At 27, actress-singer Ashtine Olviga is one of the finest Gen Z rising stars in the Philippines. She is young, beautiful, and internationally successful — so why do a lot of people insist that she’s old, unattractive, and a nobody?
Even though she is still really young, many Filipinos mock Olviga for her age, especially because she’s two years older than her onscreen partner Andres Muhlach. The moment she turned 27 in May, trolls have pounced on the opportunity to call her “trentahin” (30-something), even though she is still very much in her 20s. Not to mention that 30 isn’t old anyway.
Treating celebrities — especially women — as though they are expired at 27 is a huge problem in Filipino showbiz.
For example, The Killer Bride premiered in August 2019, casting Maja Salvador, who was barely 31, and Loren Burgos, who was 29, as the biological mothers of the protagonist Emma (Janella Salvador) and antagonist Luna (Alexa Ilacad), characters aged 21 and 19 respectively.
Even though it was mathematically impossible for women of those age to have given birth to legal adults, Filipino showbiz’s bizarre ageism meant that once they entered their late 20s, they were considered old and motherly.
In the US and UK, celebrities are treated as young rising stars even as they enter their late 20s and 30s. For example, the media still describes 30-year-old American actress Ayo Edebiri as a young talent, with Vogue calling her a part of young Hollywood when she was 28.
Life does not end in your late 20s or early 30s. American/British showbiz espouses a healthier view regarding age. On the other hand, many Filipinos continue to spew a 2010s-style unhealthy rhetoric aimed at women in particular, where they yell “trentahin” even when someone hasn’t hit 30 yet.
Olviga celebrated her 27th birthday just a few months ago. Despite this strange, widespread mindset, she avoids “mature” roles like mothers or wives in weepy marriage dramas. Instead, Olviga portrays youthful characters like students and new professionals.
As for her looks, Olviga is blessed with a naturally lovely face and a pair of bright, massive eyes that celebrities in the US and UK frequently get plastic surgery to achieve. However, plenty of Filipinos insist that she looks ordinary or unattractive just because her beauty is that of a typical Filipina’s, not a mixed-race individual’s.
It might be hard to believe for foreigners, but that is indeed why they say she’s not pretty: she looks “too Filipino.” Imagine if Brits said that Keira Knightley isn’t pretty because she looks too British; it sounds absurd. But in the Philippines, looking mixed (even if you’re not) is the ultimate compliment.
On podcast Luis Listens, Olviga revealed that she’s aware of the vitriol she gets simply for going against her country’s obsession with “exotic”, often Eurocentric, looks. While her own countrymen insist that she’s ugly because she looks too much like a native, Olviga’s gorgeously Filipina countenance is one of the most beloved Filipino faces overseas.
On top of it all, trolls insist that Olgiva isn’t successful, especially because it took her so long to gain traction in showbiz. Before she rose to fame via Ang Mutya ng Section E (The Jewel of Section E) in 2025, Olviga had spent over a decade hustling in the industry.
She joined three different P-Pop groups: P-Pop Generation, UGG, and LITZ, all of which failed and disbanded. She had small roles in small projects. If her agency Viva hadn’t come knocking on her door with AMNSE, she would’ve quit her showbiz career to pursue a regular job.
The commonly held belief is that she’s been working for 10-15 years. However, on Luis Listens, she revealed that she has been auditioning for commercials, participating in acting workshops, and appearing in bit roles since she was about seven years old.
So Olviga has actually been working almost her entire life. She is a 20-something with 20 years of experience. Contrary to the trolls’ narrative, this should not be a source of shame. For someone so young to have so much experience is an astonishing feat.
She was not a nepo baby who instantly booked lead roles without much experience or training. She didn’t come from a wealthy family with the means to sustain her showbiz dreams or produce expensive projects for her to star in. Olviga never had any strings to pull. She got to where she is purely thanks to her hard work and skills that she has spent her whole life honing.
Even those who aren’t fans of Olviga couldn’t deny that she carried AMNSE. No matter how lacklustre a script may be, she takes the craft of acting seriously, immersing herself in each role.
Ashtine Olviga might just be the antidote to a misogynistic industry that treats women as expired once they’re 27; where Filipino women are punished for not adhering to Eurocentric beauty ideals; where nepo babies and the rich take shortcuts and everyone else needs to work ten times as hard.
Recently, her debut EP Love Like Ashtine reached #1 on iTunes in the Philippines, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Olviga also has a slate of film and TV projects upcoming, including the Philippine wide release of her Korean-Filipino action thriller The Guardian. For Olviga, 27 is not the finish line, but just the beginning.
The Love Like Ashtine EP is available on all streaming platforms. You can find Ashtine Olviga on Instagram here.
