Her profile continued to grow when she starred as antagonist Selina Pereira-Matias in Mula sa Puso (1997–99) with Claudine Barretto,[5] and won Best Actress in 1998.
Soon after she was launched in her own afternoon TV drama anthology entitled "Princess" in 1987 which was produced by her mom Helen Vela's production outfit Hyper Vision.
In 1989, her drama series was cancelled to make way for Family 3+1, a sitcom which she headlined with her mother Helen Vela and also starred Ronaldo Valdez and Caridad Sanchez.
She became popular for her role as antagonist Selina Pereira-Matias in the 1997 hit TV series Mula sa Puso starring Claudine Barretto, aired in ABS-CBN.
[6][7][8] The daughter of Orly Punzalan (a broadcaster who was formerly the president of IBC) and actress/host Helen Vela[9][10] (now both deceased), her siblings are Meg, Reuben, and Paolo (senior pastor of Victory Fort Bonifacio).