Chin-Chin Gutierrez makes rare return years after stepping away from acting

Former actress Chin-Chin Gutierrez has made a rare return to public attention more than a decade after leaving show business and embracing a quieter religious life.

Chin-Chin, now a consecrated layperson, is among the alumnae featured in Miriam College’s centennial book, “The Legacy We Carry: 100 Years From Maryknoll to Miriam.”

Her inclusion puts the spotlight back on a career she left in 2015, while also revisiting the faith journey that shaped her life beyond acting.

In a 2019 interview with Portraits in Faith, Chin-Chin traced part of that journey to a philosophy class at Miriam.

“Believe it or not, it actually touched a core in my being — the fact that we could question the existence of God in a very Catholic school,” she said.

She later described the experience as a turning point.

“For some reason, I understood what he meant, and that was, I think, the awakening of consciousness for me. The quest had begun,” Chin-Chin said in the same interview.

Before leaving showbiz, she spent more than three decades in film and television, with notable projects including “Noli Me Tangere,” “Krystala,” “Maging Sino Ka Man,” “Dahil May Isang Ikaw,” “Jose Rizal” and “Sa Pusod ng Dagat.” — Jasper Valdez