| Unofficial Website of Ms. Janice de Belen |
| Janice and Gelli: Two Sis in One Show Maridol A. Ranoa (Women) |
| No two sister can be so different. Janice can - and usually steps out of the house without a trace of makeup. Sister Gelli, five years her junior, cannot leave the house without putting on lipstick and eyeliner. Janice is the introspective type. She loves to think and analyze before openning her mouth. After all, she was the "Quatation Queen" during her teenaged years, remember? Gelli, by contrast, is an extrovert, a talker. By her own admission the type who expresses herself first before analyzing things, the kid sister is the perfect foil to her Ate's go-slow personality. But, like all sisters, they understand each other as only two people bound by blood ties can. When Janice fell in love with now estranged husband John Estrada, Gelli kept her mouth shut and respected her sister's decision. When the Ate separated (not legally though) from the father of her four children, Gelli was tactful enough not to tell Janice, " I told you so!" But the tacit understanding is there. No words need be spoken. The two are perfect match when it comes to motherhood. When Gelli became a mother herself (husband is Ariel Rivera), the sisters burned the lines for hours just exchanging notes. Gelli would tell Janice she hopes her two children won't grow up to be a problem when they become adolescents. And the more experienced Ate would give Gelli tips on child rearing. "We'd meet in Mommy's place," Janice relates. There, they would swap stories , release heartaches, share everyday joys. They'd eat together with the rest of the family. Every Sunday, they'd attend the morning Mass at the Lourdes Church on Mayon Street, Quezon City. Then, they'd hang out in their favorite palace, a sagu-gulaman store, right in front of the church. They'd cap the simple ritual with a bite of fish ball. Every showbiz insider knows Gelli entered the field through Janice. The kid sister would hang around tapings and location which Janice went to. It was here where talent manager Douglas Quijano spotted Gelli. And the rest, as they say, is history. At the time, Janice was at the crest of her popularity as the weepy Flor in the long-running soap Flordeluna, where Herbert Bautista also made his mark. The sisters' closeness and chemistry are expected to generate excitement in their new talk show, Sis, weekdays at 10:30 a.m. over GMA -7. the show, say GMA handlers, draws its strength from "Gelli's playful nature and Janice's introspection." When she learned of the offer, the overjoyed Gelli begged her sister, "Please, don't back out. If you do, I'll be out of the show!" Gelli is referring to Janice's decision to turn down a soap because it will take her away from her children, the eldest, of whom is the teeneged Luigi, her son by Aga Mulach. The homebody Janice is a stickler for quality time with her children. Gelli thinks much the same, too, having shunned hiring a nanny for her firstborn son even if she and Ariel can very well afford one. The sisters preferred to lay low in showbiz after their respective children were born., believing that their place belongs to the home, at least during the first few years of their little ones' lives. Both point to their mother Susan as the greatest influence in their lives. Mrs. De Belen stayed full time at home, looking after her daughters while dear old Dad worked as a busy advertising executive. Two sisters, parallel lives. Each complementing the other. No wonder Janice and Gelli de Belen together don't have to try too hard to make waves. All they need to do is take one look at the other, and read each other's mind. |
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