In the time that Kim Chiu has been in the entertainment industry, a young woman would’ve made her debut—big ball gown, fancy tiara, and all that.

Aptly enough, this was the exact visual when audiences first met the then-16-year-old in 2006, fresh out of Kuya’s orchestrations in the Pinoy Big Brother house. There, she emerged popstar-style on the platform, the audience and text-voters breaking into cheers, as she was crowned as the reality series’ first Teen Big Winner. A lot has transpired in the previous 18 years, to say the least, but traces of the Kim of the past are still apparent. Perhaps, now with a much stronger foundation.

Koji Arboleda

Kim Chiu for Preview July 2024

The Onset

These days, it’s difficult to find a slot in the schedule of one Kim Chiu. Her makeshift hair was being tied into long, intricate braids at the time I met her, a process that lasted for a good hour. To keep the efficiency going, we squeezed snippets of conversations in between sets and outfit changes, which was a mere glimpse of her usually packed itineraries.

The 34-year-old actress had just arrived from her daily hosting gig in It’s Showtime when she faced a new set of cameras for the shoot that afternoon, a day schedule that had begun, on the dot, with meditation and workout regimens in the early morning. After that, Kim starts clocking in for the variety show by styling her outfits herself. Rinse and repeat, save for the three quiet Sundays off she gets every month.

Koji Arboleda

ON KIM: White denim vest, RENZ REYES. Black denim maxi skirt, RENZ REYES

Her work ethic today might’ve seen its first seedlings in the days before her edition of Pinoy Big Brother aired. Then, the young girl from Cebu—who had frequently moved from one city to another in Visayas and Mindanao—had spent her Saturdays working in her aunt’s boutique. “Ang foundation naman ng isang tao is how they grew up,” Kim reflected. “Nagpapasalamat din ako with how my parents raised me, kasi pinag-raket na nila ako ‘dun sa tindahan ng tita ko for me to buy ‘yung gusto kong pagkain, to buy load, or to buy a cellphone.”

“Parang lahat talaga kailangan kong paghirapan,” she said. “It prepared me for what I will be facing.”

Many years later, that element of adolescent Kim would surface to great lengths. Stepping out of Big Brother’s big yellow house, the young actress appeared in 2007 in Sana Maulit Muli with then-love team partner and co-housemate Gerald Anderson, which was met with accolades and a promising career in the teleserye run. The turn snowballed into a series of blockbusters and more regular appearances in primetime, which had afforded her a status as a household name, and in the most tactile display, a string of properties and businesses for her and her family, the fruits of her labor. It was a contrast to the younger Kim, who flocked from one location to the next, bearing no permanent address.

Koji Arboleda

But that day on set for the photo shoot, Kim returned to visions of her past of a fledgling career. With layouts that paid homage to her end-of-the-aughts glossy editorials with Preview, the actress ruminated on her start. The deep red of the October 2010 cover, with its blunt bangs and rooftop setting shot by Mark Nicdao, held a distinct memory for Kim, so much so that she had it framed in her living room.

“Ibang-iba talaga ‘yun. Ayoko pa naman ng bangs, ayoko ng red lipstick, and ayoko ng red outfit,” she confessed. “So lahat ‘yun, medyo nagdududa ako. It’s really out of your comfort zone, para iba naman sa paningin ng mga tao. And true enough, until now, wow, nabibilib pa rin ako sa crew.”

After 14 years, much has altered with the way Kim sees things. While she sat with us for another shoot anew with photographer Koji Arboleda and noted the continuing experimental streak (“It’s very exciting also kasi it’s different from how I [usually] look!”), Kim affirmed that her personal style has changed in ways, too.

Koji Arboleda

ON KIM: Lulu wavy pave ring, P18,500, SUKI JEWELRY, Powerplant Mall, sukijewelry.ph. Miuccia hump ring, P9500, SUKI JEWELRY, Powerplant Mall, sukijewelry.ph

The younger her was more “conservative,” she detailed. “I had a lot of hesitation, siguro as a young girl. Pero ngayon, parang sanay na ako sa world of shopping, of fashion. I’m open na to exploring looks, more daring and newer, bolder looks.”

“Kailangan mo din sakyan ’yung flow. Pwede mag-rest for a while, but don’t stop. If you still want it, then go for it.”

In a way, the gradual shift in her perspective sees itself mirrored in her career choices. Her easygoing, high-spirited personality and ever-present smile, which had become trademarks of what the public perceives of her since PBB, were swapped in a significant move with Linlang, the hit series which originally streamed on Prime Video, and later, as a teleserye in the Kapamilya Channel.

In the show, Kim portrayed the character of Juliana, a woman whose adultery becomes a focal point of the story. But before it came to fruition, saying yes to the project had taken Kim almost three months of deliberation. “When they offered this to me, [I thought] ‘Ha, kaya ko ba as my bubbly self?’ Ang layo niya talaga sa totoong characteristics ko sa buhay,” she recalled. “Sabi ko naman, I think it’s about time for me to explore a different genre. Hindi ko sure kung tatanggapin ako ng mga fans or anything. Pero, you just have to take the risk and tingnan na lang natin.”

Koji Arboleda

ON KIM: Bubble dress, STEPH VERANO. Pearlitas Necklace (Gold Vermeil), P207,200, ADAM PEREYRA & OSLOG. Pearlitas Bracelet (Gold Vermeil), P156,400, ADAM PEREYRA & OSLOG

The series opens a potential gateway into an altogether different side of her craft, where daunting roles, in the vein of Juliana and more, lay ahead of her. But while Linlang offered a distinctive change of tune in her filmography, the actress knows the merits of range, an actor’s safeguard against typecasting. Soon after the teleserye, Kim returned to her roots in the Philippine adaptation of What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim opposite her Linlang co-star Paulo Avelino. In the manner of 2008’s My Girl, Kim helmed Viu’s local K-drama remake, filling the shoes of the role Park Min Young originated. It’s a 180-degree switch from Juliana, Kim noted. “Doon ko nakita kung kaya ko ba ’yung ganito ka-extreme and ganito ka-light,” the actress said. “It helps me also as an actor to explore both worlds at the same time.”

Koji Arboleda

Both shows had their own following and a resulting buzz across social media, known to be valuable currency in the time of streaming. Kim, who traversed this market shift from the primetime teleserye to video-on-demand, had witnessed it firsthand. Her presence in the two series and Prime Video’s Fit Check: Confessions of an Ukay Queen had brought her a moniker as a “queen of digital streaming,” but as most tales of titles, it was not earned without toil, albeit, a much-publicized one.

A Woman of Steel

The passing of time affords most of us an objective view of the past, in ways void of the anxiety and emotional stakes that the present can cloud. This seems true for Kim’s case, who reflected that prior to her latest series, she had thought her showbiz career had reached an untimely conclusion. “I thought, tapos na siguro ito. Ito na siguro ‘yung end,” she recalled.

Much of it was due to the “bawal lumabas” issue that had transpired amid the pandemic lockdown in 2020, when the actress was the target of vitriol and snide remarks because of a seemingly harmless comment. After the expiration of ABS-CBN’s franchise and the cease-and-desist order in May of that fateful year, Kim appeared on a Facebook livestream in support of her home network, where she compared the shutdown to the laws of the classroom. Many were confused by her sentiment, which had spurred memes and their corresponding spin-offs and remixes in the nature of a perpetually sniggering internet.

Koji Arboleda

ON KIM: Bold square diamond link ring, P26,000, SUKI JEWELRY, Powerplant Mall, sukijewelry.ph

Kim admitted that she was “traumatized,” up to the point that she had packed up her things to flee to Canada. “’Yun na ‘yung lowest point of bashing na natanggap ko,” she said. “For one-and-a-half months, nasa room lang talaga ako. Ayoko kumausap ng tao. Kasi parang ilang sentence lang nga, sobra na ‘yung judgment ng mga tao. Nadala lang naman [ako] ng emosyon.”

She had turned it around and eventually made light of the situation by steering its reins, when Kim herself released her own remix to the tune of her “bewildering” statement, took part in the TikTok dance challenge, created merchandise for a cause, and even released a TV miniseries titled Bawal Lumabas. Psychologically, however, it had hardened her for the better.

Koji Arboleda

ON KIM: Custom white crochet dress, MALIGAYA CLOTHING. Tulle dress, MARC RANCY.

“So now, kahit anong i-judge sa akin ng mga tao, parang woman of steel na lang [ako],” she said. “Ikaw na lang magdidesisyon on whatever you’re facing if you want it to be positive or negative. And nobody wants a negative life.”

But even beyond the controversy, a lingering factor in most actresses’ careers are notions of an expiration date and a woman’s so-called prime, laced with patriarchal influence. In times of older actresses making strides against sexist ageism—see Michelle Yeoh’s 2023 Oscar speech—things are shifting, but it had hovered over Kim, 18 years into her career. “Ang dami na rin mga young ones,” she said, admitting that she had once been worried that she was “past her prime.”

“Ang dami na rin mga new breed, new talents, fresh faces, new looks. Mahirap na rin talaga ang competition na.”

Koji Arboleda

ON KIM: Violet feather headpiece, P12,000, NERIC BELTRAN

It was, in part, due to the influx of content and productions that the digital world began to offer, when everything became fair game beyond TV. Everyone was bringing their best to the table, Kim said, and it prompted a need to constantly step up among the fold. But after almost two decades in the scene, the question remained: “Ano pa ba ‘yung pwede kong gawin? Ano pa ba ‘yung pwede kong i-grow pa?”

In response, she accepted projects like Linlang and Secretary Kim, shows that typified the changing nature of how audiences consume stories. “Kasi sabi ko, there’s nothing to lose naman, eh. I think fate na rin ‘yung magdadala sa akin,” she said, especially after the “bawal lumabas” fiasco. “Kailangan mo din sakyan ’yung flow. Pwede mag-rest for a while, but don’t stop. If you still want it, then go for it.”

The Price of Fame

Fame and success bring about a steep price, and the stories of prominent figures across time will attest to that. Kim, however, is living its repercussions every day.

But with Pinoy Big Brother as her training ground, she had come to terms with a certain level of surveillance as a public figure. “[I came from] a reality TV show. Since day one, open book na ako,” she said. According to her, this also had a positive and unique impact on her career, with her supporters having seen her at her most authentic from the very beginning. Still, she’s aware that the eyes never seem to look away. “Parang pag-public figure ka, minsan masyado na silang nangingialam. Pero ‘yun ‘yun, eh.”

Koji Arboleda

ON KIM: Cotton barong woven corset with handmade T’boli Lotus, P151,745, JAGGY GLARINO

To reach a compromise with the audience, boundaries are set in how Kim shares her life online—in a way that she drew a line and kept private things private, just as they should be.

“Kung kinakabahan ka and natatakot ka, that’s when you grow. If it’s not in your comfort zone, then that’s you leveling up from your normal self.”

“I have my freedom on what to share and what not to share,” Kim said. “Just go to my Instagram, you’ll know what’s happening. Anong show ko, anong ginawaga ko, ano [ang] mga hobbies ko lately,” she said. “Isa din ’yun sa mga tools and power mo din na ito lang ‘yung ipapakita ko. Ito lang ‘yung ishe-share ko. And then you don’t know what’s happening after that.”

Koji Arboleda

ON KIM: Bodysuit, STEPH VERANO. Knaur Cube Heels 2.0 in Brown, P4999, PLNGKE, plngke.com

It won’t, however, truly halt the rumor mill that seems to constantly churn for a celebrity, with theories spread across through word of mouth and cyberspace, which are often posed as the truth. Kim expressed that she pays no heed to this, as well as the naysayers and firestarters that may pop up every so often.

“I’m not a fan of answering someone online. It will just light the fire. Parang fini-feed mo ‘yung snake for you to bite,” she said. “Mas maganda na huwag mo siya pansinin. Just go on with your truth.”

“Nakaka-waste of time na dapat i-enjoy mo ‘yung what’s happening to you, kaysa ‘yung idi-deal mo ‘yung mga false stories, mga bashers, mga doubters,” she continued. “Hindi mo tuloy ma-enjoy ‘yung magandang life in front of you if you keep on looking back.”

This may be one of the important pieces of wisdom that she has learned in her 18 years inside the machinations of showbiz. But, among the controversies and consequences, Kim remains steadfast in the one integral part that she has come to know all these years. “The most important thing is to be grateful,” she said. “You’re not always on top. At a certain point, mukhang wala ka rin dyan. Be grateful all the time and just enjoy what you have right now. Kasi hindi naman ‘yan forever.”

Koji Arboleda

But after the success of her last series, the questions linger once again in a fast-paced media-heavy scene where its players seem to only be as good as their last performance, however false it may be. What is next for Kim Chiu? What else has she not done? These are existential queries that Kim has answered before, and each time, she, too, is left pleasantly surprised, years after her debut in showbiz.

“Kung kinakabahan ka and natatakot ka, that’s when you grow. If it’s not in your comfort zone, then that’s you leveling up from your normal self,” Kim mused. Incredulous, she added: “Sa 18 years ko in the industry, may igo-grow pa pala.”

And as we and Kim have come to know, fate can work in strange, strange ways, and sometimes, in uncomfortable circumstances. Unearth them, though, and you’ll see it clear: growth, found in places you’ll least expect.

Produced and Styled by the Preview Team
Photographer: Koji Arboleda, assisted by Joey Alvero and JV Rabano
Creative Director: Bacs Arcebal
Editor-in-Chief: Marj Ramos-Clemente
Production: Reg Rodriguez
Fashion: Reg Rodriguez and Paulina Singh
Beauty Direction: Isha Fojas
Makeup: Jake Galvez
Hair: Carlo Roblico
Nails: Mimi Qiu Reyes
Set and Production Design: Rocketsets
Story: Katrina Maisie Cabral
Video Editing: Jana Jodloman
Videographers: Jino Del Mundo and Greeko Junio
Social Media: Jamie Lou Briones 
Studio: Rocketsets
Special thanks to CUPI

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