Helen Vela


Helen Vela Hernandez was a Filipino actress and radio and television personality.

Early life

She was born on October 31, 1946, in Manila, Philippines.

Career

Vela started her career in broadcasting as a radio announcer. She appeared on GMA Network show, Lovingly Yours, Helen. Followed by RPN shows are Heredero and Agila. She was also a presenter at GMA Balita, GMA's first early evening Filipino newscast.

Personal life

In 1967, Vela married broadcaster Orly Punzalan, with whom she had two children: Pastor Paolo Punzalan, senior pastor of Victory Fort Bonifacio, and Princess Punzalan, born Bernadette Vela Punzalan, a nurse and former actress. They separated five years later and divorced. In 1973, Vela remarried, to Ben Hernandez. They had a son, Reuben.

Death

She died of lymphoma on February 14, 1992 at St. Mary's Hospital, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, United States at the age of 45.
She was buried at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City. Alongside her lies her mother Virginia Vela, who died in 1995, and her first husband Orly Punzalan, who died in 2005.

Lifetime achievement award

In 2004, the Golden Screen Awards for Television instituted a "Helen Vela Lifetime Achievement Award" for outstanding contribution to the Philippine television industry.

Legacy and honors

She was posthumously inducted as a Star to the Eastwood City Walk of Fame Philippines in December 2011.