Alessandra De Rossi

Born in England and bred in the Philippines, up-and-coming Pinoy star Alessandra De Rossi first tasted fame three years ago in the small yet critically acclaimed drama SMALL VOICES.

It was not until this fall when she played the lead role of a spooked foreign domestic worker in Kelvin Tong's horror smash THE MAID that Singaporeans began to sit up and take notice of this feisty 21-year-old.

I have seen THE MAID and admittedly liked it enough to recommend it. I did not find the movie very scary, but thought De Rossi, who is half-Italian by the way, was completely believable in her portrayal of a woman plagued by visions of the dead because she is unaccustomed to Chinese traditions and superstitions during the Seventh Lunar Month.