MANILA – Bacolod City-born actress Susan Roces, regarded as the “Queen of Philippine Movies”, passed away last night, according to her daughter Sen. Grace Poe.
In a statement sent to Panay News, Poe said her mother – born Jesusa Purificacion Levy Sonora – died peacefully at the age of 80.
The cause of her death was not disclosed as of press time.
“With great sadness, we announce the loss of our beloved Jesusa Sonora Poe, whom many of you know as Susan Roces,” Poe said. “She passed away peacefully surrounded by love and warmth, with her daughter Grace, her nephews Joseph and Jeffrey and many of her family and close friends.”
“She lived life fully and gracefully. Remember her in her beauty, warmth and kindness. She is now with the Lord and her beloved Ronnie, FPJ,” the senator added.
Roces’ husband was actor Ronald Allan Kelley Poe, better known as Fernando Poe Jr. and regarded as the “King of Philippine Movies”.
“We will miss her sorely but we celebrate a life well lived. Susan Roces — daughter, mother, grandmother, a true Filipina and a national treasure,” Poe further said.
The death of the movie icon first came out on a Facebook post of Roces’ nephew Lawrence Cruz Sonora.
“RIP Mama Inday,” wrote Lawrence, son of actress Rosemarie Sonora, younger sister of Susan.
Roces was born on July 29, 1941 to a French-American mother of Jewish descent and a mestizo father of Spanish and Chinese descent.
She was a member of one of the country’s biggest clans, the Locsin family of Negros Occidental. The clan’s eponymous forebear, Wo Sin Lok, was a peddler from Xiamen who emigrated to the Philippines and firstly settled in Molo, Iloilo City.
Roces launched a career in show business in 1952 when she starred in Jose Nepumoceno’s “Mga Bituin ng Kinabukasan” opposite actor/ comedian and star builder Ike Lozada. She starred in more than 130 films and won five FAMAS Award, including two Best Actress wins.
The Film Academy of the Philippines Awards also honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her long-standing career and contribution to Philippine cinema.
Roces was last seen in the long-running teleserye “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” on ABS-CBN, where she had a recurring role as “Lola Flora”./PN
