Veteran actress Amalia Fuentes, passed away at the age of 79 early Saturday morning, her grandson, Alfonso Martinez announced in a post on his personal Facebook page.
“It is with great sadness that I together with my siblings Alyanna and Alissa, inform you that our Grandmother, Amalia Amador Muhlach has taken her last breath this morning in the Philippines. She is now reunited with her husband Joey Stevens, our mother Anna-Lissa Martinez and her ex-husband, our Lolo Bobby. We have prayed for nothing but peace for her and now she can finally rest. Our family only asks that you respect our privacy during this time and join us in praying for her soul,” Mr. Martinez wrote on his post.
In a radio interview with DZMM, Ms. Fuentes’ nephew, actor Nino Muhlach said that the cause of death was due to multiple organ failure.
She was brought to the hospital several days ago but Mr. Muhlach noted that she has been bedridden for the past four years after suffering a stroke during a trip to South Korea.
Born Amalia Amador Muhlach on Aug. 27, 1940 in Naga, Camarines Sur, Ms. Fuentes started her almost seven-decade career in 1956 when she won Sampaguita Pictures’ Mr. & Miss Number One contest alongside fellow actor Juancho Guttierez. In the same year, they were paired together for the film “Movie Fan” by Tony Cayado.
Billed as a love team, Ms. Fuentes and Mr. Guttierez starred in several more films including “Rodora” (1956), “Sonata” (1957), and “Ang Senyorito at Ang Atsay” (1963). She was also paired with Romeo Vasquez in films like “Pretty Boy” (1957), “Bobby” (1958), “Ako Ang May Sala” (1958), and “Bilanggong Birhen” (1960).
She later married Romeo Vasquez in 1965 and had one child with him, the late actress Liezl Martinez (real name: Anna Lisa Muhlach Sumilang). Ms. Fuentes and Mr. Vasquez eventually separated in 1969 and she went on to marry Joey Stevens with whom she adopted a son, Geric Stevens. She divorced Mr. Stevens after 28 years of marriage.
Aside from her romantic films, she also starred in movies like Mar S. Torres’ “Estela Mondragon” (1960), and “Amy, Susie, Tessie” (1960) alongside Susan Roces.
She won a Best Actress Trophy from the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences in 1966 for her role in Gerardo de Leon’s horror-drama, “Ibulong Mo sa Hangin,” and a Best Actress Award in the Manila Film Festival in 1973 for Eddie Rodriguez’s “Pag-ibig Mo, Buhay Ko.”
Ms. Fuentes also branched out in 1966 to screenwriting, writing the script for “Tatlong Kasaysayan Ng Pag-ibig,” followed by “Ito Ang Aming Kasunduan” (1973). She also started producing movies, establishing AM Productions which produced movies like “Whisper to the Wind” (1966), “Baril at Rosary” (1967), and “Pwede Ako, Pwede Ka Pa Ba?” (1976).
She also directed and starred in the film, “Mga Reynang Walang Trono” (1976).
Her IMDb page listed 160 acting roles, the last of which was a role in the 2013 ABS-CBN series, “Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala.”
