# Claudine Barretto
**Claudine Barretto** (born 1979) is a Filipino film and television actress whose career has been built mainly at ABS-CBN, where she headlined drama series from the late 1990s through the 2000s and starred in [Star Cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/star-cinema) films including *Anak* (2000) and *Milan* (2004).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0056995/?showAllCredits=true) • [2](https://prabook.com/web/claudine.barretto/2513664) She is known in Philippine media by the nickname "The Optimum Star."[3](https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2016/02/09/1551369/claudines-choices-lessons-art-life)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1979, Philippines[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0056995/?showAllCredits=true) |
| Career start | 1992, on the youth-oriented gag show *Ang TV*[4](https://awsdev.pep.ph/news/local/29252/where-are-they-now-original-teleserye-leading-ladies) |
| Signature TV roles | *Mula sa Puso* (1997), the triplets of *Saan Ka Man Naroroon* (1999–2001), the mermaid title role in *Marina* (2004)[4](https://awsdev.pep.ph/news/local/29252/where-are-they-now-original-teleserye-leading-ladies) |
| Notable films | *Anak* (2000), *Got 2 Believe* (2002), *Kailangan Kita* (2002), *Milan* (2004), *Sukob* (2006)[2](https://prabook.com/web/claudine.barretto/2513664) |
| Awards | Two FAMAS Awards for Best Actress and a Luna Award for Best Actress; Gawad Urian Best Actress nominations in 2003, 2005, and 2006[2](https://prabook.com/web/claudine.barretto/2513664) • [5](https://www.famousfix.com/topic/claudine-barretto/awards) |
| Network moves | ABS-CBN from 1992; signed with GMA Network on 25 November 2009; returned to ABS-CBN in 2015[6](https://www.gmanetwork.com/entertainment/showbiznews/gma-7-welcomes-claudine-barretto/6222/) • [4](https://awsdev.pep.ph/news/local/29252/where-are-they-now-original-teleserye-leading-ladies) |
| Marriage | Married actor Raymart Santiago in 2006; their marriage remained in annulment proceedings[4](https://awsdev.pep.ph/news/local/29252/where-are-they-now-original-teleserye-leading-ladies) • [3](https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2016/02/09/1551369/claudines-choices-lessons-art-life) • [10](https://www.sunstar.com.ph/bacolod/annulment-ni-claudine-barretto-raymart-santiago-gi-postpone-) |
## Television career
Barretto entered show business in 1992 as part of *Ang TV*, ABS-CBN's youth-oriented gag show.[4](https://awsdev.pep.ph/news/local/29252/where-are-they-now-original-teleserye-leading-ladies) In 1997 the network gave her her own drama series, *Mula sa Puso*, in which she was paired with [Rico Yan](https://www.edgepedia.org/rico-yan); the series ran until 1999 and was later adapted into a film, with a remake following.[4](https://awsdev.pep.ph/news/local/29252/where-are-they-now-original-teleserye-leading-ladies) • [2](https://prabook.com/web/claudine.barretto/2513664)
Her next series, *Saan Ka Man Naroroon* (1999–2001), cast her as triplets Rosenda, Rosario, and Rosemarie.[4](https://awsdev.pep.ph/news/local/29252/where-are-they-now-original-teleserye-leading-ladies) She followed it with *Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan* (2001–2003), a story built on reincarnation in which she played Angelina, a woman from the 1950s, and Angeline, her reincarnated soul in modern times.[4](https://awsdev.pep.ph/news/local/29252/where-are-they-now-original-teleserye-leading-ladies) In 2004 she top-billed ABS-CBN's first fantaserye, *Marina*, playing a mermaid, and in 2005 she led the drama series *Ikaw Ang Lahat Sa Akin* opposite [Bea Alonzo](https://www.edgepedia.org/bea-alonzo) and [John Lloyd Cruz](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-lloyd-cruz).[4](https://awsdev.pep.ph/news/local/29252/where-are-they-now-original-teleserye-leading-ladies)
After marrying Raymart Santiago in 2006 and becoming pregnant with their first son, Santino, she took a break from showbiz, then returned with *Walang Kapalit* (2007), *Maligno* (2008), and *Iisa Pa Lamang* (2008).[4](https://awsdev.pep.ph/news/local/29252/where-are-they-now-original-teleserye-leading-ladies)
## Film career
Her film work includes *Anak* (2000), *Got 2 Believe* (2002), *Kailangan Kita* (2002), *Milan* (2004), *Nasaan Ka Man* (2005), and *Sukob* (2006).[2](https://prabook.com/web/claudine.barretto/2513664) *Milan*, Star Cinema's 2004 [Valentine](https://www.edgepedia.org/valentine) offering directed by Olive Lamasan, cast her as Jenny, a street-smart overseas Filipino worker, opposite [Piolo Pascual](https://www.edgepedia.org/piolo-pascual) as a man searching for his wife in Italy.[7](https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2004/01/18/235503/claudine-everything-falling-place) The film was shot in Milan over 17 days; Barretto and Pascual learned a smattering of Italian for scenes in which they speak the language, and an Italian newspaper described Barretto as a [Sharon Stone](https://www.edgepedia.org/sharon-stone) after an interview.[7](https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2004/01/18/235503/claudine-everything-falling-place) Lamasan, who had directed her before, said at the time that Barretto "can play someone who's rich, poor, good or bad" and "is willing to reinvent herself."[7](https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2004/01/18/235503/claudine-everything-falling-place)
## Awards
Barretto has received two FAMAS Awards for Best Actress and a Luna Award for Best Actress.[2](https://prabook.com/web/claudine.barretto/2513664) The FAMAS wins came in 2005 and 2006, and she was also FAMAS-nominated in 2003 and 2007; the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP, now the Luna Awards) named her Best Actress in 2005.[5](https://www.famousfix.com/topic/claudine-barretto/awards) The Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino's Gawad Urian, the critics' award, nominated her for Best Actress in 2003, 2005, and 2006.[5](https://www.famousfix.com/topic/claudine-barretto/awards) She also won a Maria Clara Award for Best Actress in 2006 and a Star Award for Movie Actress of the Year in 2006.[5](https://www.famousfix.com/topic/claudine-barretto/awards) IMDb counts 8 wins and 15 nominations across her career.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0056995/?showAllCredits=true)
## Network moves
Barretto spent her early career at ABS-CBN, which managed her from 1992.[2](https://prabook.com/web/claudine.barretto/2513664) On the afternoon of 25 November 2009 she signed a contract with [GMA Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/gma-network), becoming a "Kapuso" star, with projects beginning in a film co-produced by Viva Films and GMA Films; GMA chairman [Felipe L. Gozon](https://www.edgepedia.org/felipe-l-gozon) welcomed her at the signing.[6](https://www.gmanetwork.com/entertainment/showbiznews/gma-7-welcomes-claudine-barretto/6222/) Her GMA contract was not renewed in 2011.[2](https://prabook.com/web/claudine.barretto/2513664) In June 2015 she returned to ABS-CBN, her original home network, through the Star Cinema film *Etiquette for Mistresses*.[2](https://prabook.com/web/claudine.barretto/2513664) • [4](https://awsdev.pep.ph/news/local/29252/where-are-they-now-original-teleserye-leading-ladies)
## Personal life
Barretto's former boyfriend, actor Rico Yan, died in 2002, an event for which she said she was widely blamed at the time. In a 2011 tell-all interview with the *Philippine Star* columnist Ricky Lo, she said she had begun seeing a psychiatrist in 2002 after Yan's death, saying she had been traumatized and felt "that half of the world was blaming me for Rico's death."[8](https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2011/07/31/711486/claudine-truth-nothing-but)
She married Raymart Santiago in 2006; their children include Santino and Sabina.[4](https://awsdev.pep.ph/news/local/29252/where-are-they-now-original-teleserye-leading-ladies) • [9](https://www.philstar.com/cebu-entertainment/2009/03/28/452513/claudine-barretto-motherhood-adoption-and-finding-lifes-purpose) In a 2009 interview she described motherhood as having "tremendously altered" her life and said that when a parent is ready, "the kids have to be priority."[9](https://www.philstar.com/cebu-entertainment/2009/03/28/452513/claudine-barretto-motherhood-adoption-and-finding-lifes-purpose) The marriage later ended; in a 2016 interview she described going through "true-to-life annulment scenes" and telling her children that she and their father would live in separate homes.[3](https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2016/02/09/1551369/claudines-choices-lessons-art-life) By 2016 she had spent some 24 years in show business, by her own count.[3](https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2016/02/09/1551369/claudines-choices-lessons-art-life)
## References
1. [Claudine Barretto, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0056995/?showAllCredits=true)
2. [Claudine Barretto, World Biographical Encyclopedia (Prabook)](https://prabook.com/web/claudine.barretto/2513664)
3. [Claudine's choices: Lessons from art & life, The Philippine Star (2016)](https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2016/02/09/1551369/claudines-choices-lessons-art-life)
4. [Original teleserye leading ladies: Where are they now?, PEP.ph](https://awsdev.pep.ph/news/local/29252/where-are-they-now-original-teleserye-leading-ladies)
5. [Claudine Barretto Awards, FamousFix](https://www.famousfix.com/topic/claudine-barretto/awards)
6. [GMA-7 welcomes Claudine Barretto, GMA Entertainment](https://www.gmanetwork.com/entertainment/showbiznews/gma-7-welcomes-claudine-barretto/6222/)
7. [Claudine: Everything is falling into place, The Philippine Star (2004)](https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2004/01/18/235503/claudine-everything-falling-place)
8. [Claudine: The truth & nothing but, The Philippine Star (2011)](https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2011/07/31/711486/claudine-truth-nothing-but)
9. [Claudine Barretto: on motherhood, adoption and finding life's purpose, The Freeman via Philstar.com (2009)](https://www.philstar.com/cebu-entertainment/2009/03/28/452513/claudine-barretto-motherhood-adoption-and-finding-lifes-purpose)
10. [Annulment ni Claudine Barretto, Raymart Santiago gi-postpone](https://www.sunstar.com.ph/bacolod/annulment-ni-claudine-barretto-raymart-santiago-gi-postpone-)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of East and Southeast Asia › Filipino actors, 2000s onward › Surnames A to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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