Angelu de Leon

Maria Luisa "Angelu" De Leon-Rivera (born August 22, 1979), better known by her stage name Angelu de Leon, is a Filipino actress and politician.

Early and personal life
Angelu de Leon is the youngest daughter of Luis and Flora de Leon. She attended St. Joseph's College, Holy Spirit and Siena College. She made her first commercial, without her father's knowledge, when she was just ten years old. Her father eventually gave his blessing to her acting career before his death from colon cancer.

De Leon became a born again Christian and is an active member of a church in Ortigas where she has attended for a number of years.

In 2016, De Leon disclosed that she had been diagnosed with Bell's palsy in 2009.

De Leon is married to Lorenzo “Wowie” Rivera. They married on September 17, 2010. They have three children together: Nicole, her daughter with actor Joko Diaz; Loise, her daughter with businessman Jojo Manlongat; and Rafa, her son with husband Wowie.

Acting career
De Leon started acting on television at the age of 12. She was discovered by Johnny Manahan for a kiddie gag show Ang TV, aired on ABS-CBN. Among her batchmates were Claudine Barretto, Jolina Magdangal and Rica Peralejo. After about a year on the said youth-oriented comedy variety-show, she transferred to GMA Network, where she became part of Ober Da Bakod with Janno Gibbs and Anjo Yllana. In the same year, she became a talent of Viva Films, with Di Na Natuto as her theatrical debut. During her early years, she mostly played younger sister to more established stars. In 1994, she bagged her first major role in Kadenang Bulaklak, where she starred alongside Ana Roces, Vina Morales, and Donna Cruz.

In 1995, de Leon got her break when she was included in teen oriented shows like T.G.I.S. (Thank God It's Sabado) and Growing Up with Onemig Bondoc, Ciara Sotto, Raven Villanueva, Michael Flores, Rica Peralejo and Red Sternberg. She became the highest-paid actress on T.G.I.S. These shows gave her a chance to team up with Bobby Andrews, and their partnership became one of the hottest onscreen love teams of her generation in the mid-1990s. Among the noted Angelu-Bobby team-up movies were: Takot Ka Ba Sa Dilim, T.G.I.S.: The Movie, Laging Naroon Ka and Wala Na Bang Pag-ibig, as well as their first drama series Ikaw Na Sana, which was also turned into a movie.

In 1998, at the peak of her career, de Leon became pregnant by fellow Viva talent Joko Diaz. This caused her to go on maternity leave, with projects lined up for her either shelved or passed on to other young stars. A year later, she made a comeback on film, this time bagging mature roles in Bulaklak ng Maynila and Abandonada. Her career was put on hold again when she got pregnant again in 2001 by businessman Jojo Manlongat. Among the films she starred outside Viva were 'Elmer Jamias and Aishite Imasu 1941: Mahal Kita.

In late 2001, de Leon started bagging mother roles, beginning with Sana ay Ikaw na Nga. In 2006, she went back to GMA's rival station ABS-CBN, where she played supporting roles, including Super Inggo, its sequel Super Inggo 1.5: Ang Bagong Bangis and Parekoy.

In 2010, she returned to GMA with Ang Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang, starring Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes. It was for her work in the said soap that she was given rave reviews, complemented with the fact that she was back to her sexy figure and can give other young actresses a run for their money. De Leon is a talent of Viva Artists Agency since 2021.

Political career
De Leon entered into politics when she filed her candidacy for councilor in Pasig's 2nd district for the May 2022 polls under Aksyon Demokratiko. She was included in the Giting ng Pasig coalition of Mayor Vico Sotto. She garnered 138,427 votes, making her as the topnotcher councilor for Pasig's 2nd district.