Anne Curtis (born Anne Ojales Curtis Smith on February 17, 1985 in Australia) is a Australian-Filipina commercial model and actress in the Philippines. She is best known for her roles as Stephanie Borromeo in Hiram and as Imang/Fatima, the title role in Kampanerang Kuba. Both of these shows aired on the ABS-CBN network in the Philippines. She is currently on the soap opera Maging Sino Ka Man, which also airs on ABS-CBN.
Curtis was born and raised in Australia by a Filipina mother and an Australian father.
She lived in Australia until her lawyer father, James Curtis, moved to the Philippines when she was 12 years old. It is a move that Curtis is thankful for. "I am so happy that I’m here. If I were in Australia I’d have been in a boarding school! My dad was strict when it came to education. He kept on discouraging me when I tried doing commercials, saying that they are just tricking me to get out of school. We lived in the country, so we’d be asleep around 8 or 9 p.m. It was really boring. But here there are so many gimmicks. As of now, being young, I prefer living here (in the Philippines) but maybe when I settle down, I’ll move back to Australia."
Curtis appeared in supporting roles or in ensemble casts during the early part of her career, with most of her early TV shows airing on the GMA-7 Network in the Philippines.
She achieved a fan following in her roles in Love to Love, where she was partnered in Richard Gutierrez.
In 2004, when she moved to ABS-CBN, Curtis received her first big break in Philippine primetime TV when she was cast in the role of Stephanie Borromeo in the TV series Hiram as the best friend and romantic rival of Margaret Benipayo, portrayed by Heart Evangelista. The role was a departure from her earlier, typical, teeny-bopper roles, and positioned Curtis for primetime.
In 2005, her successful portrayal in Hiram led to her first title role as Imang/Fatima in the fantasy TV series Kampanerang Kuba.
In 2006, Curtis returned to primetime TV as Celine Magsaysay in Maging Sino Ka Man, this time with new loveteam partner Sam Milby of Pinoy Big Brother fame.
Cellphone video with ex-boyfriend Richard Gutierrez
Curtis and her relationship with now ex-boyfriend and actor Richard Gutierrez became the subject of gossip particularly after a short video from her cellphone (showing the two kissing) began to circulate through emails and MMS messages. Her cellular phone had allegedly been lost and the video clip subsequently became public.
Curtis readily admits to the cellphone video: "I don’t see the point of not admitting it," she explained. "I’ve never been the kind of person to deny anything. I would just look like a liar."
In an interview in April 2005, Curtis explained her controversial decision to become a commercial endorser of GSM Blue, an alcoholic beverage: "I’ve said many times before, the reason I did that commercial was that when I go out myself I don’t deny the fact that I drink, but it’s social drinking and not getting drunk. For other people, though, they can’t see that I’m already 20,"
After a six-month courtship, Curtis entered into a two-year relationship with now ex-boyfriend Oyo ‘Boy’ Sotto, son of well-known showbiz personalities Vic Sotto and Dina Bonnevie. Oyo ‘Boy’ Sotto himself is an actor. Curtis describes her relationship with Sotto as her first brush with genuine love, saying of him: "He was the one who I really loved." By June 2003, the relationship was officially over. In a later interview, Sotto blamed "immaturity and possessiveness" as the reasons their relationship did not work out.
Curtis also had a well-publicized relationship with fellow actor Richard Gutierrez in 2004. The two had worked together on the TV shows Nuts Entertainment and Love to Love.
Curtis later became involved with Paolo Araneta, a relationship that lasted for two years. By January 2006, however, the local entertainment press confirmed that Curtis and Araneta had parted ways. No official reason was given.
Curtis categorically states in interviews that she has only had three boyfriends, but this does not stop the entertainment press from linking her to other men, especially when she became officially single again after her break-up with third boyfriend Paolo Araneta.
The men who have been linked to her are:
Luis Manzano, son of actress and now mayor Vilma Santos and actor/host Edu Manzano. Curtis publicly acknowledges Manzano as her bestfriend and ’soulmate’. Curtis and Manzano have worked together in several shows, including Star Circle Summer Kid Quest and Qpids (where they were co-hosts), as well as Kampanerang Kuba and the movie All About Love, where they were loveteam partners.
Sam Milby, who is Curtis’ loveteam partner in the 2006 soap opera Maging Sino Ka Man.
Champ, lead singer of the local band Hale, whom Curtis was frequently linked to shortly after her break-up with ex-boyfriend Paolo Araneta. Curtis has categorically denied a relationship with him.
In 2005, Curtis participated in a hands-on outreach program to visit children in Pampanga who underwent cleft-palate operations. The experience moved her and Curtis is later quoted as saying "now I just want to help more."
