Lea Salonga Shocked by Hollywood Walk of Fame Honor
LEA SALONGA – The announcement of Lea Salonga’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star has thrilled fans worldwide, but the iconic performer herself was left speechless and skeptical.
Filipina theater legend Lea Salonga has been named one of the recipients of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for 2025-2026. Despite her long-standing success on both local and international stages, Salonga admitted she was caught off guard by the announcement.
“I first learned about it a day after I arrived in Manila. I still don’t believe it happened. I still don’t believe it’s actually going to happen. I thought, ‘Is somebody pranking me?’” she revealed during a press conference for Into the Woods on July 31.
The Manila International Film Festival (MIFF) earlier confirmed her inclusion in the upcoming batch of honorees under the Live Theatre/Performance category. With this recognition, Salonga becomes the fourth Filipino to receive a Hollywood Walk of Fame star, following Rob Schneider, Bruno Mars, and Apl.de.Ap.
Although globally recognized, Salonga remained modest about the honor, pointing out that her body of work is primarily based in theater and not in the Hollywood spotlight. “It’s just one of those things that you don’t think you’re gonna get… and given that my work is mostly in New York or Manila, it’s not something I expect because I’m not exactly a Hollywood person, the Disney voices notwithstanding,” she said, alluding to her roles as the singing voice of Disney princesses Jasmine and Mulan.
She openly admitted that the award still feels like a dream. “Hindi ko talaga inasahan (I didn’t expect it at all). But I feel really happy that it’s going to happen. Hindi ko talaga inasahan na mangyayari ‘yun (I didn’t expect that such a thing would happen to me),” she shared.
Salonga elaborated further, “Most of what I’ve done is focused on theater. If there is an equivalent of the Walk of Fame done in New York City, then ‘yun pa (I would understand that). But this is Los Angeles, this is Hollywood, this is film, this is television. I’m like, this is wonderful but very, very unexpected.”
‘I STILL DON’T BELIEVE IT HAPPENED’ 😱
WATCH: Lea Salonga confessed that she “still couldn’t believe” that she would be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, almost to the point where she thought it was a prank. | @HMallorcaINQ pic.twitter.com/gZAtOqfiqP
— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) July 31, 2025
In the meantime, she is preparing to take the stage as the Witch in the Manila run of Into the Woods, which will be held at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Makati from August 7 to 31. The production will also feature prominent names such as Eugene Domingo, Arielle Jacobs, and Josh Dela Cruz.
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