Zeny Zabala

Emerenciana Ortiz Santos ^[1](July 21, 1937 – August 8, 2017), professionally known as Zeny Zabala, was a Filipina actress. Born and raised in Marikina, she was famously known as the "villain of Sampaguita Pictures" for her frequent portrayals of villainous roles in her films.

Zeny Zabala
Born	Emerenciana Ortiz Santos (1937-07-21)July 21, 1937 Philippines
Died	August 8, 2017(2017-08-08) (aged 80) Quezon City, Philippines
Resting place	Loyola Memorial Park, Marikina
Nationality	Filipino
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1954–2013
Spouse	Ben Feleo ​ ​ (m. 1964; died 2011)​
Relatives	Johnny Delgado (stepson)

Early life

Zabala was the fourth of nine siblings^{[citation needed]} and was born in Marikina to shoemaker Enrique Santos and Ursula Ortiz.^[2]

Career

She was discovered in 1953 while accompanying her sister, Caridad, who was already working in the film industry.^[2] Her first role was as a mother in the 1953 film Siga-Siga, where her character dies giving birth to Anita Linda's character.^[2] Due to her film career, she was forced to drop out of high school in her second year.^[2] Her first movie with Sampaguita Pictures was Binibining Kalog, opposite Lolita Rodriguez and Ramon Revilla.^{[citation needed]} She later married actor Rodolfo "Boy" Garcia on June 30, 1958.^[3]

In 1963, Zabala became a freelance actress.^[4] In 1964, she received her first FAMAS nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Ang Bukas Ay Akin!, starring Charito Solis and Nestor de Villa. That same year, she remarried, this time to director Ben Feleo.

In the mid-1960s, alongside her film career, Zabala began establishing businesses in Marikina, including a restaurant called Zeny Zabala's Canteen near the town's Shoe Trade Fair, a shoe-making shop called LeConstant Shoe Shop, and a furniture store.^[5] She was soon offered a lead role in the film Ruby by businessman Narciso G. Isidro, Zabala's relative and the grandfather of singer Agot Isidro. The film was to be produced by NGI Productions, a newly established studio in Marikina.^[5]

In the 1980s, she continued to appear in more films with Dolphy, including Kalabog en Bosyo Strike Again (1985) and her final known big-screen appearance, Tataynic (1998), both directed by her husband, Ben Feleo, who died in 2011. She co-starred with Vilma Santos in Marilou Diaz-Abaya's Baby Tsina (1984) and played Santos' cruel mother-in-law in Chito Roño's Ikaw Lang (1991).^[1]

In 1982, she joined the cast of John en Marsha as the mother of Madel, Rolly Puruntong's wife.

Personal life

In 1964, she married director Ben Feleo, whom she had met in 1962. She became the stepmother of Feleo's son, Johnny Delgado, from his previous marriage. Ben Feleo died of a stroke in September 2011.

Death

Zabala died at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute in Quezon City on August 8, 2017, due to kidney failure. She was 80 years old.^[6]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Note(s)	Ref(s).
1954	Siga-Siga
1954	Lourdes
	Milyonarya at Hampaslupa
	Tin-Edyer
1955	Pandora
	Binibining Kalog
1956	Prince Charming
	Teresa
	Gilda
	Gigolo
1957	Sino ang Maysala?
	Pasang Krus
	Pretty Boy
	Prinsesang Gusgusin
1958	Mga Reyna ng Vicks
	Palaboy
	Berdaderong Ginto
	Talipandas
1963	Dance-O-Rama
	Ang Bukas Ay Akin
1964	Ang Mahiwagang Pag-ibig ni Lola Cinderella
1965	Ana-Roberta
1966	Viva Ranchera	Esmeralda
1967	The Sunjuka Master
	Ruby	Ruby
1968	Mindanao
	Room for Rent
1969	Kalinga
	Luzviminda: Inang Pilipinas	Luzviminda
1970	Our Lady of Peñafrancia (Patroness of Bicolandia)
1984	Baby Tsina
1985	John en Marsha '85
1987	My Bugoy Goes to Congress
1991	Ikaw Lang	Martha
	Contreras Gang	Chinese wife
1993	Gagay: Prinsesa ng Brownout	Aling Huling
1995	Okey si Mam
1996	Neber2Geder
1997	Extranghero	Doña Isabel
1997	Strict ang Parents Ko!	Doña Felicidad Zaragoza
1998	Tataynic	Doña Isabel