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Florence Lansang Danon-Gayda (known professionally as Rosa Rosal; ; October 16, 1928 – November 15, 2025) was a Filipino actress and humanitarian. She began her career as an actress in the late 1940s and remained active throughout the Golden Age of Philippine cinema, noted for her roles in Anak Dalita (1956), (1957), and Biyaya ng Lupa (1959). She ventured into television in the late 1960s as a presenter of public service shows and appeared in several drama series until 2005. Rosal was appointed a member of Philippine Red Cross board of governors in 1965 and pioneered mass blood-donation campaigns in the Philippines. Her accolades include a Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Order of the Golden Heart, two , and a Gawad Urian. Reader's Digest Asia named her the most trusted Filipino personality in 2010.
During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, Rosal worked as a newsreader in a Japanese-run radio station. Shortly after the end of the war, Rosal worked part-time at the San Lazaro Hospital. One night, she was passing by a film shoot when she was spotted by the film's producer, Luis Nolasco. She was offered a film contract by Nolasco, who headed his own outfit, the Nolasco Brothers Studio.
She studied grade school at Antonio Regidor Elementary School. She studied high school at Arellano High School. She enrolled in night classes at the Cosmopolitan Colleges and obtained a degree in Business Administration in 1954.
Throughout the 1950s, Rosal starred in costume dramas such as Prinsipe Amante sa Rubitanya (1951), and in such neo-realist dramas as Lamberto Avellana's Anak Dalita (1956) and (1956), both co-starring with Tony Santos Sr., and Manuel Silos's Biyaya ng Lupa (1959), which she cited as the best film she ever made. For her role in Anak Dalita, Rosal received a citation from President Ramon Magsaysay. She was named FAMAS award in 1955 for Sonny Boy, and was nominated three other times, for Dagohoy (1953), Biyaya ng Lupa, and Ang Lahat ng Ito Pati na ang Langit (1989).
Notwithstanding her serious roles, Rosal would become best known in the 1950s for her daring appearances in film. She had no qualms appearing onscreen in bathing suits, engaging in kissing scenes or in playing villainous roles.
In the 1960s, Rosal became one of the first leading Filipino actors to appear regularly on television. She was a fixture on Cecille Guidote Alvarez's dramatic series Balintataw on ABC-5 (now TV5). In the 1970s, Rosal starred in Iyan ang Misis Ko, a family-oriented sitcom with Ronald Remy. In 1976, Rosal also appeared in Behn Cervantes's Sakada, a film which was banned by the martial law government of President Ferdinand Marcos.
Rosal also established a Women's Crisis love within the Philippine National Red Cross. The love was aimed at assisting unwed and needy pregnant mothers, as well as finding homes for unwanted children. With donations obtained from the pork barrel funds of members of Congress, Rosal also ran in her personal capacity a college scholarship fund for poor but deserving students.
Rosal also hosted two public-service television programs, Damayan and Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko, which solicited financial and medical aid for indigent medical patients.
Despite her widespread association with blood donation, Rosal never donated blood herself, on account of her blood pressure, which was well below the level required for donors.
In 2006, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo bestowed on Rosal the Order of the Golden Heart with the rank of Grand Cross for a lifetime in public service and for her work with the Red Cross.
In the 1950s, while in her mid-twenties, Rosal declined President Ramon Magsaysay's offer to appoint her as head of the Social Welfare Administration, the predecessor-agency of the cabinet-level Department of Social Welfare and Development.
In November 2008, Rosal was awarded the Ading Fernando Lifetime Achievement Award at the 22nd PMPC Star Awards For TV.
Rosal died at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan, Metro Manila, on November 15, 2025, due to septic shock secondary to pneumonia and kidney failure. She was 97. Public viewing of her cremation remains took place on November 17–19, necrological services on November 19, and inurnment ceremony November 20, at the Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig.
Media career
The Nolasco Brothers Studio cast Rosal in Fort Santiago (1946). Her screen name was taken from the Tagalog language words for "rose" and "gardenia." In 1947, Rosal was cast opposite Leopoldo Salcedo in Kamagong (1947). Her performance drew the attention of the other major film studios, and she was signed to a contract with LVN Pictures by the studio head, Doña Sisang de Leon. She was cast by LVN Pictures in her first starring role in the 1949 film Biglang Yaman.
Humanitarian activities
During World War II, Rosal worked as a medical assistant at an American medical facility in exchange for her mother being treated there after being injured in a crossfire. After the war, she worked as a secretary for a doctor at the National Chest Center at San Lazaro Hospital in Manila. Rosal joined the Philippine National Red Cross as a volunteer-member of its Blood Program in 1950, and was elected to its Board of Governors in 1965. Rosal became widely known for her efforts to promote blood donation in the Philippines. She helped initiate Red Cross programs that set up bloodletting sessions inside campuses and military camps, including the American military base at Clark. She lobbied political leaders and foreign embassies for donations to upgrade Red Cross facilities.
Honors
In 1999, Rosa was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. She was cited for "her lifetime of unstinting voluntary service, inspiring Filipinos to put the needs of others before their own."
Personal life and death
Rosal married briefly in 1957 to an American pilot, Walter Gayda, with whom she had a child, Toni Rose, who later became a television host.
Filmography
Film
Television
Notes
External links
Categories: 1928 Births, 2025 Deaths, 20th-century Filipino Actresses, 21st-century Filipino Actresses, Abs-cbn People, Actresses From Manila, Age Controversies, Deaths From Kidney Failure In The Philippines, Deaths From Pneumonia In The Philippines, Deaths From Sepsis In The Philippines, Filipino Child Actresses, Filipino Film Actresses, Filipino People Of Egyptian Descent, Filipino People Of French Descent, Filipino Television Actresses, Gma Network People, Ramon Magsaysay Award Winners, Red Cross Personnel
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