Lea Salonga. Raymund Isaac/Handout
MANILA — Tony Award-winning actress and singer Lea Salonga will receive the Icon Award at the Manila International Film Festival's closing night gala on September 6 at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, festival organizers announced Thursday.
Salonga, whose career spans theater, film, television and music, will be honored during the festival's third edition, scheduled September 3-6 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
The festival also noted that Salonga is set to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame later this year in the Live Theatre/Live Performance category, becoming the first Filipina to earn the honor.
'A little surreal': Lea Salonga on receiving her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Best known for originating the role of Kim in the musical "Miss Saigon," Salonga won the Tony Award for best actress in a musical and also received Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World awards for her performance.
She is also known as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Disney's "Aladdin" and Fa Mulan in "Mulan" and "Mulan II." In recent years, she has continued to work across film, television and theater, including a voice role in the animated film "KPop Demon Hunters."
Salonga is also set to appear in DreamWorks Animation's upcoming feature "Forgotten Island," directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado and scheduled for release on September 25.
Festival organizers said additional programming, film selections and honorees for this year's Manila International Film Festival will be announced in the coming months.
Founded in 2024, the Manila International Film Festival aims to showcase Philippine and Filipino diaspora cinema in Hollywood. Previous honorees have included Boots Anson Roa, Dingdong Dantes, Piolo Pascual, Tia Carrere and Vilma Santos.