Anna Marie Falcon (born September 17, 1980 in Las Piñas, Philippines), known by her stage name Francine Prieto, is a Filipino actress, fashion model, and radio DJ.[1] She is of Chinese Filipino and Norwegian descent.[2] She has been dubbed the "Sensuality Queen" by Philippine media due to early appearances in daring roles for Seiko Films.
Education
Prieto studied B.S. Psychology at Adamson University, but was unable to finish her degree when she joined show business.[3]
Career
Prieto began her career in the entertainment industry at a tender age when she entered Eat Bulaga!'s Little Miss Philippines in 1988, before becoming a member of That's Entertainment.
Modeling and pageantry
In her teen years, she showed the makings of a high-profile model and ventured into the modeling industry. At 13, she was fielded in the Elite Model Look Search Philippines 1994 (formerly Look of the Year) and emerged as one of the finalists. Top model Linda Evangelista flew to Manila to judge the search. Prieto, then known as Anna Marie Falcon did ramp modeling and photoshoots with her stunning Eurasian features towering at 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m).
A professional model at 14, she joined Bodyshots Philippines[4] and finished as the runner-up. Joining the competition opened more opportunities for her in the modeling world for years. Prieto represented the Philippines at Miss South East Asia Peninsula International where she finished 2nd runner-up. In 2003, she entered Binibining Pilipinas,[5][6] but managed to only crack the Top 12 despite doing well in the competition.[6] Prieto then screened as a candidate for Mutya ng Pilipinas 2003, but eventually dropped her plans of entering after being offered a contract by then-giant production outfit, Seiko Films.
Prieto has been the cover girl for FHM on three separate occasions in November 2003, October 2006, and volume 3 of its annual edition The Girls of FHM, and was constantly featured on their 100 Sexiest Women list.
Prieto did several daring roles for Seiko Films together with Diana Zubiri. Her biggest break came when she played Queen Avria in Etheria, the second book of Encantadia. She has also done comic roles in Bubble Gang, where she became one of the mainstays. Around the same time, she played Queen Kuran, a villainess in Kamandag, and a supporting role in Codename: Asero as Aureana. In early 2009, she played Sheila, one of the villains in Ang Babaeng Hinugot Sa Aking Tadyang.[citation needed] She continued playing villainous roles in Mars Ravelo's Darna as Lucifera, ang Babaeng Tuod, alongside Marian Rivera in the titular role.
After being with GMA-7 for several years, she terminated her contract in 2010, and switched to rival network ABS-CBN although was non-exclusive.[8] Her first role was Mrs. Smith in Kung Tayo'y Magkakalayo. She then played vampire co-revolutionary leader Imelda Fontanilla in the supernatural thriller series Imortal.[citation needed] She played one of the main roles in Precious Hearts Romances Presents: Alyna as Aida Natividad/Mira Fuentes, returning later on in the series.
Aside from being an actress, she was a radio presenter at DZMM TeleRadyo's programme 'Ka-Date' together with Bobby Yan,[9] which also aired on DZMM 630 simultaneously.
Personal life
On March 26, 2010, Prieto's mother Amelia Falcon died at age 54 from ovarian cancer.[10][11] Prieto has a paternal younger half-sister who lives in Norway,[12] as well as a maternal older half-brother, and three more younger half-siblings from her stepfather.[citation needed]
In 2015, Prieto became engaged to American molecular biologist Frank Shotkoski. The couple married a year later.[13][14]
^Canlapan, & Gelena, Beth (November 19, 2011). "Bodyshots returns with vengeance". Cerphin website. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
