If 14-year-old Mara Montes is described as a deadringer for premium dramatic actress Claudine Barretto, she doesn’t mind because she idolizes her and hopes to be as good as her as an actress someday!

“I find Ms. Claudine Baretto very beautiful at napakahusay po niyang artista. She’s the type who looks very beautiful with just a red lipstick on… I also look up to Gabby Concepcion and I want to work with him someday. I’m very much curious of the Gabby and Sharon love team,” she giggled.

Mara Montes’ real name is Mara Montes Schnittka; she is half-German. Standing 5’5,” her first exposures on television came via TV commercials when she was between four and five years old she said.

Ever since she could remember, she has been fascinated by people appearing on television. It then became her dream to also be on TV someday and was fortunate enough to be cast in TV commercials. Up to the present, she still occasionally get modeling jobs like the Magnolia TV commercial with Sarah Geronimo. She has also appeared in the ads for Nido, Stick-O, Nestlé Almusal, Delmonte and Jollibee.

“Dati gusto ko po yung lumalabas sa TV. I like seeing myself on TV and I wanted it to happen all the time. Pero akala ko po dati ang commercial and TV shows are the same. So I later wanted to be an actress,” she shared.            

She was discovered because of her TV commercials and afterwards she was cast in a number of GMA-7 shows like “Sana Ikaw Na Nga” as the daughter of actors Robin da Rosa and Angelu de Leon and in some episodes of the now defunct drama anthology “Magpakailanman.” Having no exclusivity in her contract with the Kapuso Network, she auditioned for ABS-CBN’s “Hiram” and was accepted. Then she tried out for the children show “Goin’ Bulilit,” got in and soon made a name for herself in the said show.            

Her growing acting resumé also include movies like  “Bahay Kubo,” “Caregiver” and now the Chito Roño horror flick “T2.”

“I’m very honored to be in a movie with the Diamond Star Maricel Soriano. Masaya at masarap ang feeling din na ma-direk ni Direk Chito Roño,” she related.            

At the moment, she is under ABS-CBN Star Magic which she believes would do well in her acting career. Unlike other Star Magic discoveries, she had to do it the hard way by auditioning for shows.     
       
“I’m happy na nakapasok ako dito. Grateful po ako sa opportunity na ibinigay nila,” quipped the young actress who’s now willing to go full blast in her showbiz career.

She shared that when she showed seriousness about embarking on a showbiz career, the first concern of her family was her studies. Her mom and grandmother asked her if she would have a hard time with her studies and she said no.

“Sabi ko they don’t have to worry because kakayanin ko naman,” she said. “Ang fulfillment ko po sa work ko yung mga gusto ko pong  bagay-bagay nabibili ko naman po like yung Ipod Touch na gustong-gusto ko kasi very handy.”

Her mom is deaf and mute
           
A little trivia about Mara is that her parents are separated. Her German father never communicated with her family since she was born. She is also always with her grandmother since she started in showbiz because her mom is deaf and mute.

So how was it living with her mom?

“Marunong po akong mag-sign language. Masaya naman po. Iba po yung bonding ninyo. I feel they are more expressive at ang turingan namin kasi parang sisters kasi ako lang ang babae sa pamilya,” she replied.

And does she feel bad about her father abandoning them?

“Wala naman po. Alam naman niya ang address namin kasi hindi naman po nagbago since I was born. Sana kahit letter man lang sumulat siya. Mangamusta man lang sana siya sa amin, isang communication lang,” she lamented.

Having a lot of new faces popping up here and there in showbiz, what does she think of competition?

“Wala po akong nakikitang competition. All I know is that I always  give my best in all the projects that they give me. But I also dream of becoming a big star someday. Ang saya-saya kapag ganun po because a lot of people would idolize you,” she remarked.

As for her grandma’s advice to her – remain humble and always thank God for everything and don’t neglect her studies because that would be her most precious treasure in life. Mara Montes is a student of Blessed Hope Christian School in Pandacan, Manila and she hopes to take up Tourism or Culinary Arts in college, then be a chef or be a flight steward someday. At the moment though, she is geared to be a star and her dedication to her craft makes her a young actress ON THE RISE!