceptualized with Leo Dominguez and Barn Salvani. The movie's director is Abdel Langit, whose film credits include the 2016 Cinema One Originals entry, Malinak Ya Labi.

"My character is Anastasia," Geraldine says of her role. "She's a British-Filipina girl who lived in the Philippines till she was four, and she moved to London and got separated from her mother. So, she's returning back to the Philippines to see her mom and reignite ties with her culture."

As Anastasia gets to know her mother Rose (played by Lotlot de Leon), who now has an adopted daughter, Jasmin (Samantha Da Roza), the balikbayan beauty is befriended by a local boy, Caloy (Dave Bornea), and gets romantically involved with Jordan (Jameson Blake), an heir to the vast wealth amassed by his father David (James Blanco). Standing in the way of the young lovers is Jordan's stepmother Margot (Nathalie Hart).

Geraldine admits making her first movie was "challenging initially," but with everybody being "very helpful and friendly" to her, she eventually had an "amazing experience" and "loved it a lot." She also notes that acting is "very different from studying it," like what she had learned from the classes she took up during her stay in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. She studied the Theory of Acting at the Loyola Marymount University and attended workshops in West Hollywood.

Upon her return to the Philippines in September 2023, she trained under actor and acting coach Jo Macasa, "who's really amazing." The student says her teacher taught her "a lot just to feel the vibes, feel the pain," adding, "It's like real, not acting. You're actually the character." She also "learned a lot being actually on the set and doing it," as well as from her co-stars.

In the future, she hopes to work with the Filipino actresses she looks up to: Liza Soberano, Lovi Poe and Solenn Heussaff. Just like Lovi and Solenn, Geraldine is under the talent management of Leo Dominguez. She then recounts how she got into showbiz, "Tito Leo has been asking me to do this for a while now. He's friends with my mom. I've known him since I was 14. He visits us in Edinburgh. I'd see him in London, in the UK. The time was off, I had high school. Finally, I got the chance to do this. It's my passion. I really love the arts."