KS: Can you tell me about your name? Is Michelle Parton your real name?
Michelle: Actually I have an English stepdad. He legally adopted me when I was six, so basically it is. But, I was born as Michelle Santos.

KS: You lived in England?
Michelle: I've lived in England since I was six. My mom went first and she eventually got me over there and I've been there for 15 years? I grew up there, in a place called Buxton, just outside Manchester. I lived in the highest place in England. It's a nice place. We have this home for the elderly that my dad manages and it's just in front of a lake. We have ducks, swans, a park as well, and it's a tourist place. It's nice to grow up in and it's nice to die in, but at that stage in life, when I was over 21-ish, it wasn't so exciting anymore. That's why I decided to stay here. I'm living with my lola here, mom's side.

KS: When did you come back to the Philippines?
Michelle: End of '94. Bumabalik naman ako before, like, vacation, one month, two months, but this is the longest I've ever stayed in the Phillippines. Actually, I'm planning to go back to England, probably a year. I'm going to have a year off, Decembertime. Every Christmas I go home, but this time it's for the whole year. My dad stays there, and my mom, and I have a ten-year old half-brother.

KS: Did you ever think of moving to London?
Michelle: Well, Buxton is, like, four hours away from London. It's the countryside so medyo country girl ako. London's medyo fast-paced for me. Eventually, I might, but right now? No plans.

KS: How do you compare life here in Manila with life back in England?
Michelle: I live in Marikina right now with my lola and, again, that's like province na. It's a slow-paced life. I go to Makati with friends so there's gimik naman. Sometimes I go to Manchester for gimik, but basically it's the same. I'm a homebody. I stay home a lot.

KS: How old are you?
Michelle: I'm 23 now.

KS: When's your birthday?
Michelle: April 29, I'm a Taurus: stubborn, selosa, always like to get my own way, but mabait, very kind and friendly. Once you find a true friend in me I'll always be there for you. We have a good side to us.

KS: What kind of man gives you a rush?
Michelle: Men with "sex appeal."

KS: Define "sex appeal."
Michelle: It has nothing to do with looks. There are some men I find sexy-looking. They've got the extra X appeal that you don't know what it is, but they're not necessarily good-looking. Sometimes it's the super-guwapo people that don't have the sex appeal. Right now, my favorite actor is Nicholas Cage. He's not that good-looking but I think he's very sexy. Did you watch him in Face/Off? I loved him in that movie: a bad ass.

KS: What do you look at first when you meet a guy?
Michelle: The eyes. I go for the eyes, and then for the hair.
(We suddenly start preening. Uh, oh, bad hair day, time for a hair cut)
And then the shoes. I don't like guys who wear cowboy boots. No matter how good-looking the guy is, if he's wearing cowboy boots...

KS: He's out!
Michelle: Bye, bye.

KS: What do you like about your boyfriend?
Michelle: He's very loving. He's a Christian. My moods kasi, I can be really happy but once in a while I can get really depressed. When I do, he encourages me to meet with the Lord. He gets me through. He's romantic and very supportive. We're getting married. (surprise! congrats!) In England.

KS: Has he met your family already?
Michelle: Yes, I went home to my family last summer and he came with me to meet them.

KS: How long have you been together?
Michelle: One year and a half.

KS: Where'd you meet him?
Michelle: Of all places: Euphoria, and it wasn't on a weekend, it was Monday night. We were there for someone's birthday. I was supposed to meet my best friend at the lobby but I was late. I looked around for my friend and another friend, a mutual friend, introduced us.

KS: If you didn't have a boyfriend, how would someone win your heart? Michelle: Lots of gifts (giggles). KS: What kind of gifts? Michelle: Diamonds (giggles louder). Seriously, I need a lot of attention. If a guy, even if nambobola siya, if he gives me a lot of attention, I'll fall for that. There have been guys nga who are really makulit; I get really close to them. I guess that's how you find out the real person, the more time you spend with them.

KS: Do people still bug you now?
Michelle: Yeah. Sometimes guys calling still the house. Like, "how did you get my number?" Through friends, through friends. Only the other day, this guy cals. "Oh, you remember me? I told you I saw you in Boracay. Where've you been? Are you fat now?" FAT? "No!" "Oh, well, stay sexy now." I go "look, I have to go now," and he's "No, stay, stay, stay Michelle. Stay, stay, stay."

KS: Where you involved in showbiz back in England?
Michelle: I was more into the fine arts. Actually, my dream was to be a computer graphic designer. I even took computer studies. I failed miserably. I just couldn't grasp it. I got grade A's in art but in computers I failed. There goes my dream (laughing).

KS: How did you get into showbiz?
Michelle: I came here end of '94 with my family, my mom and my brother, and I just wanted to stay for Christmastime. I was kind of bored with England for a while and I said "Mom, please let me stay for Christmas." She wouldn't have it. "Get back to England," you know. "Stay with us." So, I searched around for a reason to stay here. So the first couple of weeks that I was here, like I was friends with someone else in showbiz at the time who was just starting out. We went to Aga Muhlach's birthday party end of '94, so siyempre showbiz iyon. And the husband of my manager, my ex-manager now, he was there, ans so two weeks later, I went to Viva and I signed a contract that same night, a two year one. I actually extended for two more years but have a year off first. I've done around 12 movies.

KS: What was your first movie?
Michelle: Batangueno, Kabitenyo with Leo Martinez.

KS: Wasn't that a sexy role?
Michelle: It was banned nga, diba? But my role, I didn't even do anything. Bikini scene, but that's fine for me. For me, they usually put me in comedy. There's always a bikini scene. You know, pretty girl, sexy body, you have to show it off. but that's as far as I would go. Pero nowadays nga they're showing everything. That's not just sexy anymore; that's bold na. That's the uso now. They're the only ones that are making money.

KS: You met Tim in Euphoria, nowadays where do you hang out?
Michelle: We spend a lot of time together, but we just watch movies, have dinner with friends...

KS: You don't go clubbing?
Michelle: For me, no. Nagsawa na ako. The first year I was here, every weekend, Wednesdays, out, but now I just stay home either read a book, Stephen King fan. Desperation's my favorite one. Right now I'm reading Insomnia. It's like so kapal. I like to read. Given the choice between reading and watching TV, I would rather read. I've also read Dean Koontz.

KS: You like horror?
Michelle: Yes.

KS: You like horror movies, I suppose?
Michelle: Yes. There haven't been any good ones lately. My last good one was Hellraiser.

KS: Did you watch Scream?
Michelle: That wasn't really scary. It was more of a thriller. Entertaining. I watch a lot of movies. My favorite this year has to be Face/Off.

KS: Because Nicholas Cage was in it?
Michelle: No, that movie made it for me, actually. he's now at the top of my list because of Face/Off.

KS: Back in England, did you go clubbing a lot?
Michelle: Yes. It was fun. It was really really fun. I was in the height of the raves, 'cause they started in England like '89, '90, '91. Manchester, they say, not being braggy or something, is the capital of music in England.

KS: So you were a part of the original rave scene?
Michelle: Yeah. There were a lot of drugs going on and even though I didn't dabble in that, it did a lot for the atmosphere. You know the time I was raving the number one DJ there was DJ Sasha.

KS: What kind of music do you like listening to?
Michelle: I like Beck. I love his music and I like the way he dresses. Devil's Haircut.

KS: Yeah, the video's great but he wears cowboy boots there?
Michelle: But I didn't say I liked him, I said I liked his music (giggles).

KS: So you listen to techno?
Michelle: Yeah, but actually I'm easy with music as long as it's not heavy rock, with all that screaming and stuff. Anything from Anita Baker to Beck, to techno, that's fine with me.

KS: Which local artists do you like?
Michelle: I like the Eraserheads. They have nice lyrics in their songs.

KS: What are your pet peeves aside from cowboy boots?
Michelle: You mean people-wise? I don't like people who lie. I'm a very honest person. Not naman if ever a friend asks me my opinion on a dress. I wouldn't go "you shouldn't have gotten that," not naman like that, but I'd say it more subtley. "O, maybe you should wear this other dress," yung tipong ganoon.

KS: What do you hate most about the showbiz scene?
Michelle: Yung sipsipan. You have to kiss ass to a lot of people. I'd like to say I've had fun in showbiz. I've experienced a lot of new things I've never experienced before. It's just that part of it. Intriga, as well, I don't like. Some reporters, like, make up something, then print it just to sell papers. Early this year, there were rumors that I was pregnant. That's not true. (Obviously I interject, sabay tingin kay Michelle.) But what hurts more is when it gets to my family, like my lola. If it gets to my lola, she's like "why didn't you tell me?" and I go "Lola, I'm not pregnant."

KS: How does your lola react to this?
Michelle: Nasasaktan siya. She's like an old Filipina and she doesn't realize that sometimes these things aren't true. Especially when I first started my career, I was linked to this guy, linked to this guy, and a lot of them were married. My lola's "Michelle!" and I'm "Lola, it's not true. I only met him one time." But lately the intriga's have died down because I have a serious boyfriend.

KS: What's your idea of a really fantastic date?
Michelle: I've always wanted a little picnic in a hot air balloon above Paris. That's a nice date.

KS: Ideal Getaway?
Michelle: My boyfriend lives in Denver, Colorado, where there are little lodges in the mountains, and I haven't tried it yet, but in the wintertime, to be in one of those lodges, snowed in, warm fire, that's a nice getaway.

KS: Favorite food?
Michelle: Pizza. Anything just ham and cheese.

KS: What would be your highest goal in life?
Michelle: Whatever career I have, eventually I would like to have a family, bring them up closely, God-loving. I'm not sure which way in my career I would like to follow yet, but of course I will try my best in any field I enter.

KS: Are you thinking of going back to Fine Arts?
Michelle: I might be, actually. I'd also like to do a little modelling, because when I came here, I went straight into showbiz and you know, when you're in showbiz na, no more modelling unless you're super sikat. But I did a calendar this year for a brand of jeans. That was a good project. Maybe while we're in England, my boyfriend can tap the European market. So, why not? I'll go with him to his VTRs.

KS: If you were offerred a dream role in a movie, what would it be?
Michelle: I just watched GI Jane with Demi Moore, that's a nice role. That's very challenging. She was good in there. I heard that it didn't do too well in the states, but acting-wise she was perfect for that role. I don't know if I could get that buffed up. That would take, a year probably, to get buffed up.

KS: What if that caller calls again?
Michelle: "Stay buff, Michelle. Stay buff."

KS: Do you like surprises?
Michelle: I love surprises. I love giving them, too. Like Tim, he has a studio, sometimes he doesn't know I'm coming and he's coming home from work, and I hide in the cupboard. He turns the light on and (screams), parang ganoon. Or a nice surprise was on his birthday, he came in from workout and I laid out his present - I bought him a Playstation. That is so cool, she's such a great girl friend. And I gave it to him a month before, 'cause I wanted to play on it kaagad.

KS: Kaya pala.