Erich Gonzales

Erika Chryselle Gonzales Gancayco-Lorenzo (born September 20, 1990), better known by her stage name Erich Gonzales (English: /ˈɛrɪtʃ/; Tagalog: [ˈɛɾitʃ gɔnˈsalɛs]), is a Filipino actress. She is a contract artist of ABS-CBN's Star Magic. She started her showbiz career at the age of 14, as a contestant of the reality talent search Star Circle Quest. She came to prominence in her lead role Katorse.

After winning Star Circle Quest, she changed her last name from Gancayco to Gonzales, her mother's maiden name. Due to the start of her entertainment career, Erich completed her high school years at the ABS-CBN Distance Learning Center attended college at the Trinity University of Asia, where she majored in mass communication.

The youngest of three siblings, Gonzales was born in Cebu City and raised in Davao City.

Her career began when she won as Grand Questor in the second season of the reality talent search Star Circle Quest in 2005, and later becoming a part of ABS-CBN's home-based training and management program, Star Magic after her win. Erich became a familiar face as she appeared in numerous shows and dramas as a supporting actress, such as Dorina in the hit phenomenon TV series Mga Anghel na Walang Langit. She also starred in the teen-oriented show Abt Ur Luv as Waling-Waling and as Ella in the drama series Pieta. She then showed her versatility in acting when she played Camille in the drama series Sana Maulit Muli opposite to Gerald Anderson with Kim Chiu as the supporting cast and antagonist later in the end became kind throughout every episode.

Gonzales rose to fame in 2009 when she played the protagonist, a teenage mother in the TV adaptation of the 1980 film Katorse, alongside Enchong Dee, Ejay Falcon, and Xian Lim. The series became a top rater and was critically acclaimed, catapulting Erich to stardom, earning her the title Breakthrough Star of 2009 by the Sunday entertainment talk show, The Buzz.

In the same year, she made her film debut in her first digital movie (Indie film) Paano Ko Sasabihin? with her perennial partner, Enchong Dee. The film became an official entry to the 2009 Cinema One Originals Film Festival and was a recipient of several awards in the festival.

In 2010, following the success of Katorse, she landed her second lead role in the TV series Tanging Yaman alongside her Katorse co-stars Enchong Dee and Ejay Falcon. The series was one of ABS-CBN's offerings for the 60th Celebration of Filipino Soap Operas. While the series was still airing, Erich had begun working for her third series project, Magkaribal. The show was highly acclaimed and is now regarded as Philippines' First Fashionserye (first fashion TV series).

After an impressive back-to-back hit TV series, Gonzales signed an exclusive two-year contract with Star Cinema, poising her to prove her box-office draw. Later that year, the hit love team of Erich and Enchong starred in their first mainstream movie, I Do under Star Cinema. She also became the lead cast of the indie film Noy with Coco Martin, which became the Philippines' entry in the 83rd Academy Awards in Best Foreign Language Film category.