Yarrawonga’s own world-renowned multimedia star Anne Curtis-Smith.
A mega star in Asia and across social media, Anne Curtis-Smith, who hails from Yarrawonga, has amassed a social following of 20.3 million whilst also appearing in some of the Philippines biggest blockbusters.
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She knows Australia but, except for Yarrawonga, Australia doesn’t know much about her.
The daughter of former well-known Yarrawonga lawyer Jim Curtis-Smith, Anne is often described as Asia’s ‘sweetheart’.
Anne, who turns 39-years-of-age on February 17, is a Filipino-Australian actress, model, television host, entrepreneur and recording artist who goes by the name Ann Curtis.
Dubbed as the ‘multimedia superstar’, Anne is recognised as one of the most successful celebrities of the 21st-century in the Philippines. She is the first Filipina celebrity to reach 20 million followers on Instagram and amasses millions on other social media.
An article about the outstanding background of Anne, who attended school in Yarrawonga, appeared in The Age’s Good Weekend of January 27 this year.
Anne has received numerous accolades throughout her career. She has starred in several films, including the box-office hits Baler (2008), No Other Woman (2011), A Secret Affair (2012), The Gifted (2014), Sif & Aya: Not A Love Story (2018) and The Mall The Merrier (2019).
She has starred in several hit television series and was one of the main hosts of the noontime variety show ‘It’s Showtime’ from 2009 to 2020, and since 2022.
Born Anne Ojales Curtis-Smith in Yarrawonga, she is the daughter of Carmencita Ojales, a Filipina from Bolinao, Pangasinan, and Jim. Anne’s younger sister, Jasmine, is also an actress. On their father’s side, they had a half-sister named Clare who died in 2007 due to a cardiovascular disease at four-months-old.
In 1997, at the age of 12, Anne, visited her mother’s relatives in the Philippines with her family. During this trip, a talent scout approached her, inviting her to enter a children’s beauty pageant. Despite initial scepticism from her father, Anne, with her mother’s support, decided to explore opportunities in the entertainment industry.
She began attending various talent agencies. At the time, Anne faced the challenge of not being able to speak or understand the Filipino language, prompting her to enrol in language classes.
She has received her fourth win for Best Female TV Host at television awards for her work on It’s Showtime.
Anne has been involved in charitable and philanthropic work in the Philippines, including years as a celebrity advocate for UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) Philippines and became UNICEF’s National Goodwill Ambassador in 2015, the year she launched a marathon called the ‘Heroes for Children Run’ to benefit UNICEF’s ‘1,000 Days of Life’ campaign.
She and husband Erwan Heussaff have a daughter Dahlia. Anne attended Sacred Heart Primary School.
“Anne was a good student, personably bright,” former Sacred Heart Primary School teacher Chris Adkins told the Yarrawonga Chronicle. “She fitted into the group just beautifully and seemed to have good friends and progressed as you’d expect.”
The Curtis-Smiths are good friends with locals John and Kate Gorman, whose daughter Melissa attended school with Anne. All have enjoyed each other’s company in the Philippines.
“Anne is a lovely, lovely young person, a most delightful lady,” Mr Gorman of Hargraves Solicitors Yarrawonga said. “
1990s. Jim Curtis-Smith of Hargraves Yarrawonga representing NSW and Victorian Governments and shires in the Yorta Yorta case.
“Jim is a highly thought of lawyer and could easily have been a barrister. With the Yorta Yorta case many years ago, the NSW and Victorian Governments, and the shires, appointed Jim to represent them, without counsel. Many magistrates spoke so highly of Jim, who was my business partner,” Mr Gorman said.
For her imminent 39th birthday, Anne will attend the concert of the massively popular Taylor Swift at the MCG where she will be able to “live normally”. That’s not the case in the Philippines where she is noticed everywhere.
