Filipina-Australian actress and World Vision ambassador Jasmine Curtis-Smith has carved her path in the spotlight with impactful intention, choosing roles that tell important stories and causes that go beyond fame.
Movies, plays, and television shows have always had the ability to stay with us long after the credits rolled. A single piece of media could ignite conversations, shift perspectives, or even alter the course of someone’s beliefs. Whether it’s an indie film that made us pause or a blockbuster that inspired a generation, storytelling proved itself to be more than entertainment. It is a way to interpret the world and share meaning.
For Filipina-Australian actress Jasmine Curtis-Smith, this truth has become the foundation of her career. She came to view acting as more than stepping into character and basking into fame. To her, every project is an opportunity to open a window for audiences to experience realities beyond their own. “You show people what real life is, life beyond their comfort zone,” she told Stylish Magazine. “You get to be a window for them to understand life beyond their own four corners.”
It is this belief, that stories matter, that has guided Jasmine in choosing her projects, her advocacy work, and the kind of stardom she wanted to embody.
Early Roots
Long before her name was on marquees, Jasmine was already familiar with being in front of the cameras. She began doing commercials and print ads as a toddler.
“Ever since we moved here to the Philippines, my mom would make me go to VTRs and auditions, in case I’d get cast as a model. I was around four years old when I started,” she recalled with a laugh. “Thankfully, nabu-book naman ako a few times up until I was nine years old.” (Thankfully, I was booked a few times up until I was nine years old.”)
Still, she admitted it never felt like her calling. “Doon na nag-kick in na I just wanted to play on the streets with my friends. I didn’t know what this industry was, and I felt like di ko lang siya gamay.” (It kicked in that I just wanted to play on the streets with my friends. I didn’t know what this industry was, and I felt like it was not my expertise.”)
Instead of pursuing the showbiz path expected of her, Jasmine took a different direction. She spent her high school years in Australia, away from the buzz of the Philippine entertainment. She filled her days with schoolwork, friends, and the kind of normalcy we all know.
“I was always the teacher’s pet,” she said with a smile. “I’d sit in the front row, raise my hand for everything, and make sure I got my homework done. I just wanted to focus on school and enjoy being a student.”
Finding Purpose
While she thrived academically, this also paved the way for Jasmine to search for something deeper: a sense of belongingness and purpose. In high school, she sought community and found it in advocacy and service organizations. “Honestly, I was just looking for a community to join,” she said. “My cousin was part of a lot of community and Christian service groups like World Vision, so naisip ko, ‘Sali na rin ako.’ (so I thought, I might as well join.) At least that way, I could hang out with her, and also do something meaningful.”
paired with green floral-print sandals by Filipino shoe brand Gibi
paired with green floral-print sandals by Filipino shoe brand Gibi
She vividly remembered one activity: “One time, I joined a 48-hour cage experience. We slept on the school grounds for 40-plus hours in our sleeping bags, in the middle of winter in Melbourne, around 12 to 14 degrees. Walang pagkain, tubig lang, no phones. (No food, no water, no phones.) It was so that as students, we would understand somewhat what refugees experience in certain camps.”
That weekend left its mark. By the time Jasmine returned to the Philippines, she carried with her a deeper sense of purpose. She continued her work with World Vision in the Philippines, and more than a decade later, she remained one of its active ambassadors.
paired with green floral-print sandals by Filipino shoe brand Gibi
“With my family and friends’ support during fundraising, I felt really encouraged to find ways to give back,” she said. The actress got to sponsor one teenage kid as part of her work at World Vision. “It’s a privilege to be part of this journey. You’re not their parent, but you’re hoping they’ll see their own potential.”
paired with green floral-print sandals by Filipino shoe brand Gibi
Stories That Matter
That sense of compassion she learned from World Vision and other organizations as a teenage girl served as a foundation in her work as an actress.
paired with earrings by H&M, sandals by Filipino shoe brand Gibi
Her breakout role in Transit (2013) was a revelation. In the film, she portrayed Yael, the daughter of Filipino migrant workers in Israel, speaking Hebrew throughout the movie, while navigating the painful reality of deportation and identity. It’s a story that mirrors the struggles of countless Filipino families abroad, children who’ve grown up caught between cultures, uncertain of where they belong, and at risk of being torn from the only home they know. For Jasmine, the role opened her eyes to how cinema could put a human face on issues that often only appeared as statistics or headlines.
paired with sandals by Filipino shoe brand Gibi
Since then, Jasmine gravitated toward narratives that reflected real, often overlooked lives.
In her upcoming film Open Endings, she plays Hannah, a queer woman navigating friendship, love, and identity. “I’m very pleased that now we have SOGIE (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression) workshops before shooting,” she shared. “It teaches you about pronouns, sensitivities, and how people choose to identify. We need to be intentional. Kasi kokonti lang ang queer (Because there are a few queers), specifically sapphic, films sa Pilipinas (in the Philippines). Representation is important, and we have to do it with heart and truth.”
Beyond the set, the significance of projects like Open Endings lay in the reminder that these weren’t abstract characters, as they represented communities who lived and breathed among us. Queer women in the Philippines, particularly sapphic couples, often go unseen in mainstream media, which makes the very few stories that highlight them all the more vital. For Jasmine, films like this challenge audiences to recognize that these were real people with real lives, and greater awareness of who they are could be the first step toward dismantling ignorance and fostering empathy.
She also believes that films and television could reach across generations, nudging people to reflect on ideas they might not have encountered before. With older audiences, change could be slow. “They’re set in their ways,” she shared her observation, noting how deeply ingrained habits and beliefs could be. But even if progress could come inch by inch, she believes there is still value in putting new perspectives in front of them.
Where she sees the greatest promise in her work, however, is with the youth. “There’s so much room to educate the younger generation,” she emphasized. “They’re eager to learn, and if we can give them truthful stories, they’ll grow up seeing the world differently.” For the actress, this responsibility is as important as the craft itself: to shape not just performances, but the very way the next generation can understand the world.
paired with sandals by Filipino shoe brand Gibi
Sapphic film Open Endings is one of the 10 finalists for the 2025 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. The film, which is being described as a pure and honest portrayal of queer stories in Philippine cinema, will be shown from October 3 to 12, 2025 in Metro Manila.
She’s carried that same thoughtfulness in another upcoming role in Manila’s Finest, set in the late ’60s. Here, she plays Janet, a woman defined by her quiet strength. While she couldn’t reveal much about the plot, she hinted at the resonance of the character. “Ironically, she doesn’t give herself away easily,” Jasmine said. “Her integrity defines her.” Manila’s Finest is an upcoming 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) crime drama movie.
Another role that embodied this pursuit of meaning was the character of Jai in 3 Upuan, this time, brought to life on stage. After nearly a decade away from theater, Jasmine returned in a theatre production play as one of three siblings navigating time, grief, and family. “Theater is the actor’s platform,” she explained. “It’s live, it’s raw, you can’t just memorize lines five minutes before like in TV or film. It forces you to pour everything out for the audience to feel.”
These choices reflected a deliberate path. “I’d say I’m just very lucky that the first two films I was exposed to, the scripts I read, were both very powerful with their messages,” she explained. “Right away, I saw what cinema can do, it can go beyond entertainment and really speak to issues that matter.”
Where It All Leads
For Jasmine, her work in film, TV, theater, and advocacy fold into one mission: expanding what people see as possible. When asked what she thought was the perfect message for young women, her answer was simple yet powerful: “Girls can,” she said. “Girls can dream, speak up, finish school, work, and change the world. We just need to be told it’s possible.”
paired with fuchsia pink sandals by Filipino shoe brand Gibi
This same message is something she upholds as the ambassador of World Vision, and as a child sponsor through the organization since 2012. The artist advocates for girls’ empowerment through the #GirlsCan campaign of World Vision, which aims to break down barriers that silence girls and hinder their access to education, leadership opportunities, and the chance to pursue their dreams. Through the org, she shares her personal stories as a child sponsor, promoting World Vision‘s initiatives to support girls and foster stronger, safer communities.
paired with fuchsia pink sandals by Filipino shoe brand Gibi
It has always been the same spirit that has fueled Yael in Transit, a child fighting to belong; Hannah in Open Endings, a queer woman accepting her truth and braving it within her friendships; Jai in 3 Upuan, carrying her family through grief; Janet in Manila’s Finest, a woman whose integrity guided her every step; and Jasmine, the actress, wants to make the world a better place through worthwhile storytelling and purposeful actions. Each character, like Jasmine herself, is proof that stories could show us new ways of being. For her, that is the power of storytelling, to remind audiences, young and old, that possibility and constant progress exist. “We just need to be told and taught that it’s possible,” she concluded.
Sometimes, the most lasting kind of fame is the kind that leaves behind courage, empathy, change, impact, and purpose.
Words: Dara Evangelista
Photography: Dix Perez
Styling & Fashion Direction: Marane A. Plaza
Wardrobe Assistance: Thiolo Cruzada
Makeup: John Pagaduan
Hair: Mark Ibarolla
Art Direction: Joy Agoylo
Studio Venue: Spotlight Creatives Studio
Shoot Coordination with Talent Management: Geraldine Magbanua of Vidanes Celebrity Management
Special thanks to Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI Group), Vidanes Celebrity Management, Spotlight Creatives Studio, Hey Heleyna Fashion Atelier by Janina Saspa, and Gibi.
Follow Stylish Magazine on Instagram @stylishmagazine.online and on Facebook at facebook.com/Stylish.Emagazine.
Watch out for a new #StylishPodcast episode featuring our cover girl Jasmine Curtis-Smith, dropping soon on Facebook and YouTube.