Ashley Ortega | Actress and Pro Figure Skater

GMA Sparkle artist Ashley Ortega is living her dream and bringing the best of both her worlds to the screen – starring in her first major drama series and figure skating!

Before entering the showbiz industry, the now 23 year old Ashley Ortega was a very successful pro figure skater. She learned ice skating at a very young age and has joined competitions at around 5 years old. Ashley has won several medals and competed in various events held in different countries like China, Malaysia and Thailand.

Ashley Ortega competed again in 2018 and won three gold medals in three categories during the Summer Skate Competition held at the SM Mall of Asia Ice Skating Rink.

And now five years later, she’s back on the ice with her skates on, playing the lead role of GMA Telebabad’s latest offering, HEARTS ON ICE. Directed by Dominic Zapata, and also stars premier actor Xian Lim.

But it’s not all fun as Ashley Ortega showed the “battle scars” she got while playing the role of Ponggay in HEARTS ON ICE.

In a video she posted, Ashley showed scene where she fell after doing a trick, she slid on ice after falling, as well as pictures of her bruised back and arms, and wounded knees.

But the young star reiterated that playing the role of a figure skater in a series is “the best of both (my) worlds” despite feeling the pressure of her very first major project.

She added, “Medyo kinakabahan lang talaga ’cause it’s something really big and special for me and I’m doing it at the same time. Launching tapos figure skating but at the same time nakaka-excite siya.”

Ashley dedicated her performance in HEARTS ON ICE to her parents who worked hard to support her and her siblings in their sports, her younger sister also a professional figure skater while her brother is a hockey player.

“They are the reason why I’m a figure skater. In-enroll nila ako when I was a kid. Nung natuto ako maglakad, sinalang na ako agad sa yelo. This is my way of giving back to them na nagbunga ‘yung hirap nila, ‘yung ginastos nila sa akin,” she said.

The story of HEARTS ON ICE follows the dramatic journey of Ponggay (Ashley Ortega) who desires to fulfill her overbearing but well-meaning mother’s dream of becoming a figure skating champion. She intends to do this to get her love and validation despite suffering from a leg impairment. Ponggay wants nothing more than to make her mother, Libay, proud.

However, this only made Ponggay’s mother even more skeptical about her capabilities as it could only make things worse for her condition. But this doesn’t stop Ponggay as she meets Enzo (Xian Lim), another “crippled dreamer” who will bring out the best in her.

Joining Ashley and Xian in this series are Amy Austria as Libay, Rita Avila as Yvanna, Tonton Gutierrez as Gerald, Lito Pimentel as Ruben, Ina Feleo as Coach Wendy, Cheska Iñigo as Vivian, Antonette Garcia as Janice, Kim Perez as Bogs, Roxie Smith as Monique, Ruiz Gomez as Oliver, and Skye Chua as Sonja.