This is an excerpt from the June 2026 Special Issue. Subscribe to MEGA Digital All-Access to read the full story.
Since 1986, Dawn Zulueta has remained a defining presence in Philippine entertainment, moving seamlessly across television, cinema, and variety shows with grace that has endured for four decades. Over the years, she has cemented herself as one of the most revered actresses in Philippine cinema.
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In 1992, she made history as the first—and still the only—Filipino actor to win two major acting awards at the FAMAS Awards in the same year: Best Actress for Hihintayin Kita sa Langit and Best Supporting Actress for Una Kang Naging Akin. It was a pivotal moment that transformed her career entirely.
While Hihintayin Kita sa Langit marked her first leading role in film, it also became the project that changed the trajectory of her life as an actress. “Until then, I did not know if I would ever capture the attention of film producers who would dare take a chance on me. The huge weight and responsibility of portraying a lead character, while daunting at first, inspired me to continuously develop Carmina,” Zulueta admits.
That chapter ultimately shaped the kind of artist she would become. The film thrust her into the spotlight before she had fully stepped into her confidence as an actress, but it also gave her the courage to push herself further creatively. “It gave me the confidence to try new roles, expand my creative work, and more importantly, gave me the building blocks to grow and learn the discipline of my craft.”
Long before awards and accolades defined her legacy, Zulueta immersed herself in the discipline of acting through workshops led by some of the industry’s most respected performers. As she refined her approach, her training began to draw from both Konstantin Stanislavski’s system and Lee Strasberg’s Method acting, often adapting depending on the role and the actors she worked alongside.
“It is vitally important for a pious actor to remain emotionally open, effectively engaged, and unafraid to feel vulnerable. Hence, this is where mental discipline plays a huge role in a balancing act, so that one never has to fall off the edge,” the actress shares.
Through decades of discipline, Zulueta learned to balance technical precision with emotional intuition—two qualities she believes define great performance. “Artistry means creativity and having an inner vision. Performance is execution and technique. To become an effective performer, one wants to marry those two skills into a unique interpretation,” she ponders, acknowledging the long hours, and emotional and physical endurance required to sustain a life in film.
After decades of portraying women across a wide spectrum of storytelling, Zulueta now hopes younger actresses learn to advocate for themselves—both onscreen and behind the scenes. “I want to see more female actors advocating for themselves in choosing the roles they portray and the salary that they receive,” she says, remaining steadfast in her call for equal opportunities in the industry.
More than anything, she hopes women continue to be portrayed with dignity and truthfulness onscreen. “I hope that the era of objectification of women will become a thing of the past, and standing on equal footing with their male counterparts will become a new normal.”
Star. Trailblazer. Icon. Across 40 years of film and television, Dawn Zulueta has helped redefine what it means to be an actress in Philippine cinema—not merely as an entertainer, but as an artist and woman with agency. Her legacy lives not only in the characters she portrayed, but in the standard she continues to set for generations of actresses who follow.
Photographed by JERICK SANCHEZ. Creative Direction by PATRICK TY. Art Direction by CLARE MAGNO and BRIE VENTURA. Beauty Direction by AGOO AZCUNA-BENGZON assisted by MARA GO. Sittings Editor PEEWEE REYES-ISIDRO and TREISHA ROVERO. Produced by THESSMAR LECTURA. Image retouching by JONES PALTENG and TROY NONATO. Hair by ANTONIO YUN assisted by EDCYN CONCHA. Makeup by TING DUQUE. Styled by STEVEN CORALDE, JERMAINNE LAGURA, and NIÑA CUYANA of QURATOR INC. Production Design by ARJ MADARANG of JAGGER STUDIOS. Photography Assistants KARL RIMANDO, BUDDY REYES, DAVE ORPILLA, RYAN ALBANO. Special thanks to ECO JARDIN PHILIPPINES
Frequently Asked Questions
Dawn Zulueta is one of the Philippines’ most enduring and respected actresses, with a career spanning four decades across television, cinema, and variety shows since 1986. She is best known for her historic achievement at the 1992 FAMAS Awards, where she became the first — and still only — Filipino actor to win both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in the same year, for Hihintayin Kita sa Langit and Una Kang Naging Akin respectively.
In 1992, Dawn Zulueta made history at the FAMAS Awards by winning both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in the same year — a feat no other Filipino actor has achieved before or since. She won Best Actress for Hihintayin Kita sa Langit and Best Supporting Actress for Una Kang Naging Akin, with the double win marking a turning point in her career and establishing her as a defining force in Philippine cinema.
Dawn Zulueta draws on both Konstantin Stanislavski’s system and Lee Strasberg’s Method acting, adapting her approach depending on the role and her co-actors. She describes great performance as a marriage between artistry — creativity and inner vision — and technique, achieved through emotional openness, mental discipline, and the willingness to remain vulnerable. Her training was shaped early by workshops with some of the Philippine industry’s most respected performers.
Zulueta has spoken openly about the need for Filipino actresses to advocate for themselves — in the roles they choose and the salaries they receive. She hopes to see the objectification of women in film become a thing of the past, and for women to stand on equal footing with their male counterparts as a new industry standard. She frames this as both a personal calling and a responsibility to the generation of actresses who follow her.
Hihintayin Kita sa Langit was Dawn Zulueta’s first leading role in film and the project that fundamentally changed her career trajectory. Portraying lead character Carmina was both daunting and formative — it pushed her to develop her craft under pressure and gave her the confidence to take on new roles, expand her creative range, and commit to the discipline that has defined her forty-year career.
