Charo Santos

María Rosario Navarro Santos was born on October 27, 1955 to Winifredo Santos, a physician, and Nora Navarro-Santos, with children Millet, the wife of Edgar Mortiz, Suzanne Santos, Malou N. Santos, Joey Santos and Mae Santos.

She grew up in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, where she was discovered by the famous 1970s fashion designer Rikki Jimenez, who asked her to participate in fashion shows and was crowned Miss Calapan. She first met her would-be husband Cesar Concio Jr. (born 1931) when she was hired as a print ad model for his company. She later married him amid a 24-year age gap, at an intimate ceremony held at Pebble Beach, California, on November 9, 1982. They have two sons together, Cesar Francis and Raphael Martin. Talia and Julia are the daughters of Francis and wife Carla. Julia, Talia and Basti are their grandchildren. Luca is the son of Martin Concio and his wife Ystacey. Concio Jr. got infected by COVID-19 and died on October 7, 2023, at age 91.

Santos-Concio was first noticed by the media as Baron Travel Girl in 1976. She also worked as a production assistant pre-martial law with Radio Philippines Network.

In the 1980s, Santos-Concio produced a number of films, such as Oro, Plata, Mata and Himala under the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines. She also was the creative force behind the productions of Vanguard Films and Vision Films before moving to Regal Films.

Santos-Concio's career as an actress began in 1976, when she starred in the lead role of Mike de Leon's directorial debut film Itim. She later won an award for her performance in the film during the 1977 Asian Film Festival. She was critically acclaimed for her performance in Lino Brocka's 1990 film Gumapang Ka sa Lusak, which won several awards including a Best Director FAMAS for Brocka. Santos has also won four FAMAS Award nominations. She obtained two Best Actress nominations for Pag-Ibig na Walang Dangal (1980) and Kontrobersiyal (1981) and Best Supporting Actress nominations for Gumapang Ka Sa Lusak (1990) and Ms. Dolora X (1993). She also earned three Gawad Urian nominations for The Woman Who Left, Gumapang Ka Sa Lusak, and Itim.

In 1987, while working for Regal Films and hosting Eat Bulaga! on RPN, she was invited to join the new ABS-CBN, which had reopened on September 14, 1986. Santos-Concio was promoted from Production Manager, to Program Director to Executive Vice-president. She is credited in the production of several phenomenal television series of ABS-CBN including Esperanza, Mula Sa Puso, Pangako Sa 'Yo, and Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay. Her film background played an important role in the creation of Star Cinema. She is also behind the establishment of Star Magic as one of its co-founders in 1988 and longest-running Philippine TV drama anthology program Maalaala Mo Kaya, which she has hosted since it premiered in 1991.

On December 26, 2007, the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) awarded Santos-Concio with the Manuel de Leon Award for her work in the industry.

On March 1, 2008, she was appointed as the fifth president of ABS-CBN and in charge of the company's total business portfolio, making her the first woman president of the media company and its parent Lopez Holdings Corporation and taking over from interim president Eugenio López III. She took over as CEO after López retired on December 31, 2015.

On January 1, 2016, Santos-Concio stepped down as president and CEO of ABS-CBN Corporation and was succeeded by Carlo Katigbak, the chief operating officer of the company at that time. She is currently the president of ABS-CBN University.

Since 2024, Santos-Concio is one of the board members of ABS-CBN.