Kim loses mother

Cebuana actress Kim Chiu is home in grief to  mourn the death of her 50-year-old mother, who died after suffering an aneurysm.

Family and relatives gathered last night  to pay their respects and honor the late Louella Yap Chiu, whose remains were placed at the  Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes  in Nivel Hills, Cebu CIty.

Kim, whose full name is Kimberly Sue Yap Chiu arrived yesterday but avoided giving interviews.

Two men in black guarded the entrance of the chapel. Media outlets were kept out.

Kim’s mother reportedly suffered a heart attack and fell in a coma.  She was pronounced dead Sunday due to aneurysm.

Louella Yap Chiu will be laid to rest on  Saturday, June 29,  at CemPark in Banilad, Cebu City.

Kim and her siblings grew up with their paternal grandmother since their parents had  separated.

Last April, Kim   visited her father who has another family in Romblon.

Last night, she posted in her Instagram (chinitaprincess): “Life is full of surprises.”

Earlier she posted in her Twitter (@KimChiuOFFICIAL), “Sana panaginip lang ito.” (I wish this was just a dream.)

Support for Kim filled  social networking sites Twitter, Instagram and Facebook as fans  expressed their sympathy and offered prayers for her  and her family.

Among those who posted  condolences in her Twitter account were Rico Hizon, a Filipino anchor of the BBC. Hizon twitted: “My deepest condolences and prayers to @prinsesachinita and her family.”

Rappler’s Maria Ressa also tweeted: “I am SAD” as she posted a link to Rappler’s  story on the actress’ loss.

Chiu was a 16 year old student of Cherish  School, a private school for  children of Filipino-Chinese families in Cebu City  when she shot to fame  by winning the top spot in the  reality  ABS-CBN’s reality series Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition in 2006.

She later moved to Manila to embark on a career in movies and teleseries in ABS-CBN.

Her latest teleserye, Ina, Kapatid, Anak, where she starred with the new girl friend – Maja Salvador – of her former boyfriend Gerald Anderson just ended last week.

Anderson was Kims  runner-up in the popular PBB Teen Edition in 2006./Correspondents Carine M. Asutilla and Michelle Joy L. Padayhag