Julie Pearl Apostol Postigo,[1] better known by her stage name

Julie Vega (May 21, 1968 – May 6, 1985), was a Filipina child actress and singer. She remains very popular and very well loved in the Philippines, years after her sudden death at the age of 16 that triggered a massive outpouring of nationwide grief that is still vividly remembered by Filipino showbiz fans.[2] She won two FAMAS Awards for Best Child Actress during her brief showbiz career.

Biography

Early lifeJulie Vega, who was named after her own parents, was born at the UERM in Quezon City, Philippines to a devout Roman Catholic family and is the youngest and only girl in a brood of six children of dentists Julio Postigo (1931–1991) from Zamboanga del Sur and the former Perla Apostol (nicknamed Pearl, born 1932)from Iligan City, Lanao del Norte. This fact led her family to nickname her Darling and Tata (which means youngest child in the Visayan language).[5] Her older brothers are (according to order of birth) James (nicknamed Jimmy), Jeffrey (nicknamed Joey, 1960–1983), Jonathan (nicknamed Noni), Joseph (nicknamed Toti), and Jerry (nicknamed Steve).

Showbiz career

Julie, who inherited her mestiza looks from her half-Irish father Julio[citation needed], was discovered at a Christmas party at the Quezon Institute, where her mother used to work then, by renowned film and stage director Lamberto Avellana and veteran actress Boots Anson-Roa, thus starting her showbiz career at the age of six as a television commercial model of a hotdog brand. She first used the screen name Darling Postigo and appeared in her first film entitled Ang Pag-ibig Ko���y Huwag Mong Sukatin as the young daughter of Anson-Roa and Dante Rivero.It was not until she appeared in her first major lead and breakthrough role in the 1978 film Mga Mata ni Angelita that she started using the screen name Julie Vega upon the recommendation of Dr. Larry Santiago. She had been chosen to play the title role of Angelita despite placing only third among over 200 applicants for the role.

Although Julie had to turn down the title role of Flor de Luna due to her hectic school and showbiz schedule,she would finally have her own soap opera when she was cast as the title character in GMA Network���s Anna Liza. Her portrayal of the sensitive, sad-sack and frequently oppressed title character drew the sympathy and affections of the Filipino viewing public and further solidified her star status. The success of Anna Liza made Julie the chief soap opera rival of Janice De Belen, a fellow child star who also enjoyed success with Flor de Luna, the title role Julie herself previously turned down, as the two dramas rivaled each other for the attention of the television-viewing public. Yet in spite being showbiz rivals, Julie and Janice were best friends in real life. In fact, Janice herself once mentioned, ���There could be no me if Julie accepted the role as Flor de Luna.���

Aside from her work in Anna Liza, Julie also starred in several films and won two FAMAS acting awards overall. She won Best Child Actress for Mga Mata ni Angelita and Durugin si Totoy Bato and was nominated for Best Child Actress for Mga Basang Sisiw and Best Supporting Actress for Isang Bala Ka Lang!.

Singing career

Aside from acting, Julie also became a successful singer in her own right. She initially refused to pursue a singing career of her own, but after repeated proddings from her older brother Joey, who noticed her beautiful singing voice, she finally consented to doing so. She took formal voice lessons under renowned songwriter Cecille Azarcon to further hone her singing voice. With the training she received, she was able to sing many of the theme songs of the movies she appeared in like Dear Mama, Where Love Has Gone, Don't Cry for Me Papa, and Iiyak Ka Rin.

According to Julie herself, she particularly liked singing because it is through this medium that she is able to best express her inner thoughts and feelings. This became especially true after the tragic loss of her brother Joey, to whom she was particularly close. Joey was stabbed to death by hired killers, who mistook him for another person they were hired to look for and then kill, while hanging out with his friends in 1983. His untimely death at the age of 22 proved to be devastating for the young Julie, who was then made to repeatedly wish to join him in death.

Education

In spite of her hectic showbiz schedule, Julie was still able to attend to her studies in school. She studied at the Our Lady of Sacred Heart School from grade school until first year high school before transferring to St. Joseph's College where she finished her high school education. The schools proved to be accessible to her since both are located not far from where her family used to live at 11th Avenue, Murphy, Cubao, Quezon City.

Illness and early death

Julie Vega's final resting place in Loyola Memorial Park, Marikina CityNot long after her high school graduation in 1985, Julie began complaining of extreme weakness and lack of sensation, particularly on her lower body. This prompted her parents to bring her to a private hospital for diagnosis and treatment. She was later diagnosed with a form of demyelinating disease,[4] which was highly suspected to be either Guillain-Barré syndrome[11] or multiple sclerosis.[12] As Julie���s condition became worse, her parents were forced to have her confined to the Quezon Institute as they could no longer afford the increasing amount of her hospital bills. Sometime after her confinement there, she contracted bronchopneumonia, making her condition even worse than before.[4]

Julie was transferred to the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City at about 5:00 p.m on May 6, 1985 where she died suddenly and peacefully around 90 minutes later at the hospital's intensive care unit, just 15 days shy of her 17th birthday.[2] Her cause of death was officially listed as cardiac arrest secondary to bronchopneumonia. Her untimely death left Anna Liza with an incomplete storyline and the Filipino people in total shock. After lying in state at Mount Carmel Church in Quezon City, her body was laid to rest right next to her brother's grave at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City in a funeral attended by millions of grieving fans and colleagues from Philippine showbiz.

At the time of her death, Julie left behind a large body of unfinished work aside from Anna Liza. She was supposed to promote her debut album First Love,[4] do a second album for Emerald containing all Filipino language songs, perform with Imelda Papin in singing engagements both in the Philippines and abroad,[8] start hosting two television shows (her own, Julie and Friends on Maharlika Broadcasting System, and as alternate host of Student Canteen on GMA[14]), and star as one of the mainstays of the then upcoming teen-oriented talent show That's Entertainment on GMA.[citation needed] She was also supposed to attend the University of the Philippines for her college education.