Kyline Alcantara: The star who never gave up
Kyline Nicole Alcantara, known in showbiz as Kyline Alcantara, is an 18-year-old Filipina actress, singer, and TV host.
Kyline worked her way up, going through auditions and experiencing rejections before becoming one of GMA-7’s prime teen actresses.
FAMILY AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Kyline was born in Ocampo, Camarines Sur, on September 28, 2002.
She has two older brothers: Robin and Kent.
Her parents Rowena Alcantara and Butch Manga separated when she was four years old, but Kyline did not know this until she was around 12 years old.
This was revealed in the depiction of the teen actress’ life story on GMA-7’s Magpakailanman.
Kyline studied elementary at Saint Francis of Assisi College in Las Piñas City.
For the first two years of her high-school education, she went to The Academy of Christian Excellence Montessori.
Kyline later shifted to an alternative learning system, transferring to Exodus Elementary School in Cainta, Laguna.
Currently, Kyline is taking up BS Tourism Management at University of Perpetual Help System DALTA, also in Las Piñas City.
SHOWBIZ BEGINNINGS
At a young age, Kyline already had dreams of becoming an actress and started joining theater plays.
In 2009, seven-year-old Kyline pushed her dreams further and entered show business.
She recalled in an interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) in February 2020, “Pumunta ako dito, may napanood kasi kami sa TV dati na parang audition ng Goin’ Bulilit.
“Because of that, my mom said na, ‘Punta tayo ng Manila para mag-audition.’”
Based on her Magpakailanman life story, Kyline and her mother, Rowena, hitched a ride with a truck from Bicol all the way to the ABS-CBN compound in Mother Ignacia Street, Quezon City.
Kyline continued, “Pagdating namin ng ABS, pumila na kami doon sa may ID para makapasok, sabi wala na raw audition for Goin’ Bulilit. So parang, ‘Bakit kami nandito?’
“‘Tapos ayun, may mga talent managers doon, talent coordinators, ‘tapos nakita nila ‘tapos pinagta-talent-talent.”
In short, she missed the Goin’ Bulilit audition, but, subsequently, was given bit roles in TV shows.
In 2010, Kyline joined ABS-CBN’s reality show for kids, Star Circle Quest for the Next Kiddie Superstar, which hailed Nash Aguas and Bugoy Cariño in 2004 and 2009, respectively, as winners.
Kyline was then eight years old.
Her batchmates were Janine Berdin, Brenna Villaflor, and Clarence Delgado.
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Kyline made it to the Top 10, but she was the first contestant who got eliminated.
She said about the experience, “Siyempre, as a kid, napakalaking sampal noon for me. Doon din siguro parang bumaba iyong confidence ko sa sarili ko and luckily, I have a mother na parang, ‘Kaya mo iyan!’
“Ako kasi, gusto ko iyong ginagawa ko, gusto ko sumikat, gusto ko maging artista, pero siyempre, parang na-reject ako noong ako iyong unang unang natanggal, e.
“Siyempre, eight years old ako noon. So parang ako, ayoko na, matatanggal lang din naman ako.
“Ngayon ko na-realize na parang importante rin talaga iyong mga nakapaligid sa iyo. Dahil din naman sa kanila somehow kung ano iyong mindset mo.”
Despite her early elimination, Kyline still landed roles in ABS-CBN and became part of its talent-management arm, Star Magic.
She was usually cast to play the young version of the lead actress, particularly as the young Maja Salvador in two shows: Lumayo Ka Man Sa Akin (2012) and Ina Kapatid Anak (2012).
She also participated in several episodes of Maalaala Mo Kaya.
KYLINE’S FIRST BREAK
In 2013, ABS-CBN did an adaptation of Annaliza, a successful drama series that starred Julie Vega in the title role and aired on GMA-7 in the ‘70s.
For the ABS-CBN version, Andrea Brillantes was tapped to portray the lead role.
Kyline then received a call from Star Magic, which asked her to audition for child-kontrabida role, Arlene.
The teen star recounted, “Una muna, from Star Magic, parang sabi nila, may pa-audition, hindi kami available.
“’Tapos nagkaroon ulit ng isa pang audition, ‘tapos magmu-movie kami nila Mama ‘tapos tumawag ulit iyong Star Magic.
“Sabi ko, ‘Mama, huwag na lang kasi mare-reject lang naman ako, bakit pa tayo mag-au-audition diyan?’
“‘Tapos ayon, nakita ko iyong mga kasabayan ko. Basta may mga bagets, mga anim yata kami ‘tapos pina-audition kami.”
Kyline gave her all during the audition and won the part.
In the February 2020 interview, Kyline told PEP.ph that Annaliza honed her craft as an actress.
This was all thanks to her co-stars Zanjoe Marudo, Kaye Abad, Denise Laurel, and director Theodore “Ted” Boborol.
“Doon ko natutunan iyong pagiging artista mismo kasi siyempre, may mga batikang artista din akong kasama doon, e—si Tatay Zanjoe, si Ate Kaye, si Miss Denise.
“Doon ko natutunan talaga kung paano maging kontrabida kasi si Direk Ted, noong una, napapagalit-pagalitan ako.
“So parang sabi niya, manood ka ng Mara Clara, Gladys and Juday. ‘Tapos i-diary mo ‘tapos doon ka humugot ng galit mo, doon ka kumuha ng inspiration sa role mo.”
Annaliza was a success in the ratings game that it ran for 10 months and beat four shows in GMA-7: Home Sweet Home, Binoy Henyo, Prinsesa ng Buhay Ko, and Paraiso Ko’y Ikaw.
ADOLESCENT STAGE
After Annaliza, she went through the adolescent stage, and experienced all the physical changes in her body.
She struggled with acne, lost roles, and got rejected from auditions.
It was a difficult period. Her family got evicted from the house they were renting.
Kyline told PEP.ph, “I was… mga 13, 14 ako noong mga time na iyon ‘tapos siyempre parang noong time na iyon, ako lang kasi iyong inaasahan nila.
“So, siyempre, pressure din naman sa akin iyong ganon kabigat na responsibilidad.”
Even then, Kyline continued doing supporting roles in ABS-CBN teleseryes like Pangako Sa ‘Yo (2015), where she played Jessa Boborol, the rival of Andrea Brillantes; Born For You (2016) as Chloe, the younger sister of the character played by Elmo Magalona.
She also had a short role in Wildflower (2017) as the young Emilia Ardiente, who was played by Aiko Melendez.
Kyline also had minor roles in the movies Hamog (2013) and Etiquette for Mistresses (2015).
KYLINE’S TRANSFER TO GMA-7
Kyline’s contract with Star Magic ended in 2017.
Heeding the advice of her mother, Kyline thought it might be the right time to make a career move.
Of course, she was initially hesitant to leave ABS-CBN.
She said, “Actually, ako, ako kasi iyong tipo ng tao na di ko talaga kayang mang-iwan.
“As much as possible, kakapit ako sa iyo, loyal ako sa iyo.
“And then, my mom told me na bilang artista, ‘Gusto mo bang mag-explore sa mga bagay bagay? Gusto mo ba?’
“Mahabang proseso naman siya.”
Eventually, she transferred to GMA-7.
For her first audition, she eyed the prime-time series Kambal, Karibal, starring Bianca Umali and Miguel Tanfelix.
Originally, Kyline auditioned for the role of young Jean Garcia.
But a better role was given to her.
Kyline revealed, “After ko mag-audition noon, paalis na sana kami, they called me again, ‘Kyline, mag-audtion ka for Cheska.’”
Cheska was the main villain of the series.
Kyline bagged the role.
Kambal, Karibal was a huge success, and consistently won the ratings game against its ABS-CBN rivals: La Luna Sangre and Bagani.
Originally scheduled to run for only eight weeks as a filler for another Kapuso teleserye (which was never disclosed), Kambal, Karibal ran for nine months.
Kyline said about her show, “Kambal, Karibal changed my life!
“With my career, of course, obvious naman po siguro.
“Noong una, new faces, new set of people, new vibe. Iba kasi iyong vibe ng GMA.
“’Tapos ang saya ko kasi ako iyong tipo ng tao na gustung-gusto ko makipag-usap sa bagong tao kasi I want to know kung ano iyong vision nila sa buhay, career, gusto nilang marating.
“So ayon, masaya, Kambal, Karibal, ganda ng experience.”
Kambal, Karibal earned Kyline her first awards in showbiz.
In 2018, she won Best Supporting Drama Actress at the 32nd PMPC Star Awards for Television.
Kyline was also hailed Most Promising Female Star for TV at the 2018 Alta Media Icon Awards.
In late 2018, Kyline received her first award outside the Philippines.
She was chosen as the national winner of the Best Actress in a Supporting Role award at the 1st Asian Academy Creative Awards.
The national winners were the awardees of each category per country. They were automatically nominated to win the international award of the same category.
Although Kyline did not win the international award, she had the chance to become a presenter during the awards night held in Singapore.
Kyline’s achievements allowed her to be tagged as GMA-7’s “La Nueva Diva.”
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SHOWBIZ PROJECTS AFTER KAMBAL, KARIBAL
After her kontrabida role in Kambal, Karibal, Kyline took on the lead role in her next teleserye, Inagaw Na Bituin (2019).
Her co-stars in the teleserye were Sunshine Dizon, Angelika dela Cruz, and Angelu de Leon—the drama queens of GMA-7 in the late ‘90s to the early 2000s.
In the series, Kyline played Anna, the missing daughter of singer Belinda Lopez (Sunshine). She was kidnapped, had an amnesia, and became known by the name of Elsa.
In the same year, she was launched as a lead star in the fantasy movie Black Lipstick, a spin-off of the hit classic Blusang Itim.
This 2020, Kyline top-bills Bilangin Ang Bituin Sa Langit, together with Mylene Dizon and Nora Aunor.
She plays the role of Maggie, the daughter of Nolie (Mylene). Both Maggie and Nolie were portrayed by Nora in the 1989 movie. Nora now plays Cedes, the grandmother of Maggie.
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The series started airing on February 24, 2020, but production had to be stopped when the enhanced community quarantine was implemented in March 2020.
Bilangin Ang Bituin sa Langit is expected to resume its airing before the end of 2020.
Aside from her dramas, Kyline also ventured into singing, hosting, and performing.
While doing Kambal, Karibal, Kyline was one of the regular performers of GMA-7’s Sunday noontime variety show Sunday PinaSaya from 2018 to 2020.
She was also part of the weekly prime-time musical-variety show, Studio 7, which aired from October 2018 to December 2019.
In June 2019, she was tapped to host Inside StarStruck, the daily online show of GMA-7’s reality show StarStruck.
Meanwhile, Kyline launched her self-titled album Kyline in 2018.
Her single “Bukas Na Lang” was used as the theme song in the Kapuso afternoon series Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko.
Kyline is currently part of GMA-7’s Sunday noontime variety show, All-Out Sundays.
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KYLINE’S SOCIAL MEDIA
Kyline is active on social media, where she gets to connect with her fans, who are collectively called the Sunflowers.
Her Instagram account, @itskylinealcantara, has 3.6 million followers.
Kyline’s Twitter account, @2002kyline, has 209.9k followers.
Kyline has also ventured into doing TikTok videos. Her account, @itskylinealcantara3, has 3.5 million followers.
CELEBRITY LINKS
Kyline was involved in an issue with her Kambal, Karibal co-stars Bianca Umali and Miguel Tanfelix.
The rumor was that Bianca and Miguel, rumored real-life sweethearts, broke up. Kyline was accused as the third party.
However, Kyline denied the rumors.
Kyline said in an interview with PEP.ph in September 2019, “Hindi totoong nililigawan niya ako because I’m still young and he’s old na.”
In her PEP Live guesting in September 2019, Kyline said that Bianca is one of her closest friends in showbiz.
Kyline was also linked to Kapamilya singer Darren Espanto.
But she clarified in the same interview that they are only close friends.
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Kyline is also friends with twins Cassy and Mavy Legaspi, Andre Paras, Therese Malvar, Julie Anne San Jose, Xyriel Manabat, Janine Berdin, and JK Labajo.
For her love teams, Kyline was first paired with Jeric Gonzales when they were working together in Kambal, Karibal.
She also became Manolo Pedrosa’s love-team partner in Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko (2018) and Inagaw na Bituin (2019).
In her movie Black Lipstick, she had Manolo and Migo Adecer as her leading men.
At present, Kyline is paired with Yasser Marta in Bilangin Ang Bituin sa Langit.
