Jasmine Curtis-Smith

Jasmine Casandra Curtis-Smith is a Filipino actress. She is known internationally for her critically acclaimed performance in Hannah Espia's 2013 film Transit, and in the Philippines as the younger sister of fellow actress Anne Curtis. She is currently signed as an exclusive artist of the GMA Network.

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Early life

She was born on 6 April 1994 in Melbourne, Australia, as the second daughter of Carmencita Ojales, a Filipino, and James Ernest Curtis-Smith, an Australian lawyer. Aside from her older sister Anne, she also has a younger brother named Thomas James, who currently lives in Melbourne, Australia, and had a half-sister named Clare on her father's side who died in 2007 at four months old due to a cardiovascular disease. During her first stay in the Philippines, she studied at St. Paul College in Pasig before leaving in 2005 to return to Australia, where she finished her elementary and secondary schooling. She graduated high school from Loyola College in Watsonia, Melbourne. She attended the Ateneo de Manila University.

Career

2010–2012: Early television career

Curtis first came into notice during her vacations in the Philippines visiting her sister Anne, and it was not until mid-2010, when she appeared in ABS-CBN's noontime variety show Showtime, that networks began pushing to sign her. In December 2010, Curtis signed an exclusive three-year contract with TV5 and is being groomed by the network to be one of its Primetime Princesses. In an interview after the contract signing, she mentioned that she felt really happy to have finally settled in TV5 and appreciated the network's decision to allow her to balance her studies and her showbiz career. In 2013, she signed another 3-year contract with TV5.
Curtis' first miniseries for TV5 was a television remake with JC de Vera of the 1991 Philippine action-romance film Ang Utol Kong Hoodlum, which was top billed by Robin Padilla and Vina Morales. Some of the scenes in the series were shot in Curtis's native Australia. In 2012, she played the role of Epifania "Anya" Dionisio in Nandito Ako, where she co-starred with Eula Caballero as Holly Posadas and American Idol season 7 runner-up David Archuleta as Josh Bradley.

2012–2013: Early film career and critical acclaim

Curtis started her film career with two independent film productions: Puti, a 2012 psychological thriller in which she played Nika; and Transit, where she played Yael, an Israeli-Filipino child of an Overseas Filipino who faces deportation. Transit received wide critical acclaim, competing at the 18th Busan International Film Festival, receiving 10 awards at the 9th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, and eventually became the Philippines' entry to the 86th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Curtis' performance as Yael, which required her to quickly learn Hebrew just before production, earned her critical praise from both local and international critics, and earned Curtis the Best Supporting Actress award
2013 also saw her featured on the cover of various magazines in 2013, including Candy, Mega, and with sister Anne was the cover story of the Philippines' maiden issue of ¡Hola!.

2016–2017: Recent projects

In 2016, Curtis-Smith won the best actress award at the 2016 Cinema One Originals Film Festival for playing the lead role of Alex in the LGBT-themed film Baka Bukas.
2017 saw Curtis-Smith co-starring in JP Habac's I'm Drunk, I Love You, an arthouse romantic comedy which quickly became a viral sensation, prompting a viral fan campaign to keep it in cinemas despite lack of studio support. Popularly referred to as "IDILY", the film's quirky dialogue and comedic timing turned Curtis and co-stars Maja Salvador and Paulo Avelino into viral meme sensations.

2018–present: As a GMA Network artist

On 17 April 2018, Curtis-Smith signed an exclusive contract with GMA Network. Her first drama series in the network was Pamilya Roces. She also appeared in the Philippine adaptation of Korean drama Descendants of the Sun.
She was first paired with Alden Richards in the first installment of the romance-drama anthology I Can See You titled Love on the Balcony, and later on the drama series The World Between Us.

Method

Curtis-Smith describes her method for improving her acting skills as a process of “learning and observing all kinds of people.” Remarking in an interview after winning a Cinema One best actress award for "Baka Bukas" in 2016, she notes: ''“I watch, but don’t stare. I listen, but don’t eavesdrop. I become inspired, but don’t necessarily imitate. Although in some cases, like in real-life stories, imitation may be required.”''

Advocacy and issues

Curtis-Smith has spoken out in public on a number of issues, including body positivity and rural electrification. She has invited Filipino fans to become active voters, and tweeted with dismay when the Philippine Congress almost defunded the Philippines' constitutionally mandated Commission on Human Rights in 2017.

Twinmark Media Facebook Issue

In February 2021, investigative reporters Camille Elemia and Gelo Gonzales published a report about the social media accounts of several Philippine celebrities – including Curtis-Smith's Facebook account – being used to post propaganda and disinformation favoring the administration of president Rodrigo Duterte.
Vidanes Celebrity Marketing, Curtis-Smith's management agency at the until a few months later in April 2021, said at the time that Twinmark Media Enterprises, who was their source of the posts and websites involved, had engaged VCM in September 2016 "for social media marketing purposes to promote health-related, positive-vibe articles." VCM said that they were not aware of the content of Curtis-Smith's site, and that they ended "when the posts their talents were asked to share were no longer consistent" with their artists' images.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role
2011	Pidol's Wonderland: Jesebilbil Episode	Jessa
2012	Regal Shocker: Perya Part 1	Nicks
2012	Regal Shocker: Perya Part 2	Nicks
2013	Tropa Mo Ko Unli	Various roles
2014	Wattpad Presents: My Tag Boyfriend	Sitti Sandoval
2015	Wattpad Presents: A House Full of Hunks	Venice Montez
2015	Wattpad Presents: Unwanted Girlfriend	Mica
2019	Tadhana: Sex Slave Part 1 & 2	Mila
2019	Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko: When The Clock Strikes at 12	Bikay / Veronica

Year	Title	Note
2013	SPINNation	Host
2015	Move It: Clash of the Streetdancers	Host
2018	24 Oras	Substitute Chika Minute anchor
2021; 2022; 2023	All-Out Sundays	Guest host / performer

Music video appearances

Year	Title	Performer	Director
2019	The Power	Duke Dumont and Zak Abel	Paco Raterta
2020	Nakikinig Ka Ba Sa Akin	Ben&Ben	Jorel Lising

Awards and nominations

Year	Work	Award	Category	Result
2013	Ang Utol Kong Hoodlum	2013 Golden Screen TV Awards	Outstanding Breakthrough Performance by An Actress	Won
2013	Transit	9th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival	Best Supporting Actress	Won
2014	Transit	30th PMPC Star Awards for Movies	Movie Supporting Actress of the Year	Nomitated
2014	Transit	11th Golden Screen Awards	Best Breakthrough Performance by an Actress	Won
2015	Dementia	31st PMPC Star Awards for Movies	Movie Supporting Actress of the Year	Nomitated
2015	Dementia	17th Gawad Pasado Awards	Pinakapasadong Katuwang na Aktres	Nomitated
2015	Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo	2015 FAMAS Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Nomitated
2016	Baka Bukas	2016 Cinema One Originals Film Festival	Best Actress	Won
2017	Siargao	2017 Metro Manila Film Festival	Best Supporting Actress	Won
2018	Siargao	41st Gawad Urian	Best Supporting Actress	Nomitated
2018	Siargao	34th PMPC Star Awards for Movies	Movie Supporting Actress of the Year	Nomitated
2018	Siargao	36th FAP Luna Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Won
2021	Tadhana: Sex Slave Part 1 & 2	34th PMPC Star Awards for Television	Best Single Performance By An Actress	Nomitated