Janice Catherine Yap de Belen was born on 9 November 1968 to Philip Ilagan de Belen and Cynthia Susan Jimenez Yap. She has a younger sister Gelli who is also an actress. On March 19, 2016, her mother died at the age of 67 due to heart attack.
Career
At the age of nine, she became a newscaster for NewsWatch Kids Edition. She got her biggest break from the same channel when she got the lead role in the soap opera Flordeluna a top-rating and phenomenally successful TV soap where she played Flor from 1979 until 1984, when she momentarily quit showbiz to continue her studies. The soap continued to air a few more years after Janice left but it started going on a downward trend and never regained its popularity.. Janice re-joined showbiz after a short break, returning to TV with the soap "Jesy" and the early evening variety show The Big, Big Show Friday edition on City2. She was considered the 80s Teen Drama Princess alongside the late Julie Vega, whose soap "Anna Liza" provided stiff competition to "Flordeluna." The two TV rivals co-starred in a number of '80s movies, mostly produced by Regal Films. In 1982, Janice was partnered with Gabby Concepcion via the movies, "Puppy Love" and "Home Sweet Home". What started as reel loveteam became real later. Janice was also known for her relationship with Aga Muhlach, which produced a love child, and her tumultuous relationship with now ex-husband John Estrada. She returned to the world of TV in soap in 1985 with "Andrea Amor" and "Don Camote dela Mancha" both aired over GMA 7. Her transformation from a teenage star to a serious actress started in 1989 when she topbilled Mina Films' "Rosenda" opposite erstwhile boyfriend Gabby Concepcion. But she received her first Best Actress recognition in 1991 over Vision Films' "Kailan ka Magiging Akin", a Manila Film Festival entry. In 2001–2010, after her separation from Estrada, she hosted the now defunct popular morning talk showSiS also on GMA-7 with sister Gelli De Belen and their friend Carmina Villarroel. In 2011–2012, she starred and won public admiration anew in the critically acclaimed TV series Budoy. She followed it up with another noteworthy performance in the teleserye Ina, Kapatid, Anak which aired on the Primetime Bida Block and worldwide through TFC from 2012–2013. She co-hosted Showbiz Inside Report as well from February 2012 to October 2013 and until recently, was also doing Buzz ng Bayan with Boy Abunda. In 2016, she moved back to GMA to appear in Destined to Be Yours and My Korean Jagiya. In 2018, she returned to ABS-CBN and was casted in The General's Daughter and .
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards
2020, Best Acting Ensemble in a Drama Series for The General's Daughter at the 51st Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Awards Scholarship Foundation Box Office Entertainment Awards.
