In an exclusive MEGA interview, Kate Valdez delved into her growth as an actress, her definition of beauty, and her new hair transformation
One can easily remember her as Mira from the prequel of Encantadia or as the headline star of the upcoming series, Dreamwalker. But long before she established her career as Kate Valdez, Keith Ellana Sisante was just a girl with a dream. “I’ve always wanted to be a model nu’ng bata pa lang ako,” she confessed. “As years passed, I learned the hard truth na may height requirement pala. So at the time where I accepted na parang hindi na ako tumatangkad, du’n ko na sinabi sa sarili ko na I’ll just pursue doing commercials.”
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But the universe appears to have bigger plans for the young star. “There’s this one time na nag go-see ako for a clothing brand and there was an agent from GMA network who was looking for new talents. Isa po ako du’n sa na-invite nila to go to an audition,” she reminisced. “It took time [for me] to decide if I’ll take the opportunity or not, but at the end of the day, I convinced myself to try kasi wala namang mawawala.”
On her breakthrough as an actress
“May mga time na pinanghihinaan na ako ng loob kasi marami na rin akong napuntahan na audition,” the actress candidly shared about her struggles upon entering the industry. “Habang tumatagal, dumarami na rin ‘yung panel screenings at paganda nang paganda ‘yung mga kasama ko! Kaya iniisip ko, ‘Wala na akong chance dito.’” Valdez even admitted that she gave herself an ultimatum. “I told myself na kapag wala pa akong nakuhang feedback, hindi na ako tutuloy and I’ll go back to doing commercials.”
It wasn’t soon enough until life proved that the best surprises do come unexpectedly. “After three days, naka-receive po ako ng feedback from the network that they want to sign me as their talent,” she shared as the memory of her biggest breakthrough visibly came back to her. “Actually, hindi ko talaga ine-expect ‘to. I just tried to see if meron akong potential. But I guess they saw something in me na kaya ko.”
Valdez eventually landed on the industry’s radar with numerous memorable roles—and how does she feel about her success? Grateful. “Until now, kapag binabalikan ko ‘yung journey ko, I feel so grateful,” she expressed. “I didn’t expect na darating ‘tong blessing na ‘to sa’kin, pero dahil sa hardwork ko and sa support ng family ko, I am given this opportunity to be where I am now.”
“I feel so fortunate to be an actress because I also get to play roles na makaka-inspire at makakapagpasaya ng mga tao.“
On her beauty perspective
Let’s be honest—there is no such thing as a perfect relationship with beauty, and it’s one sentiment that Kate Valdez would agree with. In fact, the actress opened up about her struggles. “Before, they say having straight hair and white skin is the beauty standard. So as a person with curly hair and morena skin, I felt na hindi ako maganda,” she admitted. “I’m guilty about this, but at the time, I tried rebonding my hair. I also even tried using whitening soap! But then, habang tumatagal, I didn’t even feel happy about it anymore.”
However, as time went on, she began to embrace her beauty. “After that, I realized na I can be myself and hayaan lang ‘yung natural curly hair ko and morena skin kasi hindi lang naman iisa ‘yung kulay ng tao,” she expressed. “That was the time that I learned to appreciate my skin color and hair type. Moreover, I also learned to focus my attention sa mga nakaka-appreciate sa akin at hindi seryosohin ‘yung negative comments ng ibang tao about sa physical appearance ko.”
“I learned to love myself more. I felt more free. I feel more confident and beautiful just being myself and flexing my skin color and natural hair.”
As we continued our conversation, the actress reflected on what beauty means to her. “Kindness is beauty, and being true to yourself is beauty,” she expressed. “As for me, I feel the most beautiful when I’m happy and I feel the most confident when I’m at peace.”
On welcoming a new change
“I’ve always wanted to cut my hair short,” the actress enthusiastically shared the story behind her hair transformation. “But at the time, hindi pa pwede because I was about to do a series which is Unica Hija. I’m required to have medium-length hair for the character, so sabi ko sarili ko ‘Sige, I will reward myself after the show and will cut my hair.’” Valdez shared that the shaggy cut was recommended by her trusted artist, Fendi Dudi. “Medyo nakakanerbiyos, but then nu’ng nakita ko ‘yung result, I loved it so much! Nag-match siya sa style and features ko.”
So does her new haircut signal a new chapter? For Kate Valdez, she has finally entered an era where she is not afraid to embrace her true self. “Now that I’m 22, I want to explore new hairstyles,” the actress detailed that her first inspiration for this era is the rise of 70s hairstyles. “And honestly, this new haircut of mine feels more true to me because I have this personality na edgy—kaya na-feel ko talaga that it’s more me. I’m also looking forward to trying other hairstyles that are out of the box!”
Photography DOC MARLON
Makeup XENG ZULUETA
Hair PATTY INOJALES
