uddenly, this irresistibility quirky girl's name is one everybody's lips. Eat Bulaga , Wazzup, Wazzup and S Files host, and resident grin-machine Toni Gonzaga talks aobut all the fun she's having, her newfound fame, and how the future looks from where she's standing.

Toni Gonzaga emerged on the scene in a slow burn rather than a big splash, a sure sign that she intends to stick around for a very long time. It's been two years since the super-slim hosting sensation joined the riotous Eat Bulaga crew and roughly a year since she also donned serious, black-rimmed glasses to play broadcaster of crazy current events in Wazzup Wazzup with fellow oddball anchors Vhong Navarro and Drew Arellano . In a time when self-conscious former child stars and inordinately bobby starlets keep tumbling in and out of the limelight by the dozen, Toni Gonzaga is standing out as the quirky-cute-girl-nextdoor whom guys and girls like. She's also proving that bungisngis can be beautiful, that funny is sexy, and that real substance is the key to staying power.

She was named after—surprise—a boxer
Toni's real named is not as trooper-like as her nick, but it certainly has an interesting history. “My real name is Celestine,” she says, adjusting her mauve-tinted shades. “My dad named me after a boxer.” She had raced to the deli/restaurant for the Cosmo interview right after Eat Bulaga , the legendary live noontime variety show that has ruled Philippine lunchtime viewing for 25 years—and counting. She apologizes for what looks like an allergic reaction to makeup growing on her eyelids and keeps the shades firmly over her eyes.

If you've been named after a never-say-die ringleader, chances are, you're going to grow up to be one. Born and raised in Taytay, Rizal. Toni recounts her childhood with her only other sibling, younger sister Catherine, in what was them the rural fringes of Metro Manila, as typically batang kalye. “My friends and I were always playing under the sun, on the streets,” she says candidly, rattling off a number of card games like pitik , tex , and pusoy . It's a little difficult to reconcile traditional kanto -speak with the fair-skinned, jet black-haired looker sporting decidedly girly dangling earrings, a white tank and ox-blood red slim pants. But when she starts chatting with knowingness not common among bright-eyed and giggly girls her age, you can tell that growing up exposed to the ways of the world has served her well.  

She's no wallflower
Toni says matter-of-factly, “I started performing at a very young age, so I won't pretend that I was ever shy. I was never shy!” Hers was a promising beginning in staged performing that never failed to deliver. An almost life-long affair with performing makes it clear that she's no stranger to large audiences out to scrutinize her every move. Starting out in school singing competitions, she quickly moved on to a bigger playing field—as emcee during political rallies every time local elections rolled around (her uncle ran for councilor, and so did her dad). At barely four feet tall, she sported oversized standard-issue party campaign vests and visors, charming the crowds and soliciting votes.

At 17, she found herself working a different kind of crowd. By day she was a mass communications student at Dominican College and at night, she got to cultivate her vocal prowess as a lounge singer facing the subdued hotel-going set comprised mostly of tourists. At the Holiday Inn, she dished out the pop and jazz standards. “I look older than my age,” she says, “so even if I was pretty young, I was pretty convincing as a lounge act. Except when I would break in between sets when, instead of some alcoholic cocktail, I would ask for milk. I could see that a lot of foreigners wondered why I was sipping milk. Medyo strange nga naman .”

She's so committed.
Along with her love for hosting and performing grew an affinity for public service, yet another detail that sets her apart from the recent crop of entertainment personalities. “I guess because I grew up in that kind of environment, it was easy for me to make the decision to run for public office,” she shares. One might think that she had been prodded by older figures in her life to follow in their footsteps, but Toni says she came to the decision all her own.

Two years, ago, she rolled up her sleeves and flashed her megawatt smile as she walked nearly every square foot of Barangay San Isidro, campaigning from house to house. Her popularity had just been bolstered by s Sprite TV ad that had her shrieking her love for heart-stopper Piolo Pascual . The effort paid off and earned her seat as barangay kagawad on the seven-member board. “I'm with the managing committee in charge of health and sanitation,” she says coolly, like it's no news that a girl barely out of her teens should be drafting public policy. “We manage projects like Clean and Green.”

Election season brought more good news, and not just on the political front. While she was in middle of campaigning, knocking on doors and shaking hands in earnest, she got a text for her mom saying that a large network was keen on hiring her as a TV show host. “Sure, I was excited, but I didn't want to believe it right away,” she says with characteristic caution. “It wasn't a formal offer, and showbiz people tend to exaggerate, I thought maybe it was just one of those things. There was no word from them for over two months.” Shortly after her two-month wait came the call from GMA, and before she knew it she was on the roster of Eat Bulaga hosts.

Not long after that, the gig with Wazzup Wazzup was on her plate. “It took about six months from the time they called to the time we finally aired,” she tells Cosmo. “So I have this nice feeling of having been there from the time it materialized.”

Because her schedule quickly filled to overflowing—and because her weight had to make a choice between career in mass media and an education pursuit of the same thing. It was a collective decision that involved the whole family. “I figured, I'm already a media practitioner, so why not go on with it? Sayang ang opportunities, I asked my mom to be my manager, and she quickly said yes.”

She's a girl's girl.
She knows that her kooky factor has made her a hit with girls, a feat rarely achieved. Girls like that she's not afraid to distort her face in public and risk looking ugly, and that she's a real trooper when it comes to acts that toe the line between funny and foolish (Case in point: Wazzup Wazzup's head-jerking-while-shoulder-dusting trademark moved).

Admittedly, her mantra when it comes to showbiz relationships might very well be “proceed with caution.” There are, after all, a number of prima donnas stalking local La La Land. “I don't have that many friends in showbiz,” she says. “I still keep in touch with my childhood friends, although we don't hang out that much, because I'm very busy these days.” After work, she scoots home to hang with her sister and play with her seven-month-old golden retriever named Wuwu. Wuwu? “Because of the sound he makes,” she explains, making like a dog and resting her chin on the backs of her palm she starts to whimper.

She has, however, formed warm relationships with her Eat Bulaga co-hosts, whom she also sees as kind of mentors. “We go on bonding trips to Singapore or Bangkok , and it's always so confidant, and Toni Rose Gayda is the laugh guru she emulates.

And she's a guy's girl as well.
“I suppose I look approachable,” she speculates when asked what she thinks guys like about her. She's not clueless to the general opinion among male audiences that she's kooky-cute and, therefore, cool. “They tell me I'm kenkoy , and I suppose that's a good thing.”

The evidently healthy onscreen working relationship between her and her male co-hosts ups her pretty points and demonstrates that she's a girl who knows how to hang out with the boys. And she can crack jokes with the best of them.”

“We have chemistry,” she agrees, “because we respect one another. When someone's doing his or her thing the other gives way. There's no agawan ng eksena . There's this harmonious working dynamic. I guess it also helps that we share a dressing room. We're sensitive to each other's needs.”

And she has some not so girly needs that many guys relate to: surfing the Net, and camping out in front of the entertainment system, burning the midnight oil on…Playstation2.

At the moment, she's not dating. A number of current—and forgotten—heartthrobs ( Luis Manzano , Jeremy Marquez , Keempee de Leon , among others) have been linked to her and she admits that, yup, some have made a play. But she's made a decision to consciously sidestep dating at the moment and focus on the opportunities that are flowing in her direction. She's determined to strike while the iron is hot.

“Ever since I was a kid, I'd been told not to waste my time on gimmicks,” she says. “I do go out once in a while, mostly for work, then after that I go home…I'm still trying to make a name for myself. I'm still discovering who I am. So I kind of don't want to think about that too much.”

But she does know how to work room.
“If I were to go out with someone,” she says, “we would have to start out as friends. I believe in things starting out with solid friendship. With outright courtship kasi , naturally you're only shown the good side.”

Apart form swimmingly great company, she's drawn first to dazzling eyes and a great hair. “Clean-cut,” she says firmly, “not long hair— mag-aaway lang kami sa shampoo.” But more than the physical traits, what truly turns her on is a guy who's definitely not high-maintenance. “He shouldn't be hard to please. I've kind of developed this trait where I can discern if a guy has a good heart. With some guys in showbiz, you just feel that they think they're guwapo and all that.”

Just in case the man who meets her shortlist is in the room, she's got some serious moves she swears work. At this point she clears her throat, and flips her hair out of the way, ready to demonstrate her flirting method. “You walk into a crowded room and scope out the cute guy in the place.” She pauses for dramatic effect. “But you don't make him pansin. Pointedly. It's going to make him wonder why you're not paying attention to what everyone else is paying attention to? Mag-bu-busyhan ako . And then, when you feel like he's bordering on being annoyed, you suddenly notice him, saying ‘Uy, you're here pala,' and pretend you didn't ignore him on purpose. He's just going to be bothered and then he'll met.” She won't expound but laughs and says again, “It really works.”

Nevertheless, she's careful not to dream of types. “My mom says that if you go after a type, you'll end up marrying just the opposite. Let's just say she knows what she's talking about.”

She's got a grip on the fame thing—sometimes.
With the one-time exception of handing MMDA office a glamour photo because she was running late for show, she doesn't buy much into the fame thing. She's led such a no-nonsense and unpretentious existence that the recent fame is something so separate from her real life. She knows she has it, but it's not about to fill up her head. She still candidly speaks of all the radio DJ's she chats with on the phone like a regular fan, and she still gets star struck when she finds herself suddenly sharing the stage with veteran showbiz personalities. “ Nahihiya pa rin ako ,” she confesses.

Like a level-headed girl, she likewise understands that she has to enjoy the moment because “someone better and younger” will always come along. Everything comes to an end, so I don't want to waste my time.” She's got her sights on a career as long and colorful as the revered comedic tandem of Joey de Leon and Vic Sotto . She nods her head emphatically as she says, “I admire Vic Sotto's charm and the brains of Joey de Leon . Sobrang bilis. I'd like to have a career like that—not a super-fast rise to stardom but a slow and sure ride.”

It looks as though things are going that way. She's already starred with billiards champ Efren “Bata” Reyes and the late great Fernando Poe Jr. in a movie called Pakners , and she recently signed up with another project with Vhong that's currently in production. “I love hosting, but I'm game for movies if good offers come along,” she says calmly, coolly, like someone who knows where she's been and where she's going.

And she's 20.
Enough said. - -