In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 28 July 1941
- Died
- 20 May 2022
- Birthplace
- Philippines (Bacolod and Pasay reported)
- Country
- Philippines
- Nationality
- Filipino
- Known for
- A long Philippine screen career, FAMAS-winning performances in Maligno and Gumising Ka, Maruja, and Lola Flora in Ang Probinsyano
- Professional name
- Susan Roces; also recorded as Jesusa Sonora Poe
- Early screen credit
- Mga Bituin ng Kinabukasan (1952)
- Best Actress films
- Maligno (1977) and Gumising Ka, Maruja (1978)
- Later television role
- Lola Flora in FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano
- Family
- Wife of Fernando Poe Jr.; adoptive mother of Grace Poe
Why this life matters
Her work connects the Philippine studio era with later genre filmmaking and long-running television, while her family’s public life links film history with national politics.
Timeline
Key moments
Born
Born on 28 July; the reviewed accounts differ on the birth city.
Early screen work
Appeared in Mga Bituin ng Kinabukasan; leading studio work followed in the 1950s.
Ang Daigdig Ko’y Ikaw
Played Vicky opposite Fernando Poe Jr.’s Roman in the romantic comedy.
Grace’s adoption order
The court record dates the grant of the couple’s adoption petition to 13 May.
Two films and two acting awards
Maligno (1977) and Gumising Ka, Maruja (1978) brought FAMAS Best Actress recognition at the following years’ ceremonies.
Ang Probinsyano
Played Lola Flora during the series’ run; its finale later paid tribute to her.
Death
Died on 20 May, aged 80, before the series ended that August.
Jesusa Sonora and the beginnings of Susan Roces
Susan Roces was the professional name of Jesusa Sonora Poe, also recorded as Jesusa Purificacion Levy Sonora-Poe. Born on 28 July 1941, she became one of Philippine cinema’s most recognisable performers. Sources disagree on her birth city: the Senate journal gives Bacolod, while GMA’s report citing the CCP encyclopedia gives Pasay. Her association with Bacolod is not treated here as conclusive proof of birthplace.
Her early screen work included Mga Bituin ng Kinabukasan in 1952, before her better-known studio career in the 1950s. A proposed Senate resolution identifies Boksingera in 1956 as an early starring role. These milestones distinguish childhood screen work from later leading parts; differing accounts of her age at debut are not converted into a second birth date.
A screen partnership and a family beyond the movies
In the 1965 romantic comedy Ang Daigdig Ko’y Ikaw, Roces played Vicky, a rebellious heiress, opposite Fernando Poe Jr.’s truck driver Roman. The pairing put her comic and romantic performance alongside the actor more often remembered for action roles. Their collaborations continued across other genres and stories, not just variations on that first familiar pairing.
Roces and Poe also formed a family off screen. The Supreme Court’s factual account in Grace Poe’s citizenship case records the couple’s adoption petition being granted on 13 May 1974. That order is separate from the date Grace was found as a newborn in 1968. Their daughter’s later political career is a connected story, not a substitute for Roces’s own professional record.
Horror, melodrama and consecutive FAMAS recognition
Her 1970s work complicated the image of a star associated primarily with sweetness and romance. Celso Ad. Castillo directed her in Patayin Mo sa Sindak si Barbara and Maligno. The latter, a 1977 film, brought her FAMAS Best Actress recognition in 1978. The film’s year and the award ceremony’s year describe different events.
Lino Brocka’s Gumising Ka, Maruja followed in 1978 and brought another FAMAS acting award in 1979. Roces played within a story connecting a woman from the past with a contemporary actress and producer. Cinemateca Portuguesa’s programme identifies the film, director and cast. This Brocka collaboration belongs to Roces’s own filmography; she should not be inserted into Insiang or Manila in the Claws of Light simply because Brocka directed those films too.
Lola Flora and a new television audience
Later television work brought Roces to viewers who had not encountered her original theatrical releases. In FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, which ran from 2015 to 2022, she played Lola Flora, the family elder connected with Coco Martin’s Cardo Dalisay. The character belongs to the television drama rather than to Roces’s personal family history.
ABS-CBN’s account of the August 2022 finale describes the programme’s tribute to her and Martin’s acknowledgement that her permission helped the project begin. That is evidence of her connection to the production, not a complete account of every contractual right. Her presence linked a contemporary television adaptation bearing FPJ’s name with the earlier screen generation in which both actors had worked.
Sources for this section: [8]
Death and a career remembered across generations
Roces died on 20 May 2022 at the age of eighty. The television series’ farewell came later that year, so a posthumous tribute should not be read as evidence that she was still filming after her death. Family recollections and Senate tributes remembered both a working performer and a mother whose life extended beyond the roles audiences knew.
The title Queen of Philippine Movies expresses her longstanding place in popular film culture; it is not the same as a formal National Artist appointment. Her career is best followed through the different work itself: studio comedy, frightening melodrama, award-winning performance and a late television role. These selected milestones explain her range without claiming to be a complete filmography or reducing her achievements to those of her husband and daughter.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Susan Roces
- What was Susan Roces’s real name?
- She is recorded as Jesusa Sonora Poe and Jesusa Purificacion Levy Sonora-Poe. Susan Roces was her professional screen name.
- Which films brought her FAMAS Best Actress awards?
- Maligno (1977), recognised at the 1978 ceremony, and Gumising Ka, Maruja (1978), recognised in 1979. Film and award years should not be merged.
- Was Susan Roces Grace Poe’s biological mother?
- No. Susan Roces and Fernando Poe Jr. were Grace’s adoptive parents. The Supreme Court’s account dates the adoption order to 13 May 1974.
- Who did she play in Ang Probinsyano?
- Lola Flora, an elder in Cardo Dalisay’s family. The series later paid tribute to Roces after her death in May 2022.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- Fernando Poe Jr.
Read the separate career of her husband and frequent screen partner.
- Grace Poe
Follow her adoptive daughter’s career and the court record behind the family history.
- Lino Brocka
Explore the director of her award-winning Gumising Ka, Maruja performance.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. Senate of the Philippines23 May 2022 journal, pages 10–12: tributes to Susan Roces and early film work
Indexed passages on journal pages 10–12 provide name, birth date and early-film chronology. The whole journal was not read; a civil birth record was not inspected.
- 2. Senate of the PhilippinesProposed Resolution 1004, May 2022: dates and early starring work
This is a proposed condolence resolution, not proof of its adoption or a National Artist appointment. Indexed text was available despite restricted direct PDF access.
- 3. GMA News2022 career report citing the CCP encyclopedia’s Pasay birth entry
GMA attributes Pasay to the CCP encyclopedia, whereas the Senate journal and other accounts give Bacolod. This is an unresolved birthplace difference; the CCP entry and civil record were not independently inspected.
- 4. ABS-CBN / Cinema One2022 retrospective: Roces and Fernando Poe Jr. in Ang Daigdig Ko’y Ikaw and other films
- 5. Supreme Court / LawphilPoe-Llamanzares v. COMELEC: factual account of the 13 May 1974 adoption order
- 6. BusinessMirror / Tito Genova Valiente2022 critical retrospective: horror performances and 1978–1979 acting awards
The signed critical retrospective supplies film-versus-ceremony dates. It is not a substitute for a complete FAMAS archive or full viewing of the films.
- 7. Cinemateca PortuguesaGumising Ka, Maruja: 1978 film, cast and 1979 FAMAS recognition
The film archive’s programme supports credits and award chronology. Its scheduled 24 October 2026 screening is in the future at this review date; attendance or a completed event is not claimed.
- 8. ABS-CBN15 August 2022: Ang Probinsyano finale tribute to Roces as Lola Flora
The page displays 15 August 2022 despite its July-shaped URL. It is the broadcaster’s production account, not independent audience measurement or a comprehensive rights contract. No promotional image or film still was imported.
- 9. GMA NewsGrace Poe’s recollections of Susan Roces following her May 2022 death
