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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Celebrities devider Lea Salonga to be honored as icon at the 2026 Metro Manila International Film Festival

Lea Salonga to be honored as icon at the 2026 Metro Manila International Film Festival

Published Jul 5, 2026 01:50 pm
The Metro Manila International Film Festival will honor Lea Salonga with the Icon Award during its closing night gala on Sept. 6 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.
Lisa Lew, Executive Producer of the MIFF, said in a statement: 
"From sweeping major theater awards to voicing classic Disney heroines and starring on screens across both the U.S. and the Philippines, she is the ultimate ambassador for Filipino excellence. The Manila International Film Festival is proud to champion Lea's achievements through our Hollywood Walk of Fame nomination, and we look forward to celebrating her legacy with our Icon Award at the Closing Night Gala."

It was also the MIFF that nominated Lea for the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
She is now set to become the first Filipino born and raised in the Philippines to receive a star on the historic site. 
In a previous interview, Lea admitted the idea still feels surreal for her.
"I still don't believe that it happened. At first, I thought somebody was pranking me, kasi it's something that I didn't expect, that I would get kasi most of my work is in New York and Manila because I'm not exactly a Hollywood person. But I'm happy that it's going to happen," she said.
Other artists with Filipino roots who have received a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame:  Bruno Mars (2016), apl.de.ap (2016), and Rob Schneider (2011).

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