Because of the fame, power, fortune, and privilege that celebrities possess and revel in, many ordinary people dream of becoming one, too. However, what some of us fail to realize is that the journey in getting to the spotlight is not always a straight path since it has a lot of peaks and valleys, which indeed test the strength, faith, and determination of a person. 

While some of our celebrities have opted to keep their personal lives out of the public eye, there are others who willingly shared their inspiring and relatable stories of grit to greatness on “Maalaala Mo Kaya,” which provided us closer glimpses into their lives, especially before they became who they are at present.

As the well-loved long-running drama anthology series returns, let us revisit the episodes that explored the personal trials and triumphs of the seven showbiz personalities we’ve listed in this feature, as well as well those that gave us different perspectives on their journeys, be it in life, love, and/or career. 

Lyca Gairanod, “Red Envelope” (2014) 

Aside from singing, “The Voice Kids Philippines Season 1” grand champion Lyca Gairanod also got to showcase her acting chops when she shared her life story on “MMK.” At a young age, she was already aware of their situation, which prompted her to help her family in scavenging for junk around their area in Tanza, Cavite, in order for them to make both ends meet, as well as to use her talent in singing in order to earn more money for their daily needs.

In spite of her mother’s initial objection to her joining the auditions for “The Voice Kids,” Lyca and the rest of her family were able to persuade her to accompany her to Manila. And all their efforts paid off as the young girl didn’t just receive the coveted red envelope that signified her making it to the cut but also won the competition in the end as part of the team of Coach Sarah Geronimo.

Lyca’s journey was indeed a reminder for us to always fight for our dreams regardless of how difficult it can be, as well as to never let naysayers and detractors derail and/or discourage us. 

Barbie Imperial, “Riles” (2016)

Those who got to watch “Pinoy Big Brother 737” could probably recall that Barbie Imperial was among the most controversial housemates of that edition, in which she was the first-ever evictee. While she was seemingly hated by the housemates for her alleged “attitude problem,” not a lot of people know that she actually went through a lot of hardships in life growing up with her hardworking and doting single mom and her loving older half-brother, Bryce, along the railways of Legazpi, Albay. 

Due to her family’s situation, Barbie often faced the judgment of others and yearned for acceptance, especially of her father, despite being a consistent achiever in school. These, as well as Barbie getting involved with her classmates who were bad influences on her stirred conflict between her and her mother. Her search for validation and her dream of giving her mom a better life have motivated her to join “PBB” in 2015, wherein she was dubbed “Ang Doll Along the Riles ng Albay”. 

She might have fallen short in her bid to become a Big Winner, but Barbie gained the greatest lesson she’d ever learned in life: that more than the acceptance and admiration of others, she must first accept and love herself and the people who love her, such as her mom, who unwaveringly loved and cared for her.

Ronnie Alonte, “Motorsiklo” (2016)

While we’ve probably perceived him as a happy-go-lucky young man who already has everything he needs and wants in life, not many people know that Ronnie Alonte actually had an inspiring past from which we can definitely learn so much. From having everything that he could wish for, their family suddenly faced financial difficulties after her father got into an accident that made him unable to work and compelled his mom to work abroad.

Aside from the dynamics of their family, his perception of his dad, whom he used to idolize, changed as well. He had a challenging phase as a high school student, which spawned misunderstandings between him and his parents.

Regretful of his mistakes, Ronnie was able to rise up again by asking forgiveness from his parents and by not wasting the college scholarship granted to him by a well-known university in Laguna. He also got discovered after joining a school pageant, which eventually led to him becoming a commercial model and a member of “It’s Showtime”’s very own boy group, “Hashtags”. 

Awra Briguela, “Singkwenta Pesos” (2016)

While many members of the LGBTQIA+ community struggled to come out of the closet in their childhood, it was totally a different story for McNeal “Awra” Briguela, who’s been accepted by her parents ever since she was a kid. Instead of stopping her from displaying her talents in dancing, acting, and doing comedy, they have always been very supportive of her dream of becoming like her idol Vice Ganda.

But their once happy family started to get ruined when her mother faced personal issues, which left her father completely devastated and neglecting his duties as a “padre de pamilya” to Awra and her siblings. As Awra lashed out at him in one of their conversations, her father finally came back to his senses and became a real parent to them again. 

An unexpected blessing then came to her and her family when a funny video of her went viral online, which led to her sudden shot to fame and the fulfillment of her dreams—including meeting and working with her ultimate idol Vice Ganda, who now considers her as one of her anak-anakan in showbiz.

Maymay Entrata, “Bahay” (2017)

While she’s been known for her sunny disposition in life, not a lot of people know that “Pinoy Big Brother Lucky Season 7” Big Winner Maymay Entrata had a quite difficult yet fun childhood. She and her older brother, along with their cousins, were raised by their grandparents and their mother decided to work in Japan to be able to continuously support them financially. Her world subsequently crumbled when her beloved grandfather, whom she fondly called “Papa Joe” (Dante Rivero), got hospitalized for his heart condition, which exhausted their family’s finances and prompted them to sell their house just to sustain their daily needs.

They moved to a smaller apartment in Cagayan de Oro City, with her grandpa keeping his job as a barber and Maymay selling snacks to her classmates at school just to earn extra money. Despite the series of rejections in the past auditions she got into, she still tried her luck in the seventh season of “PBB,” where she got qualified, became a housemate, and was hailed as the eventual Big Winner. 

However, a heartbreaking tragedy struck their family when her Papa Joe had a heart attack while she was still inside Bahay ni Kuya. In spite of what happened, Maymay remained steadfast in achieving her and Papa Joe’s dreams of having a huge house that could fit them all and of her becoming an artista. 

Pia Wurtzbach, “Korona” (2017)

Prior to becoming one of the women whom the world, the universe rather, admires because of her mesmerizing beauty, endearing personality, and beyond impressive wit and eloquence, not a lot of people were, perhaps, aware that Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach lived a quite miserable life when she was just a little girl. She experienced getting bullied at school due to her foreign appearance as a Filipina-German, seeing the marriage of her parents crumble, and living a quite difficult life with her mom (Zsa Zsa Padilla) and her younger sister, Sarah.

 Their lives began to slowly improve when she started modeling, more so when she got cast in the ABS-CBN youth-oriented program “K2BU” in the early 2000s. However, Pia’s acting career didn’t flourish, so she heeded her mom’s advice for her to go with them to the United Kingdom to start a brand-new life with her mom’s new British husband, Nigel. She then decided to return to the Philippines to follow her dreams.

Opportunities might have been elusive for Pia as an actress, but the universe veered her to a different path: beauty pageants. Even though she failed twice in winning the Binibining Pilipinas crown, she still didn’t get discouraged from joining the competition and finally succeeded in taking home the crown on her third try in 2015. Amidst the bashing that she got, sadly from fellow Filipinos, before her Miss Universe stint, she still persisted and ended the Philippines’ title drought with her historic win.

Pia’s journey is a reminder that each one of us indeed has our own timelines and destinies in life. So, we must never get discouraged and keep on moving until our time to shine comes, just like what she did.

Whose life story tugged at your heartstrings the most, Kapamilya?

Two years after its last airing in 2022, “MMK” returns this April 2025 as a limited series, showcasing 13 inspiring episodes for 13 weeks, each featuring a special director’s cut with bolder narratives and emotionally raw, unfiltered scenes.” Still hosted by none other than iconic and award-winning host Charo Santos-Concio, new episodes will be streamed 48 hours in advance on iWantTFC beginning April 24 and will be broadcast on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), and A2Z every Saturday from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm, starting April 26.

And for its opening salvo, the long-running drama anthology would feature the life of “Tawag ng Tanghalan” alumnus and “The Voice USA Season 26” grand winner Sofronio Vasquez, with Elijah Canlas portraying him.