“Anna Maria is extremely talented, check her out on YouTube,” Edmund quoted Tatoy as saying. Mai Tatoy, a Pinay executive for Disney Asia, said it’s not far-fetched that Wengky could follow in the footsteps of another Disney teen superstar, Vanessa Hudgens, who is also Filipino-American. Wengky told Edmund that she’ll start acting in September in an independent drama, The Forgotten Innocence, opposite Fil-Am actor Michael Copon (One Tree Hill), and will continue writing and recording songs. She also hosted Disney’s Sing-Along Bowl-Athon and had a voice-over role in Playhouse Disney’s Higglytown Heroes. She also had a starring role on the CBS series Cake and a guest role on Nickelodeon’s Just Jordan, and has appeared in the movie Bee Season (starring Richard Gere). Wengky, who was a junior finalist at age 12 on CBS’ Star Search (she lost to American Idol runner-up David Archuleta), first found fame appearing with Mylie Cyrus in Disney’s blockbuster show Hannah Montana. I love Richard Gutierrez and KC Concepcion. “I love Kristine Hermosa, she’s so beautiful. “I love Jon Avila, he’s the cutest and I want to meet him in person,” Wengky gushed like any other teen movie fan. I love adobo, lumpia, crispy pata and the sweet spaghetti Filipino style.”Īnd while carving her niche in Hollywood, Wengky reveals that she makes it a point to watch the TFC - yes, The Filipino Channel - and religiously follows her favorite shows like Kapitan Boom (featuring Jon Avila), Prinsesa ng Banyera (starring Kristine Hermosa), and Lobo (with Piolo Pascual and Angel Locsin). 23 with a debut party “Filipino style.”Įdmund recalled that when a Singaporean journalist asked her how Filipino she is, Wengky quickly replied: “I’m full-blooded Filipino.100 percent! I may not speak Tagalog, but I understand the language very well. In fact, she’ll mark her 18th birthday on Dec. I love her voice I love the way she handles her professional and personal life.”ĭespite her being born and bred in the US, Wengky has never lost touch with her Filipino heritage. She looks up to Reese Witherspoon and Lea Salonga as her role models. “I’m really glad Disney is taking care of me.” “It’s a good part for an Asian actress like me who is often stereotyped during casting,” said the home-schooled Wengky.

The petite star - who looks fragile as a porcelain doll with her silky, smooth skin and pearly white teeth - has several moments in the movie and gets to display her singing, acting and dancing prowess with other performers that include fellow Fil-Am teen actor Roshan Fegan, a dancefloor dynamite who has the moves of John Prats and Rayver Cruz combined. In the end, Ella discovers she doesn’t have to be a follower of Tess to be recognized and let her own talents shine through. In Camp Rock, which stars the megastar trio Jonas Brothers and Disney’s hottest find Demi Lovato (touted as the next Miley Cyrus), Wengky plays Ella, a talented yet not-so-smart girl who gets orders from the bossy Tess Tyler (Meaghan Jette Martin) to make the life of Mitchie Torres (Lovato) miserable. Her father is former TV personality Archie Perez de Tagle (now based in San Gabriel, California, with wife Evelyn Enriquez and two older sons, Juan Miguel and Jose) and her aunt is former child star Che-Che Perez de Tagle (now a mom of two and runs a Montessori school also in California). And she knows my whole background.”Īnna Maria - Wengky to family and friends - is better known among Filipinos as the granddaughter of the legendary Sylvia La Torre. “There was this girl who saw me in the mall and called me by my whole name, Anna Maria Francesca Perez de Tagle. “I’m amazed that they are recognizing me more,” she told Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre. (Camp Rock premiered in the US last June 20 and will be aired in the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia in September.) Add Anna Maria Perez de Tagle to the fast-growing roster of Filipino-American (or pure Filipino) talents carving their own names in Hollywood (and other foreign places).Īnna Maria, one of the stars of Disney Channel’s latest smash-hit original TV-movie Camp Rock, admits relishing fame with enthusiastic young fans (and their parents as well) recognizing her wherever she goes.

Anna maria perez de tagle