Wikia

	Charice
Gender:	Female
Age:	21
Born:	May 10th, 1992
Character:	Sunshine Corazon
Occupation:	Singer, actress
Years Active:	2005-Present

Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco commonly known as Charice (born May 10, 1992), is a Filipino actress and singer who is best known for portraying Sunshine Corazon in the hit TV show "Glee."

Biography

Early life

Pempengco was born in San Pedro, Laguna, Philippines. Raised by a single mother, she helped support the family by joining many amateur singing contests (about 80+ she said in an interview). When she was three years old, she witnessed her abusive father point a gun at her mom during an episode of domestic violence. Along with her mother and younger brother Carl, they left their father in search of a better life.

Discovery

Charice started as a finalist at a local singing competition on Philippine television. She only managed to achieve third place and out of luck didn't make it big in the Philippine music industry. At age 15, Charice was invited by the producers of a Korean show called Star King. Uploaded on YouTube by an avid fan, her amazing performance on Star King went "viral" and attracted millions of views in a short time.

Media attention

“	Ellen DeGeneres: You are gonna be blown away...you can just smell the star on her, you can just smell it.	”
—Ellen Degeneres (to Charice), The Ellen DeGeneres Show

TV presenter Ellen DeGeneres discovered Charice's video in YouTube, who then invited her to guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show at the end of 2007. Months later, Oprah Winfrey invited Charice to guest on her own talk show as well.

Charice's fame grew internationally as she went on tour and played cities such as London and Rome. She also performed at the Macy's NBC Thanksgiving Day Parade alongside David Archuleta, and with Celine Dion at one of her concerts. Charice has also received recognition from Josh Groban, David Spade and Jay Leno. She has performed with popular icons such as Michael Buble, Taylor Swift, and Andrea Bocelli, and later made a cameo appearance in her first feature film, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, which was released in North America on December 23, 2009.

“	Oprah Winfrey: She is the most talented girl in the world.	”
—Oprah Winfrey (to Charice), The Oprah Winfrey Show

“	David Foster: I can't think of a person on the planet right now that can deliver these songs better than you.	”
—David Foster (to Charice)

After her exposure in Oprah, well-known & Multiple Grammy Award winning composer David Foster took the liberty to become Charice's coach. This also led to Charice having her very first international album Pyramid, where her single of the same name featured singer Iyaz. She was later then tagged as "The Internet Phenom from The Philippines." Charice comes from a Christian family, though for a long time she hadn't been baptized; when she decided to officially become a Christian and be baptized at church, Oprah Winfrey and David Foster signed up as her godparents. On November 30, she appeared on NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center and performed "Grown-up Christmas List" and "Jingle Bell Rock" with producer and mentor David Foster.

Charice now works on multiple projects, the latest includes Glee and Here Comes the Boom along with Salma Hayek and Kevin James which is due on 2012. She recently worked with Kara DioGuardi, Nick Jonas and Bruno Mars for her sophomore album due on 2011. She also sings New World, the theme song for the English version of the game Final Fantasy XIII-2^[1]

Charice is the very first Asian artist to ever reach an 8th spot at the Billboard 200 of the album charts with her album Pyramid.

At Present: Glee character

“	Ryan Murphy: When that girl opens her mouth, angels fly out...I was just so taken by Charice. Thats one of the things where somebody walks in and you're just so touched that you say, 'I have to write something for you'. So that's how it happened.	”
—Ryan Murphy (to Charice)

Main article: Sunshine Corazon

Her character was introduced along with Chord Overstreet on Auditions. On an interview with Ryan Murphy, he hinted about Sunshine Corazon's future Glee role: "She's coming back in big way. We're finishing the year with her. She's coming back for 5 episodes at the end of the year. She's gonna be great ! Lots of big, big ballads for Charice." [1]

Death of her father

On November 1, 2011, her father, Ricky Pempengco was found murdered after a drunken street fight in San Pedro, Laguna, Philippines. Her father was stabbed to death twice in the chest. He was 40 years old. Charice, who was supposed to have a concert in Singapore, canceled the concert to attend the funeral.

Sexuality

On June 2, 2013, Charice finally revealed herself as a lesbian in an interview with Boy Abunda in The Buzz. She also mentioned that she has past relationships with other girls in the showbiz industry.

Gallery

Charice on Ellen DeGeneres Show for her very first television appearance and performance in the US.
Charice and Oprah Winfrey.
Charice performed opposite Celine Dion.
Charice performing alongside Andrea Bocelli.
Charice performed alongside Patti LaBelle.
Charice performed alongside Taylor Swift.
Charice had a single, "Pyramid" featuring Iyaz.
Charice performed Listen in the Academy Awards, other performances included Michael Buble (right). Paris Hilton also pictured (left)
Charice and her musical mentor, David Foster
Charice performed with Josh Groban in an event in Connecticut.
Charice with Harry Shum Jr.
Charice & Justin Bieber in Oprah
Charice along with Mariah Carey
Charice performing "Earth Song" with Ne-yo
Charice w/ Kylie Minogue, Jessica Simpson & Josh
Charice w/ Barack Obama's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng
Charice with Tom HanksGo to charice, tom hanks, celebrity, glee,
Charice & David Archuleta
Charice, Perez Hilton & Travis Gaerland
Nick Jonas working with Charice
Charice & Kara DioGuardi