A CHILD STAR'S TALE

Because he has been in front of the camera since age three, Ice Seguerra has led a public life, including pivotal moments, some of which he shares here together with his wife, Liza Diño

- Jove Moya

Some child stars stay on television long enough to make us believe that we already know every aspect of their lives. But musician, actor and director Ice Seguerra says there is more to him than what the public sees on screen.

The celebrity has been in the entertainment industry since he was three. He was a contestant on the “Little Miss Philippines” segment of the longest-running noon-time show on Philippine TV, Eat Bulaga, subsequently becoming one of its hosts. Since then, the names “Aiza Seguerra” and later, “Ice Seguerra” have become familiar and relevant. He appeared in over 30 TV shows and movies, including the blockbuster Okay Ka, Fairy Ko! and Enteng Kabisote series.

“The thing about growing up as a child star is that you won’t realise you are famous. Some celebrities experienced living in a normal world before they became famous. But fame came to me when I was three. I felt I had nothing to compare my life with before that; stardom felt normal,” Seguerra tells Tatler.

If there were some semblance of normalcy, Seguerra says he thanks his parents for making his childhood relatively “normal”. The former child star attended school like an ordinary student and even had the privilege of playing on the streets with his neighbours. “My mum and dad made sure that I could stop being in show business anytime I wanted to,” he says. “But I loved what I was doing. It’s like a big playground for me in a sense that what we did was ‘make believe’, and I got to wear different clothes.”