Jasmine Curtis was born on 6 April 1994 in Melbourne, Australia as the second daughter of Carmencita Ojales, a Filipina, and James Ernest Curtis-Smith, an Australian lawyer. Aside from her older sister Anne, she also has a younger brother named Thomas James, who is currently completing secondary school in Australia, and had a half-sister named Clare on her father's side who died in 2007 at four months old due to a cardiovascular disease. During her first stay in the Philippines, she studied at St. Paul College in Pasig before leaving in 2005 to return to Australia, where she finished her elementary and secondary schooling. She graduated high school at Loyola College in Watsonia, Melbourne.
Career
2010–2012: Early television career
Curtis first came into notice during her vacations in the Philippines visiting her sister Anne, and it was not until mid-2010, when she appeared in ABS-CBN's noontime variety showShowtime, that networks began pushing to sign her. On December 2010, Curtis signed an exclusive three-year contract with TV5 and is being groomed by the network to be one of its Primetime Princesses. In an interview after the contract signing, she mentioned that she felt really happy to have finally settled in TV5 and appreciated the network's decision to allow her to balance her studies and her showbiz career. In 2013, she signed another 3-year contract with TV5. Curtis' first miniseries for TV5 was a television remake with J. C. de Vera of the 1991 Philippine action-romance film Ang Utol Kong Hoodlum, which was top billed by Robin Padilla and Vina Morales. Some of the scenes in the series were shot in Curtis's native Australia. In 2012, she played the role of Epifania "Anya" Dionisio in Nandito Ako, where she co-starred with Eula Caballero as Holly Posadas and American Idolseason 7 runner-up David Archuleta as Josh Bradley.
2012–2013: Early film career and critical acclaim
Curtis started her film career with two independent film productions: Puti, a 2012 psychological thriller in which she played Nika; and Transit, where she played Yael, an Israeli-Filipino child of an Overseas Filipino who faces deportation. Transit received wide critical acclaim, competing at the 18th Busan International Film Festival, receiving 10 awards at the 9th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, and eventually became the Philippines' entry to the 86th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Curtis' performance as Yael, which required her to quickly learn Hebrew just before production, earned her critical praise from both local and international critics, and earned Curtis the Best Supporting Actress award 2013 also saw her featured on the cover of various magazines in 2013, including Candy, Mega, and with sister Anne was the cover story of the Philippines' maiden issue of ¡Hola!.
2016–2017: Recent Projects
In 2016, Curtis-Smith won the best actress award at the 2016 Cinema One Originals Film Festival for playing the lead role of Alex in the LGBT-themed film Baka Bukas. 2017 saw Curtis-Smith co-starring in JP Habac's I'm Drunk, I Love You, an arthouse romantic comedy which quickly became a viral sensation, prompting a viral fan campaign to keep it in cinemas despite lack of studio support. Popularly referred to as "IDILY", the film's quirky dialogue and comedic timing turned Curtis and co-stars Maja Salvador and Paolo Avelino into viral meme sensations. Curtis is currently hosting SPINNation every Saturday and currently stars on a new series entitled Jasmine every Sundays on TV5.
On 17 April 2018, Curtis-Smith signed an exclusive contract with GMA Network after seven years of stay with TV5.
Method
Curtis-Smith describes her method for improving her acting skills as a process of “learning and observing all kinds of people.” Remarking in an interview after winning a Cinema One best actress award for "Baka Bukas" in 2016, she notes: “I watch, but don’t stare. I listen, but don’t eavesdrop. I become inspired, but don’t necessarily imitate. Although in some cases, like in real-life stories, imitation may be required.”
