Claire dela Fuente

Dela Fuente hails from Caloocan and was born on December 28, 1958. A rotund child at age nine, Dela Fuente was bullied for her weight. As a high school student she sold perfume, cosmetics, and shampoo acquired from Divisoria and Quinta to her classmates. She studied at the University of the East^[1][2]

Dela Fuente was 15 years old when she won the grand prize in at a singing contest at the University of the East. She sang the Carpenters' "Love Me for What I Am". She was scouted by George Canseco, who was the head judge of the competition.^[2][3]

Canseco facilitated Dela Fuente's first national television appearance when she sang the jingle for a 1978 commercial for Hope cigarette.^[4][2][3][5]

Initially she leveraged herself as the "Hope girl" to secure more projects.^[2] Her recordings of "This Girl Has Turned into a Woman" and "Take My Hand For Awhile" did not saw much success.^[3]

She joined Dyna Records where she became well known for her performance of the song "Sayang". The song is an adaptation of a Malaysian song.^{[citation needed]} Marilyn Villapando introduced Filipino lyrics to create "Sayang".^[3]

Dela Fuente was often compared to American singer Karen Carpenter.^[4][6]

She was given various sobriquets such as "Asia's Sweetest Voice" and "Queen of Tagalog Songs". She was also considered a "Jukebox Queen", a distinction also given to Imelda Papin, Eva Eugenio and Didith Reyes.^[6]

Dela Fuente came out of retirement in 2006 after she became a widow.^[3] In 2008, she collaborated with Richard Carpenter for her international album Something in Your Eyes where she sang a cover of the song of the same name.^[7][8]

Dela Fuente retired from the entertainment industry in her mid-20s. In 1993, she established King of Kings Transport which was a failed venture. In 1997, she helped set up the family-owned bus transport company Philippine Corinthian Liner. In 2000, dela Fuente was elected as president of the Integrated Metro Bus Operators Association.^[2]

Dela Fuente led a transport strike in 2003 to oppose the imposition of the number coding scheme in Metro Manila for public utility vehicles.^[2]

In 2011, the franchises of 129 units of the Philippine Corinthian Liner were cancelled.^[9]

She also established a grill and seafood restaurant chain in Pasay. She partnered with a Davao City-based Thai chef to set up Asian Noodle Co. by Chef Off in 2011.^[6]

Dela Fuente died on the morning of March 30, 2021, at the age of 62, due to cardiac arrest arising from complications of COVID-19. She was admitted to the Pope John Paul II Hospital and Medical Center in Las Piñas,^[10][11] where she had been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19.^[12] She had other pre-existing medical conditions like hypertension and diabetes.^[13]

Dela Fuente was married to Moises "Boy" de Guzman. She was 19 years old and de Guzman was 29 when they got married.^[2] They had two sons.^[1] De Guzman died in 2006 due to cancer.^[1]