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Born in Beverly Hills, Southern California, on June 19, 1990, to a French father (novelist) and Filipino mother (recording artist), this high-energy little thing quickly developed into a gorgeous girl of enormous talents, wisdom, and passion for the world around her.
Early on she staged her own creative shows at home, impressing her parents (and cats) greatly. At any moment she would be reading aloud from a book of spooky short stories, dancing like a ballerina to a lively music box tune, or singing a pop song in imitation of Barbra Streisand or Céline Dion. Surprisingly, at age 4, she happened to watch the great Stephanie Graf win a tennis grand slam on TV and for the next 8 years nothing but competition tennis mattered to her. Well, now and then, she participated in school talent shows and even co-wrote (at age 10) with her dad a 3-act comedy, starring herself, mom, and dad, the presentation of which blew the audience away.
However, the tennis bug was just too strong. Not a bad thing. Summing up her trajectory: Tennis phenom and crowd pleaser since age 6, nicknamed "Tennis Angel" by her fans. Possibly the youngest to ever hit balls with the amazing Bryan Brothers (#1 doubles players in the world in 2006 & 2007) at a major pro tournament event (Infiniti Open, 1996), exhibition style, before a large cheering audience, hosted by veteran CBS-2 sportscaster Jim Hill. Nationally ranked junior tournament player, defeating among many others John Lloyd's tough young daughter. (A decade earlier, John was England's greatest tennis player.) Best (and most entertaining) one-handed backhand in Southern California in 10s and 12s age divisions. Trained by Robert Lansdorp (Tracy Austin, Pete Sampras, Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova), Pam Austin, Bill Dunkle, Barry Friedman, Elliot Teltcher, and other top national coaches at the prestigious Jack Kramer Tennis Club, The Claremont Club, and other premier facilities. Plus six months of speed-strength (explosive) training under Michael Yessis and one year of Tae Kwon Do (martial arts) under Master Kim to toughen her bones, muscles, and mind. All this in preparation for a pro tennis career slated to start at age 16.
Not really. Manon had been keeping a secret for a while and was about to confess. "I enjoy playing tennis a lot, but my heart is not into it. What I really want is to be an actress, a performer, play good roles in movies and TV," she told her parents one afternoon with tears in her eyes, right after a tournament match, her last. She was afraid to disappoint them. Tennis had always been very demanding and costly, and they were not rich - not even close. But to her surprise, they accepted her wishes and dreams with the same coolness and support as before, even more so realizing Hollywood might be a much harder nut to crack. And indeed it was.
But, again, things began to roll and pick up speed. One of her first (and fun) acting coaches at age 12 was Efren Ramirez (Pedro in the box-office hit Napoleon Dynamite (2004)). Then she trained three years with Diane Hardin and Patrick Day, two years with Cynthia Bain, and one with Marnie Cooper in their respective renown acting schools for young people in "the Valley." She also took voice, accents, and singing with Bob Corff and Claire Corff (aka Clara Perryman), and hip-hop dancing with Shane Sparks in nearby studios. All this while fiercely auditioning for film, TV, and stage roles in the industry after securing proper representation and maintaining straight As in school, eventually the latter becoming partly Internet-based from home.
Callbacks led to lead roles in two Indie feature films (Man in the Wall (2010) one of them) and five short films, plus one supporting role. Also, a lead in a local theatrical production. Some of these films are in 2007 competing for recognition (and possibly glory) in film festivals. A few might also surface with IMDb credits. Manon nearly nailed (audition finalist against teen celebrity Vanessa Hudgens) a series regular role for a TV pilot (Keke & Jamal (2005) in late 2004, starring Keke Palmer (2007 Winner, NAACP Image Awards), who read with Manon at every callback. But ultimately Vanessa's/Manon's role was stripped out and the pilot became a TV movie instead. Nothing unusual in this business. Looking ahead, Manon found time to record two songs, which she wrote, and finish a screenplay before turning 17, the movie of which she plans to co-produce and take the lead role. It's a powerful, edgy story she's very proud to have put together all by herself. In 2005 she was runner-up (Diandra Newlin winning) for the YAA's Academic Excellence as a Young Artist Award, sponsored by Laurel Springs School.
Manon loves animals - both domestic and wild. She plays tennis for fun only now (with her former Walnut High School girls varsity team partners), practices basketball at her old Suzanne Middle School, enjoys Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Mountain hiking (the first recreational marvel she discovered through the various C.J. Morris Elementary School field trips she took back in those days), and frequents the sandy beaches of Santa Monica and Malibu for a good swim or horseback ride. Most of all, she's nuts about Harry Potter books/films and rock music. She writes songs, folk rock mostly, which she sings along with her guitar. Loves to relax to a John Mayer song, like "Gravity." Traveling to France and England tops her social priorities, which also includes hanging out with her friends, and chatting in French or Spanish whenever an opportunity arises. She keeps in her garage, together with trophies and souvenirs, what could be the largest private collection of fashion "Tennis Angel" t-shirts in the state, if not the country.
