Sophie Albert

In this Philippine name for married women, the birth middle name or maternal family name is Lyttle, the birth surname or paternal family name is Reyes, and the marital name is Abrenica.

Bianca Regina Lyttle Reyes-Abrenica (born August 3, 1990), professionally known as Sophie Albert, is a Filipino actress and television personality of European (Spanish-Italian and Irish-Portuguese) and Chinese descent.^[1] She joined the GMA Network in 2017 and signed an exclusive contract with Sparkle.

Sophie Albert
Born	Bianca Regina Lyttle Reyes (1990-08-03) August 3, 1990 (age 34) Mandaluyong, Philippines
Other names	Bianca Reyes
Occupations	Actress model singer host
Years active	2007–present
Agent	Star Magic (2007–2012, 2017) Sparkle GMA Artist Center (2017–present)
Spouse	Vin Abrenica ​ (m. 2023)​
Children	2
Relatives	Aljur Abrenica (brother-in-law) Bimby Aquino Yap (second cousin)

Career

2010–2016: Early television career

Albert was one of the new talents launched by ABS-CBN's Star Magic in their Batch 15 in 2007, using the name Bianca Reyes (maiden name).^[2] From a young age, it was already her dream to be an actress. She joined Star Magic without telling her parents because her mother did not wish for her to enter show business because she was still young and studying.^[3] This was also the reason why she left showbiz soon after.

In 2012, again without the knowledge of her parents, Albert joined the televised talent search Artista Academy of TV5. She became the competition's female grand winner, The Best Actress.^[4] Albert has mentioned that her winning the competition has convinced her mother of letting her re-enter and stay in the entertainment industry.^[5]

TV5's management suggested she use a screen name instead of her real name because of the abundance of Biancas and Reyeses already present in the Philippine entertainment.^[4] She chose to use the name Sophie Albert (Albert is her maternal grandmother's maiden surname).

In 2013, her first project after her win was the drama series Never Say Goodbye, where she was paired with Best Actor Vin Abrenica. He later became her real-life boyfriend. They worked with Alice Dixson, Cesar Montano, Gardo Versoza and Nora Aunor.

One of her breakthrough projects after Artista Academy was the 2014 Cinemalaya movie #Y which later on won Special Citation for Ensemble Acting award. The film is a coming-of-age story that revolves around the lives of upper-class and modern-day youth, which the title reference to Generation Y, while the hashtag marks this generation known for their affinity with social media and technology, and combines this with a tale of teen suicide, sex, drugs, and alcohol, and the ideological lifestyle of YOLO.

In the same year, Albert and her Artista Academy co-finalists Chanel Morales and Stephanie Rowe were supposed to top-bill TV5’s adaptation of the hit American suspense series Pretty Little Liars.^[6] It was supposed to air in April 2014, but a rumor floated that the Pretty Little Liars adaptation was already shelved.^[7] Although TV5 denied the rumor, the project was never aired.

After this, Albert headlined a few episodes of TV5’s Wattpad Presents until she decided to return to ABS-CBN.

2017–present: Breakthrough with GMA Network

After asking to be released a few months early from her contract with TV5, Albert decided to become an actress without any home network.^[3] She did one project in ABS-CBN, the broadcast network and parent company of Star Magic, in an episode of Ipaglaban Mo. Soon after, in October 2017, Albert signed an exclusive contract with GMA Network and GMA Artist Center (now Sparkle).^[8][9][10] She has since gotten a steady stream of projects for years.

Villainous and present roles

She did supporting roles in teleseryes until 2018, when she was given the plum kontrabida role of Amber in the prime-time series Pamilya Roces.^[11]

2019 was a big year for Albert. She rose to stardom via her portrayal of the main antagonist role Reign, a rich and evil concubine in the afternoon series Bihag^[12] who caused the kidnap of Ethan and Jessie’s misfortune, and was cast as the leading lady in the prime-time series The Gift.^[13]

She has since returned to acting albeit in episodic programs such as My Fantastic Pag-ibig and Daig Kayo Ng Lola Ko.

In 2022, she played the minor character and antagonist role of Hazel Roces in Abot-Kamay na Pangarap.

In 2023, she played the antagonist role of Ria Angeles in The Missing Husband.

Personal life

Albert did not want it to be known to the public, but eventually it was found out that she is a member of the prominent Cojuangco family.^[14] Her paternal grandmother, Josephine C. Reyes, is the Chair of the Board of Trustees and 7th president of the Far Eastern University (FEU). Reyes was the sister of former Filipino congressman José Cojuangco Jr., who served as the 9th President of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), and Corazon Aquino, former President of the Philippines. Albert is the niece of actress and equestrienne Mikee Cojuangco, former Filipino President Benigno Aquino III and actress and host Kris Aquino. Albert has mentioned that Mikee, in particular, was very supportive during her time on the talent show Artista Academy.^[15]

Albert was dating actor Vin Abrenica since June 2013. The two met the previous year as co-competitors on Artista Academy, which they both won.^[16] Albert and Abrenica initially ended their relationship in 2016, citing "personal and career-related problems", but reconciled in 2018.^[17] In December 2020, the couple became engaged.^[18] In February 2021, Albert revealed that she and Abrenica had moved in together.^[19] That same month, they announced that they were expecting their first child.^[20] Their daughter, Avianna Celeste, was born on March 15, 2021.^[21] On January 25, 2023, they married at the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians, Don Bosco, Better Living Subdivision, Parañaque City. Their second garden wedding was held on January 28 at Club Ananda in Tagaytay City.^[22] on what could have been the 90th birthday of Albert's great-aunt, Corazon Aquino.^[23] In July 2024, she announced her second pregnancy.^[24]

Filmography

TV series

Year	Title	Role	Network	Ref.
2007	Komiks	Various (as Bianca Reyes)	ABS-CBN
2008	I Am KC
	Astigs: Astigs in Haay...School Lyf
2009–2012	Maalaala Mo Kaya
2012	Pidol's Wonderland presents: My monito, My Monita!	Estelle	TV5
2013	Never Say Goodbye	Kate Montecastro
	Undercover	Katherine
2014	Wattpad Presents: Fake Fiancé	Demi Magsaysay
2015	Wattpad Presents: Cupid Fools	Ingrid
	Wattpad Present: Marry You	Yumiko Hayashi		[25]
	No Harm No Foul	Kim		[26]
2017	Ipaglaban Mo: Hulidap	Peachy	ABS-CBN
	Magpakailanman: Nika Manika - The Possessed Doll	Ihna	GMA Network
	Daig Kayo Ng Lola Ko: Darling, ang Pangit na Duckling	Darling
2018	The One That Got Away	Chanel Gonzalez		[27]
	Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko: Oh My Genie	Onie
	Sherlock Jr.	Erika
	Daig kayo ng lola ko: Ex-B Academy	Teacher Beth Hoven
	The Stepdaughters	Barbie Lopez
	Dear Uge: To-gather Again	Maricel
	Victor Magtanggol	Edda
	Magpakailanman: Kulam ng Karibal	April
	Pamilya Roces	Amber Bolocboc Roces
2019	Maynila: Love Begins @40	April
	Tadhana: Seoul Mates	Anne
	Bihag	Regina Marie "Reign" Sison		[28]
	Daddy's Gurl: Copy Cat	Ella
	Daig kayo ng lola ko: When the Clock Strikes 12	Fairylyn
	Dear Uge: Ikaw, number 2?, itsura mo?!	Arianne
2019–2020	The Gift	Helga Ventura		[29]
2020	Descendants of the Sun: The Philippine Adaptation	Liza Ayson
	Dear Uge: Minsan ang minahal ay ako	Marie
2021	My Fantastic Pag-ibig: Beast Next Door	Ashley
2022	Dear Uge: Once Upon a Day	Matilda		[30]
	Abot-Kamay na Pangarap	Hazel Roces
2023	The Missing Husband	Victoria "Ria" Angeles
	Magpakailanman: Ina Ka ng Anak Mo	Grace
2024	Tadhana: Pinaasa	Frida
	Forever Young	Marian Malaque

TV show

Year	Title	Network	Notes	Ref.
2012	Wil Time Bigtime	TV5
	Sharon: Kasama Mo, Kapatid
2012–2013	Game N' Go
2013	Pinoy Explorer
	Wasak		EP.76
	It's More Fun with Philip		S2 EP.1
2015	Extreme Series: Kaya Mo Ba 'To?
2015–2016	Happy Truck ng Bayan			[31]
2016–2017	ASAP Natin 'To	ABS-CBN
2017	Eat Bulaga!	GMA Network
2017–2019	Sunday PinaSaya
2020	All-Out Sundays
2022	Family Feud
	TiktoClock
2023
	Fast Talk With Boy Abunda
	All-Out Sundays
	Family Feud

Reality show

Year	Title	Network	Notes	Ref.
2012	Artista Academy	TV5	Best Actress	[32]
	Artista Academy Breaktime

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2014	#Y	Lia		[33]
2016	Till The End Of Us	Aica
2017	Moonlight Over Baler	young Fidela		[34]
2018	Recipe For Love	Karla		[35]
2019	Cara x Jagger	Belle

Music video appearances

Year	Title	Performer	Note	Ref.
2013	Time Machine	Six Part Invention	Philpop 2013