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Gloria Galla was born in 1933 in Denver Colorado, to a hardworking Filipino, Pedro Galla, and an American woman, Mary Borrego. Her elementary education was spent in Mabini Elementary School and she graduated from Riverview High School in Mabini, Pangasinan.
She married actor Juancho Gutierrez after they met during a movie.
Because her uncle, Nario Rosales, was Chief Editor at Sampaguita Studios, it was easy for Ms Galla to visit the movie sets. She started out her career as an "extra" in Sampaguita Pictures, before being noticed in Kasintahan sa Pangarap (1951), starring Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran. For 1951, more bit roles followed in Bernardo Carpio, starring real-life couple Cesar Ramirez and Alicia Vergel; in Dugong Bughaw, with Norma Vales and Tessie Martinez; and Rebecca. Finally, in her fifth movie, Ramon Selga (starring Lilian Leonardo and Pancho Magalona), she got a speaking part as a nurse.
Appearing as the daughter of Ramirez and Vergel in Madame X (1952), producers introduced Ms Galla with a new, more dramatic name: "Gloria Romero." She got her first memorable role in Palasig (1952) opposite heartthrob Cesar Ramirez, but it was her lead role in Monghita (1952), opposite Oscar Moreno that cemented her bankability and popularity. In 1953, she played the daughter of Carmen Rosales in May Umaga Pang Darating. Ms Romero played against many leading men: opposite Ramon Revilla in Apat na Taga (1953); opposite Fred Montilla in Recuerdo (1953); opposite Pancho Magalona in Musikong Bumbong (1954); opposite Ric Rodrigo and Luis Gonzales in Pilya (1954), and opposite Dolphy in Dalagang Ilocana (1954), for which she won the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts & Sciences (FAMAS) Best Actress award.
She also made Vacacionista (1956), Pitong Pagsisisi (1959), and Lupa sa Lupa (1960) opposite Luis Gonzales. Ms Romero tried a formula by appearing as characters popularized in comic strips: Her first two attempts, Mister Kasintahan (1953) and Kurdapya (1954), were so successful she immediately made Mariposa (1955) and Miss Tilapia (1956), where she played the original Pacifica Falayfay. Afterwards, Ms Romero ventured into the dramatic format again, with Artista (1955), Teresa (1956), opposite her popular love-team partner Luis Gonzales; Ikaw ang Aking Buhay (1959), plus remakes of pre-war musical movies like Pagdating ng Takipsilim (1956), Colegiala (1957) and Paru-parong Bukid (1957). All these blockbusters made her Queen of Philippine Movies (her closest rival was Nida Blanca), and Sampaguita Pictures renewed her contract for another 8 years-- making her the studio's longest exclusive star. She made some 30 movies with her frequent screen partner, Luis Gonzales.
She has appeared on the long-running television sitcom Palibhasa Lalake (1991), as well as the short-lived Fifty Carats, O Di Ba? (1993) with three other veteran actresses. She also joined the soaps Familia Zaragosa (1995), Labs ko si Babes (2000), Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan (2001), and Sana'y Wala ng Wakas (2003). Two of her most recent outings have been in horror films: Bahay ni Lola 2 (2005) and Shake, Rattle and Roll 2k5 (2005), reminiscent of the way veteran Hollywood actresses were popularly cast in horror films in their elderly age in the 1960s, such as Joan Crawford with Trog (1970). She also made films for other studios, like Pitong Gabi sa Hongkong (1966); Kaibigan Ko ang Sto Niño (1967); Haydee (1966), with Hilda Koronel; Lumuha Pati Mga Anghel (1971), with Eddie Garcia and Ronaldo Valdez; Sakada (1976), directed by Behn Cervantes, costarring Pancho Magalona, Rosa Rosal, Hilda Koronel and Bembol Roco; and, Bakit May Putik ang mga Bulaklak? (1979) with Lorna Tolentino and Rosemarie Gil.
Ms Romero received the FAMAS Best Actress award for Dalagang Ilocana (1954), Best Supporting Actress for Nagbabagang Luha (1988) and Best Actress for Tanging Yaman (2000). She also received a Best Supporting Actress award from the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) for Saan Nagtatago ang Pag-Ibig? (1987), and again FAP gave her Best Actress honor for her film Tanging Yaman (2000). She received nominations from FAMAS for her films Ikaw ang Aking Buhay (1959), Condemned (1984) and Bilangin Ang Bituin sa Langit (1989). At the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino awarding (Gawad Urian Awards), she received the 2001 Best Actress award for Tanging Yaman (2000) and the 2004 Best Supporting Actress award for Magnifico (2003). Furthermore, the Gawad Urian, the FAP and the CineManila International Film Festival have honored her with individual Lifetime Achievement Awards, between 2001 and 2004.
