Why julie vega died

She remains very popular and well loved in her native Philippines , years after her sudden death at the age of 16 that triggered a massive outpouring of nationwide grief that is still vividly remembered by Filipino showbiz fans today. This fact led her family to nickname her Darling [1 ] [2 ] and Tata, which was given to her by her nanny Flor Argawanon and means youngest child in the Visayan language.

Fort died Her older brothers are according to order of birth James nicknamed Jimmy , Jeffrey nicknamed Joey; — , Jonathan nicknamed Noni , Joseph nicknamed Toti , and Jerry nicknamed Steve.

Vega was discovered by renowned film and stage director Lamberto Avellana and veteran actress Boots Anson-Roa in while performing at a Christmas party at the Quezon Institute where her mother then worked, thus starting her showbiz career early the following year at the age of six as a commercial model in television for Purefoods and Band-Aid. She had been chosen to play the title role despite placing only third among over applicants for the role.

Her portrayal of the sensitive, sad-sack and frequently oppressed title character drew the sympathy and affections of the Filipino viewing public and further solidified her star status. The success of Anna Liza made her the chief soap opera rival of Janice de Belen , a fellow child star who also enjoyed success with Flor de Luna , the title role Vega herself previously turned down, as the two dramas rivaled each other for the attention of the television-viewing public.

Yet despite being showbiz rivals, they were the best of friends in real life. When Vega became a teenager, she was signed to Regal Films by producer Lily Monteverde , who also owned the film company since its inception in Aside from acting, Vega also became a successful singer in her own right.

She initially refused to pursue a singing career of her own, but after repeated proddings from her older brother Joey, who noticed her beautiful singing voice, she finally consented to doing so.

She took formal voice lessons under renowned songwriter Cecille Azarcon to further hone her singing voice. It was during one of her singing promotions for Where Love Has Gone that Vega was discovered by Bong Carreon, who then offered her to be a recording artist for the then newly formed Emerald Recording Company owned by Carreon himself and his then wife, the famous Filipina singer Imelda Papin.

Her debut single Somewhere In My Past , composed by Mon Del Rosario, was a major hit which became a certified gold record in only its first few weeks of release and would prove to be her most enduring hit and the one song she would be most identified with.

According to Vega herself, she particularly liked singing because it is through this medium that she is able to best express her inner thoughts and feelings. This became especially true after the tragic loss of her brother Joey, to whom she was particularly very close to. Joey was stabbed to death in a car by hired killers, who mistook him for another person they were hired to look for and then kill, while hanging out with his friends in His untimely death at the age of 22 proved to be devastating for the young Julie, who was then made to repeatedly wish to join him in death.

In spite of her hectic showbiz schedule, Vega was still able to attend to her studies in school. She studied at the Our Lady of Sacred Heart School from grade school [13 ] until first year high school before transferring to St. Joseph's College where she finished her high school education. The schools proved to be accessible to her since both are located not far from where her family used to live at 11th Avenue, Murphy, Cubao , Quezon City.

Not long after her high school graduation in Vega began complaining of extreme weakness and lack of sensation, particularly on her lower body. This prompted her parents to bring her to a private hospital for diagnosis and treatment. Sometime after her confinement there, she contracted bronchopneumonia , making her condition even worse than before.

It is worth noting that her father Julio died of lung cancer exactly six years later in the same hospital. She had been chosen to play the title role of Angelita despite placing only third among over applicants for the role.

Her portrayal of the sensitive, sad-sack and frequently oppressed title character drew the sympathy and affections of the Filipino viewing public and further solidified her star status.

The success of "Anna Liza" made Vega the chief soap opera rival of Janice De Belen , a fellow child star who also enjoyed success with "Flor de Luna", the title role Vega herself previously turned down, as the two dramas rivaled each other for the attention of the television-viewing public. Yet in spite being showbiz rivals, Julie and Janice were best friends in real life. She initially refused to pursue a singing career of her own, but after repeated proddings from her older brother Joey, who noticed her beautiful singing voice, she finally consented to doing so.

She took formal voice lessons under renowned songwriter Cecille Azarcon to further hone her singing voice. It was during one of her singing promotions for "Where Love Has Gone" that Vega was discovered by Bong Carreon , who then offered her to be a recording artist for the then newly-formed Emerald Recording Company owned by Carreon himself and his then wife, the famous Filipina singer Imelda Papin.

Her debut single "Somewhere in My Past", composed by Mon Del Rosario , was a major hit which became a certified gold record in only its first few weeks of release and would prove to be her most enduring hit and the one song she would be most identified with.

According to Vega herself, she particularly liked singing because it is through this medium that she is able to best express her inner thoughts and feelings. This became especially true after the tragic loss of her brother Joey, to whom she was particularly very close to. Joey was stabbed to death by hired killers, who mistook him for another person they were hired to look for and then kill, while hanging out with his friends in His untimely death at the tender age of 22 proved to be devastating for the young Julie, who was then made to repeatedly wish to join him in death.

At the time of her death, Vega was supposed to promote "First Love", do a second album for Emerald containing all Filipino language songs, and perform with Imelda Papin in singing engagements both in the Philippines and abroad. Education In spite of her hectic showbiz schedule, Vega was still able to attend to her studies in school.

She studied at the Our Lady of Sacred Heart School from grade school until first year high school before transferring to St. Joseph's College where she finished her high school education. The schools proved to be accessible to her since both are located not far from where her family used to live at 11th Avenue, Murphy, Cubao , Quezon City. She was supposed to attend the University of the Philippines for her college education at the time of her death.

Illness and early death Not long after her high school graduation in , Vega began complaining of extreme weakness and lack of sensation, particularly on her lower body. This prompted her parents to bring her to a private hospital for diagnosis and treatment.