Zeny Zabala

Emerenciana Ortiz Santos (21 July 1937 – 8 August 2017)[1] was a Filipina actress, known as Zeny Zabala. She was known as the villain of Sampaguita Pictures for her frequent roles as the villainess in her films.

Zeny Zabala's type of villainous portrayal is never the loud type but a subtle and sultry one. Being born with an alabaster-white complexion, she would be dressed to the nines, hair done and teased and faced elegantly made-up. She would deliver her lines with clarity and authority, exchanging lines with the lead actress.

One of 9 siblings, she was the fourth child of Enrique Santos and Ursula Ortiz. She was discovered when she was accompanying her sister Aurora Aragon who was then in the movie industry away back in 1954. She started her career in Sampaguita picture on September 1954. In Sampaguita, her first movie was Binibining Kalog opposite Lolita Rodriguez and Ramon Revilla.

In 1964, Zabala earned her first acting nomination as Best Supporting Actress for “Ang Bukas ay Akin!” topbilled by Charito Solis and Nestor de Villa. She continued to appear in more Dolphy films such as Kalabog En Bosyo Strike Again (1985) and her last known big screen appearance, Tataynic (1998), both directed by her husband, Ben Feleo who died in 2011.

She appeared as Vilma Santos' cruel mother-in-law in Chito Roño's Ikaw Lang in 1993. She co-starred with the Star for all Seasons in Marilou Diaz-Abaya's Baby Tsina in 1984.[2]

She joined the cast of "John en Marsha" in 1982 as the mother of Madel, Rolly Puruntong's wife.