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Andrea Brillantes Is No Longer a Child and She's Not Here to Play Around
Blythe is all grown-up, and she's over people telling her to "act her age."
by Em Enriquez
Published Jul 12, 2023
Shaking off the remnants of her child actor beginnings, Andrea Brillantes—or Blythe—is honoring her hardships and growing up at her own pace.
“You can call me Blythe.”
Anndrew Blythe Gorostiza, better known as Andrea Brillantes, has been called many things throughout her career. Before she became Annaliza or Marga Mondragon, she was among thousands of girls lining up at auditions and go-sees with her mom. Things got rolling, and she eventually went from playing the younger versions of leading ladies to headlining her own titles. You could say that all the effort is paying off, as she’s now regarded as one of her generation’s biggest stars.
But the climb to the top wasn’t all that pretty. Coming of age in front of the public’s prying eyes can be an unforgiving ordeal, especially when you’re a teenager still in the process of figuring out who you really are. One little slip-up can easily be twisted into tomorrow’s headlines, which fuels the online tittle-tattle that drags you down to the ground. Blythe knows this well. She’s played the game and she hasn’t always come out of it unscathed. She’s never really “acted her age” if you think about it. “Parang ever since kasi, sa bigat ng binigay sa akin [ni Lord], parang hindi na ako bata,” she says.
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Andrea Brillantes for Preview July 2023
“Very private ako actually as a person. Hindi ako ma-post sa social media. Pero, dahil sa job ko, kailangan ko [in order to] stay relevant,” she tells me, legs crossed and shoulders relaxed on a makeup chair. On the Thursday we shot her cover, she had a more timid, slightly somber aura to her. If you get near her, you'll notice her black roots slowly growing back and reclaiming her once bright copper tresses. Like any other Gen Z gal, she admits to having a “finsta,” or a private Instagram account where she sparingly posts anything. This exclusive space is one of the few havens where she can just be Blythe, and not Andrea.
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Blythe tends to take over when you ask her about her family, and how she had to provide for them before she even hit puberty. She’s a lady who laments but never regrets having to grow up much faster than her peers. During our conversation, I was talking to a real adult, underscored by the fact that crocheted bunny ears were dangling from her head.
Child’s Play
Blythe describes Andrea as a more “kikay” version of herself. Before she found the fame she now calls her job, Blythe spent her early years like any other kid—running around the streets, playing agawan base, and spending hours in a computer shop.
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The not-so-usual part of her coming of age began when she joined a beauty pageant in order to win the cash prize and pay for her brother’s medical bills. As fate would have it, a talent scout was in the audience, and before she knew it, Andrea Brillantes was born. Although stardom always comes with a price, and in her case, it meant having to sacrifice a bulk, if not all, of her adolescent years. “Madaming bagay ang hindi ko nagawa [nung naging] teenager ako,” she states.
In the decade she’s been hard at work, the actress has constantly been putting food on the table. In 2021, she finally got to build a home for her family. If given a choice, however, Blythe wouldn’t put herself up to the task of having to be the provider at such a young age. “Sino ba namang bata [ang] gusto maging breadwinner at 10 years old?” she asks matter-of-factly.
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She admits how difficult it was to grow up with that kind of responsibility on her shoulders. “I don't know kung gagawin ko siya ulit [if I had a choice]. Basta hindi siya normal and ayaw ko siyang ma-normalize," she explains.
Instead of walking through hallways and attending proms, Blythe’s teen years were coded by tapings, photoshoots, and just about anything she could get booked for so she could get a paycheck at the end of the day. Even with the physical and emotional toll hustling took on her, she still wouldn’t abandon the life she has today. The thought of not being the media darling she is now only passes through her mind in blips, but it never lingers.
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“Ito pa rin kasi first love ko eh, so babalik at babalik pa rin ako. Wala rin kasi ako ibang alam na gawin,” Blythe puts it. The 20-year-old still has a lot of things to check off her list when it comes to what she wants from life, so it’d be a waste to stop now. “Ang dami ko [pang] gustong bilhin, ang dami ko pang gusto para sa pamilya ko, ang dami kong pang gustong makuhang award, ang dami ko pang kailangan na gawin. So like, bakit ako bibigay, nandito naman na ako.”
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In an alternate universe, Blythe would’ve been attending her dream school without worrying about the high tuition fee. But the reality is, that kind of money was what fed her siblings for the past ten years or so. This is the only life she’s ever gotten to know, and it surely took some getting used to. In regard to the perpetual struggle that is the oft-referenced work-life balance, there is no such concept for Blythe. The two are simply one and the same for her.
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Partying with her friends, for example, is something she tries to squeeze into her agendas, since it’s something she didn’t get to do a lot growing up. “Napagsasabay ko lang siya lahat. Basta lagi lang [akong nagle-leave] ng room for responsibility bilang nagtatrabaho ako,” she says. “Trabaho to eh. Kailangan ko lang maging strict [with myself]. Salit-salitan lang [yung work and personal life.]”
If she can physically will herself to step into a club after a shoot, why wouldn’t she, right? Blythe knows her priorities, and one of them is maximizing the youthful experiences she was once deprived of.
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The Kid Is Alright
Former child stars like Blythe are faced with a peculiar task when they come of age. They have to retain their demure characteristics, but not too much that they can’t shake off their kid-friendly image. At the same time, they’re expected to take on more “mature” roles, but not to the point that they can be perceived as obscene.
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In her ascent to where she is now, Blythe had to grapple with this double standard. When she was around 13 or 14, naysayers would tell her that she was rushing her childhood solely because of her ladylike appearance. Now that she’s officially graduated from being a teenager, bashers call her out for acting too childish. And yes, we’re talking about the infamous “baby talk.”
You’d think that when you speak intimately with her, she’ll drop the “pabebe” voice and speak in a normal tone. But the thing is, there really is no voice to drop. It’s not an act she puts up to look “cute,” mind you.
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“Hindi ko siya pinipilit. Walang switch sa utak ko kapag [nagsasalita ako],” Blythe explains. “Nalalaman ko na lang [na ganoon yung boses ko] kapag mina-mock na ako ng mga tao. Pero kasi sa mga friends and family ko [na] kilala [na] ako ever since, ganito talaga yung boses ko.”
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Bashers have crucified Blythe for practically everything, from the way she talks to the choices she’s made for herself. At this point, she’s well aware that she attracts controversies like honey does to bees. But being a controversial figure, according to her, only occurs because everyone’s eyes are on her.
“For me kasi, lahat ng tao may pagka-controversial. Lahat tayo may story, lahat tayo may pinagdadaanan,” she explains. “For me, I'm just a normal person. Ang dami lang invested sa life ko [because I'm a public personality]. Lahat ng pinagdaanan ko is normal, actually. Totoong happening siya sa totoong tao. Nagkataon lang na invested lahat.”
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Addressing the issue everyone seems to be talking about right now, Blythe mentions how her experience in her last relationship wasn’t necessarily a unique occurrence to her. “Lahat naman ng tao naloloko,” she says candidly.
It hasn’t been long since the actress went through the celebrity christening of having a heavily publicized break-up, and a controversial one at that. Tabloid columnists and keyboard warriors alike spewed their speculations of who did what, with some blatantly casting judgment on Blythe and automatically assuming that she was the one at fault.
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Now that the dust has settled, she couldn’t care less about the chatter. “Natatawa lang ako pero hindi ako naapektuhan by it,” she firmly states. “Siguro kung maapektuhan ako, naiinis lang ako sa mga tao na hindi pa maka-move on. Ako nga, okay na okay na ako. Pero wala akong magagawa about it eh. May bagong headline, okay. Kahit ang OA ng iba, okay.”
Blythe admits that her first relationship scarred her more since she was less equipped for heartbreak back then. But this time around, she’s taken things with more grace and finesse. In fact, she wouldn’t have realized just how much she’s grown if it weren’t for the mess that ensued. “Sobrang nakatulong yung break-up kasi [doon ko na-realize] na [hindi na] ako baby. Yung inner peace ko, nabuo ko na sya eh,” she states.
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Behind Blythe’s arms are a pair of tattoos. On the left, it reads “Do no harm,” and on the right, it continues, “Take no sh*t.” She admits that it was just a phrase she came across on Pinterest, but the message perfectly resonates with her. “Huwag magbigay ng bad vibes, huwag tatanggapin yung bad vibes,” she puts it in her own words.
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Deflecting bad vibes is only one of the Gen Z star’s multiple talents. She’s survived scandal after scandal, and at this point, nothing can dampen her spirit anymore. A little cockiness goes a long way in her book.
“Masama [mag-yabang], but sometimes, gamitin mo lang ng konti para ma-uplift ka. Tingnan mo lang yung achievements mo,” she says. If you’re someone like Blythe who’s been through hell and back in just 20 years of being alive, then some self-assurance is more than deserved. She says it best: “Hindi na ako [nagpapadala sa mga] gano'n kasi sure na ako sa sarili ko. You can never put a good man down.”
Golden Age
In Blythe’s decade-long career, she’s rightfully been recognized as one of ABS-CBN’s most treasured talents. She bows her head down, literally and figuratively, when you refer to her as one of the network’s most bankable Gen Z personalities. “Never ko kasi tinignan yung sarili kong gano'n,” she explains.
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She goes on, sharing, “Minsan problema ko na yun, minsan nakakalimutan ko na artista ako. Never ko kasing pinasok sa utak ko na gano'n ako.” The actress is the type of girl to just take things as they are. She know's what she's capable of, but at the end of the day, she knows she's in her position because it's her job. When you look at her body of work for what it is, Blythe is everything she’s been hoisted up as, and then some.
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The actress has embodied various types of people through her shows, from a visually-impaired lass in Huwag Kang Mangamba to an aspiring drag queen in Drag You & Me. According to her, she’s already done everything she’s aimed to do. “Recently kasi, wala pang binibigay sa akin ang ABS na nag-no ako,” she says, “kasi maganda lahat. Lahat bago actually.” Down the line, she wishes to become a bona fide action star a la Lara Croft. For someone of her caliber, possibilities can pop up anytime, like AI-generated rabbits getting perched beside her.
Blythe has plenty of time to become whatever she sets her sights on. Her resume outside of acting is quite impressive on its own. Just this year, she launched her very own makeup brand, Lucky Beauty, and became one of the country’s youngest CEOs in the process.
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In this new phase of her life, things are only just getting started. The way she looks at it, she's only at the starting points now if she were to reach the 80-year mark. “Buong teenage years ko iniisip na hindi na ako bata. Bata pa rin [naman ang] 20. Ayoko [madaliin yung pagtanda] kasi darating at darating din ako riyan,” she declares. This next decade is all about healing her inner child and letting it run free.
Blythe is done rushing herself. She’s all grown up, and while she would never choose to turn back time and change the path she’s on, she’s all about reclaiming every second she had to sacrifice back then. If anything, the best parts of her life have only just begun. “Tumatanda tayo every day,” she says in her signature soft-spoken tone. “Everyday nadadagdagan ang edad natin. So why rush?”
“Alam ko na bata pa ako. Pero ‘di na ako baby.”
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Produced by Reg Rodriguez and Isha Fojas
Photographed by Josh Tolentino
Art Direction by Bacs Arcebal
Fashion Direction and Styling by Marj Ramos-Clemente, Reg Rodriguez, and Isha Fojas
Makeup by Marben Talanay, assisted by Angel Marinas
Hairstyling by Dale Mallari, assisted by Jomary Dela Cruz
Wig sourced from Vince Relos
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Nails by Extraordinail
Production Design by Ginger Events Styling
Words by Em Enriquez
Shot at Studio LAJ
Special thanks to iWantTFC and Dreamscape Entertainment
* Editor’s note: No animals were harmed in the production of this cover.
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