Up-and-coming singer and actress Geraldine Jennings expressed a mix of sadness and determination over a cozy interview on a rainy weekday in Quezon City. The young, statuesque beauty of British, Irish and Filipino descent was understandably still in grief over the passing of her manager and showbiz veteran Leo Dominguez, who played a pivotal role in launching her career in the local entertainment industry. Leo, who had taken care of the careers of Ogie Alcasid, Lovi Poe, Paulo Avelino and Janine Guttierez.
Their paths crossed some five years ago when Leo discovered Geraldine’s gift and passion for singing while visiting the home of a mutual friend in London.
Taken by her voice, the seasoned manager asked if she would like to pursue a showbiz career in the Philippines. Geraldine excitedly said yes and confessed it had long been her dream to do so. Just 15 then, Leo — who always placed his wards’ best interest before all else — gently told the budding star she was too young to get started but promised he would call her in two years when the time was right.
Geraldine Jennings — the young, statuesque beauty of British, Irish and Filipino descent — is determined to make her late manager Leo Dominguez proud.
“It could’ve been one of those empty promises, you know because Tito Leo only met my family that one time, but he was true to his word and looked me up when I turned 17. He did what he said he would do,” Geraldine, who now shuttles between London and Manila to manage her studies and fulfill commitments for the ongoing Leo V. Dominguez (LVD) Management Corporation, gratefully related.
With Leo’s passing shattering the 2018 finalist of singing contest Teenstar UK (United Kingdom) and grand champion of the 2020 Open Mic singing competition held at the O2 Arena in London, Geraldine felt the only way she could honor his legacy was to steel her determination to become the artist he was molding her to be.
“I’m fully committed to my career here, even if I still have two more years of university in London,” she explained. Geraldine attended British School Manila when her Filipino mother, the former Gina Cariaga of Pasuquin, Ilocos, British-Irish dad Frank Jennings and her brood of sisters were still living in the Philippines when she was younger.
It was in 2009 when the family moved to the UK and eventually settled in Edinburgh, Scotland where her dad is involved in the construction business, among other ventures. She is currently based in London, though, and lives independently as she works for a double degree in Economics and Finance at the University of London.
Immediately hopping on a plane to Manila whenever her term breaks begin, Geraldine is working on two songs for release under Star Music, which came about after Leo paired her composer Viktoria Agbayani.
“The two singles are titled ‘Pwede Ba? and ‘Don’t Go,’ which are both upbeat and another one, which I just recorded titled, ‘If I Will Ever Love Again’, written no less by Ogie Alcasid.”
Ogie is, of course, the top talent of LVD and a friend of Leo’s for over three decades, when they were both part of La Salle Greenhill’s famed Kundirana singing group.
Beyond her music, though, Geraldine is especially giving the movie “La Isla Babuyan” double, even triple, her effort because she knows that the unique, all-in-one rom-com, drama and thriller was Leo’s pet project before his untimely demise.
The intriguingly-titled film is Geraldine’s debut movie. It casts her as a sophisticated half-Filipina and half-European girl who returns to the Philippines to spend time with her Filipino mother, portrayed by Lotlot De Leon. Her character, Anastasia, then meets a handsome heir of a wealthy family, played by Jameson Blake, and falls in love. As their romance blossoms, however, the boy’s cruel stepmother, portrayed by Nathalie Hart, steps in and does everything she can to keep them apart.
“Tito Leo was one of the creatives who conceptualized the story, which is why I’m determined to do the best I can,” Geraldine stressed, even sharing how she’s been combining the skills she learned from acting workshops in Los Angeles and Manila, with invaluable on-the-set lessons she endlessly picks up from the likes of Lotlot, Nathalie as well as her leading man and the rest of the first-rate cast.
“It means so much to me that Tito Leo had this much faith in my talent. I miss him so much, but I know he’s still watching over us, and most of all, I know that to see this movie finally finished and made with the best we can give will make him happy. And that really matters most to me right now.”
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