Matet de Leon

Matet de Léon-Estrada (born October 4, 1983 as Maria Nora Ana Theresa Villamayor is a Filipino actress who began her career as a child star. She then transitioned to a supporting actress, often taking roles as the best friend of the main characters, giving her the nickname "Best Friend ng Bayan". She is an adopted daughter of Christopher de Leon and Nora Aunor.

De Leon was adopted by actors Christopher de Leon and Nora Aunor. She also has an adopted sister Lotlot, and two adopted brothers Kiko and Kenneth. Their eldest brother, Ian, is the only biological child in the family.^[1]

De Leon's first film was I Love You, Ma, I Love You, Pa in 1986, which was also the film debut of her siblings Lotlot and Ian.^[2] She then appeared in several horror films.^[3] Her acting performance was noticed in the movie Bunsong Kerubin in which she played the lead role. This earned her a Best Child Actress nomination from the 1988 FAMAS Awards.^[2] Also in 1988, she got to act alongside Fernando Poe Jr. in the film One Day Isang Araw.^[1] From there she was able to get more film roles in a five-year span. In 1997, De Leon starred together with her mother Aunor in the film Mama Dito Sa Aking Puso and also appeared in the horror film Shake, Rattle & Roll VI.^[2]

In 2001, De Leon took on her first television role in the drama Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan. She then appeared in more ABS-CBN teleseryes such as Tabing Ilog, the television remake of Bunsong Kerubin, and many more. She then took on roles as the best friend of the main characters in films such as Till There Was You and Till My Heartaches End. From the late 2000s to the early 2010s, she played Zoila in the romantic film trilogy A Very Special Love.^[2] She also took a supporting role in the series The Legal Wife as Rowena, Maja Salvador's confidante, and played Tracy Buenaventura in the romantic series A Love to Last.^[2][4] In 2015, she played Maris Racal's mother in the film Stars Versus Me, with her performance praised as one of the few positives from that film.^[5]

Beginning in 2015, De Leon did several GMA teleseryes such as InstaDad and That's My Amboy.^[1]

In 2022, De Leon played Belle Mariano's mother in the film An Inconvenient Love.^[6] Her performance in that film led to her being nominated as Best Supporting Actress for the 2023 EDDYs.^[7] In 2023, she joined the casts of Unspoken Letters and Love Before Sunrise.^[8][9] She and her family also competed on Family Feud, where they won P200,000.^[10] In 2024, she joined the cast of Black Rider.^[11]

Since 2004, De Leon has been married to former NU Bulldogs basketball player-turned chef Mickey Estrada.^[1][12] They renewed their vows on their 18th wedding anniversary.^[13] They have three daughters: Mishka, Mikaela, and Mia.^[1] Mishka is currently a volleyball player for the Adamson Soaring Falcons.^[14] She had a son, Juan Miguel, who died after having been born prematurely at eight months and two weeks.^[15]

Aside from her parents, other members of De Leon's family also became actors with her siblings Ian and Lotlot pursuing acting careers. Lotlot's daughter Janine (her niece) also became an actress in her teen years.^[4] Her grandparents on her father's side, Gil de León and Lilia Dizon, were both also actors.^[16]

De Leon is diagnosed with general anxiety disorder and bipolar disorder.^[17][18] She revealed her diagnoses to the public in 2022.^[18][19]

De Leon owns a small business 'Casita Estrada,' which sells gourmet tuyo and tinapa.^[1] However, this caused tension between her and her mother as Aunor as Aunor asked her to promote a product directly competing with hers.^[19] They reconciled several weeks later.^[9]

• Matet de Leon at IMDb