SHARON-STRUCK
by Karen Vera, Mega Magazine, August 2002

How did Sharon Cuneta become a Megastar? It took 25 years of talent, hard work, luck, some notoriety and, perhaps most of all, a personal grace to bear the triumphs and turmoil that came her way.

It isn't everyday you get to meet a megastar. What are the chances you'd bump into one at a mall? Not very good.

"I like watching the last full show in Megamall, and the last time I did that was in... 1997?" reveals Sharon Cuneta, indeed a megastar. She has lived with being famous, with not being able to walk around a mall for a quarter century. As much fulfillment as her career brings her, her celebrity has also given her that proverbial goldfish bowl existence. Each day brings different and oftentimes difficult demands on her person. Every grid in her Schedule is full, and each one must be accomplished for the day - Sharon tries to stay true to her commitments (or at the very least, if you're cynical, she keeps up so she can stay famous and well-paid). She could have time for an interview and pictorial set aside for you, and she'll get to it once she's done with this TV interview, and before that, perhaps a production meeting for an upcoming concert or her television show will have to wrap up first. Whatever the variation, there are no prizes for guessing that a megastar's life is a busy one.

The day for MEGA's cover pictorial with her (her third with the magazine) is no different. We are privy to get a peek into a few hours of Sharon's day, witnessing how she gets to keep up with the nonstop, hustle and bustle blur of activity. It's worth noting that we only get to spy the part of her day from 5 PM.

Unsurprisingly, there isn't the luxury of having a few hours to get a that's-the-one! shot that will land the cover of MEGA. Today's shoot is barely an hour long, ensconced between an interview with a newspaper and her press conference for this month's anniversary concert at the Araneta Coliseum. A potentially major crisis arises when the clothes she will wear for the shoot haven't found their way from the lobby of the Discovery Suites to the location on the 41st floor - yet. The nervous energy, already palpable, steadily increases as each second that we are not spending with Sharon ticks away.

The clothes have been tracked down - they have been in her suite the entire time we were worried (read: slightly panicking). We get a hold of the outfits, and ready them so they can be worn by one of the must recognizable faces in the country. Sharon's entourage (another inevitable by product of being super famous) are all around, doing what's required to keep the singer/actress... not exactly on schedule, but to remind you that eventually, they will pull her away at some point, because Sharon needs to be somewhere else. But she's set to spend time with us now, and she arrives, game to work with the middle-of-the-lobby set up. Sharon knows everyone by name. There are probably a million things on her mind (there are probably a million things on her mind each day), but one of Sharon's gifts is her ability to make her time with you feel like it's just yours. You realize that it's no wonder she's a megatstar (apart from her talent for singing and acting, of course). She connects with people. And from what seems apparent as the day wears on, she LIKES connecting with people. "You just missed her!" she exclaims when asked if her two tear old daughter Frankie is with her today. "She has three times my personality!" As Sharon puts on the jewelry she will wear for the shoot, she asks Yvette, the representative of Mercelles if the jewels are real. (They are.) "I'm not used to real, eh," she (probably) kids. "I only get to wear 'real' when it's a MEGA shoot!"

She continues to chat away amiably as she gets fussed over for the shot, sharing her adventures about shopping for aquamarines in various corners of China. ("Aquarmarines are soothing," she explains.) She failed to locate the kind she wanted: big ones. Photographer Jun de Leon calls for a halt and to stand clear. He needs Sharon quiet so he can start clicking. De Leon has been photographing Sharon since she was 13 years old, when she was earning her first taste of fame with a song about a DJ. "Uy, it's our 25th anniversary too!" she realizes about Jun. Her rapport with the photographer is instantaneous. He kids her that she'll be a "big star one day. It's your first concert! Don't be nervous!" She kids him that there isn't a need for the likes of Jun de Lean, the pictorial can just use a neighborhood photographer. As we continue to shoot, movie reporters trickle in to make their way to the press conference. Sharon knows them by name too.

The shoot is done, but Sharon's day isn't. There has been a shuffle, and her newspaper interview was moved to after the MEGA pictorial. Then she'll make her way to the press conference. As mentioned previously, this conference is to publicize her concert, The Mega Event, celebrating her 25 years in show business. It promises to be a grand affair, with Sharon covering all the bases of her career: as recording artist, actress, television personality, concert performer, as well as the colorful personal life she had to live out in the glare of the limelight. Boy Abunda plays host, and he calls on a bit of his cajoling might to get the reporters and showbiz columnists to ask questions. Apart from Sharon elaborating on some of the concert's factual details, and the surprises that are in store, there isn't much that the attendees are asking. "Alam ko - sawa na kayo sa mukha ko!" Sharon jokes again. Despite the tumult she has lived through in her more than two decade showbiz career, not to mention the whirlwind that is her daily life, Sharon has managed to stay miraculously centered congenial to all those that who approach her.

When the sensitive topic of her former hushand, Gabby Concepcion, arises during the conference, Sharon looks back kindly, no trace of bitterness to be detected. "Gabby taught me about forgiveness," she explains. "That no matter how much hurt [one may inflict], that it is not always intentional." It was also Gabby, she discloses, that made her "realize that I would be more successful than I ever thought possible," and it was Gabby who prepared her to be a good wife to current husband, Senator Francis Pangilinan. Most of all, Sharon says, "I want Gabby to he happy, because it will be good for [our daughter] KC."

Make no mistake, Sharon has earned her wisdom the hard way. Her fans have seen her through each trial, and it is thanks to their devotion and loyalty, Sharon acknowledges, that she can celebrate this milestone in her career. The Mega Event promises to be a major treat, with Sharon performing with the 62-piece San Miguel Philharmonic, a guest appearance by Martin Nievera ("How can you not love that guy!" Sharon exclaims) and a breathtaking showcase of almost every song and facet of her career all to the tune of an unconfirmed cost of P8 million. "But if you noticed, the pricing for the tickets have been adjusted," says the 38 year old singer/actress. "I want my fans even in the province to have the opportunity to see the show. The concert is a gift back to the fans. It isn't really a time to prioritize [making money]."

The "downside" of this adoration is that Sharon is fated to he famous probably for the rest of her life. Will she ever get to go back to Megamall one day.' "I don't want to cause a commotion. I think one of my best qualities is that I'm unassuming. I don't want to be attracting attention when it's not [the right time]. Besides, 99.9%, of the time, it's mostly 'Hi, Sharon. I love your show.' What's so bad about that? That will never bother me."

The final question has been asked, and Sharon will now move on to a session with the TV reporters who leant to catch her with the right sound byte. During the press conference, she has been candid, comical, and even weepy when one of the reporters recited a little ditty of appreciation, thanking her for all she's given in the name of the entertainment business. It's also a bit of a surprise to discover how articulate and well informed she is. When did she have the time to get so literate and well spoken, between the movies, TV shows and hit songs? That's a question for another time, as Sharon has been led away for the next item on her agenda. We may not get to bump into a megastar (or in this case, THE megastar) everyday. But that's OK - we already know what she's like.