She started working at the age of nine as the beautiful child star that ‘70s and ‘80s kids grew up with, watching her every movie and teleserye on television. Janice de Belen has become a household name as an award-winning actress, and as a mother to her children now making names in their chosen careers.

“Hindi ko na sila masyado nakikita kaya siguro nag-iiba na rin ang dynamics kasi habang lumalaki mga anak natin may sarili na sila paniniwala sa buhay, may sarili ng paninindigan, siguro ang pinaka mahirap doon yung nami-miss ko sila (I don’t see them much anymore, so maybe the dynamics are different because as our children grow up, they have their own beliefs in life, they have their own stand, maybe the hardest part is that I miss them),” Janice said.

Janice has this one golden advice she always shares with her kids.

“Do your best, you will always succeed in life if you do your best. Kasi ako mapa-maliit mapa-malaki gawin mo ‘yung best mo mapa-relasyon, sa career, do your best. Mahalaga ‘yun (Do your best, you will always succeed in life if you do your best. Because I’m small or big, do your best in relationships, in career, do your best. That’s important),” she said.

As an actress

With almost six decades of her colorful career in the entertainment scene, Janice shares her personal stories of younger actors still learning the ropes in the industry.

“Sa akin naman kasi kapag hindi mo ako pinansin, kapag magka-eksena tayo sino mahihirapan, ako ba? Di ba ikaw? So okay lang na di mo ako pansinin pero wag sana tayo magka eksena kasi baka mahirapan ka (As for me, if you don’t pay attention to me, when we have a scene, who will be in trouble, is it me? So it’s ok to ignore me but I hope we don’t co-act in a scene because you might get in trouble),” she revealed.

This actress admits the big change in showbiz as an effect of social media, but she said, one must always set a limitation as to what to share in public.

“Yes bilang artista open book ang buhay ko pero may portions na gusto ko na lang sinasarili, ‘yung paggising mo pa lang sa umaga nag-video ka na, hindi ko kaya ‘yun (Yes, as an artist, my life is an open book, but there are portions that I just want to keep to myself, when you wake up in the morning and you’ve already made a video, I can’t do that),” she revealed.

On exploring careers behind the camera

A lot of popular names in the industry explored their talents and luck by trying and crossing over to other fields like directing, scriptwriting and producing. But for Janice, she feels that acting is still her first love and forte.

“There was a time na gusto ko mag assistant director, nag-try ako sa ABS-CBN, sa pagsulat mayroon ako pa drama drama nagsusulat ako pero none of it gets to go anywhere kasi maybe hindi ako para doon (There was a time when I wanted to be an assistant director, I tried at ABS-CBN, when it comes to writing, I tried to write a bit, but none of it gets to go anywhere because maybe I’m not for that),” Janice said.