Born January 27, 1961 to Swiss mother Jeannette Schäer and French-Italian-Filipino father Honesto Bonnevie. Her paternal grandfather was Pedro José de Bonnevie, a significant landowner in the Bicol region, who hails from Évian-les-Bains, France and was part French and Italian. Her grandmother was pre-World War II actress Rosita Rivera, also from Bicol. She is a cousin of singer Lou Bonnevie. She has two children from her previous marriage with comedian Vic Sotto, Oyo Boy Sotto and Danica, both of whom are now in the entertainment industry as well.

She was educated at St. Theresa's College, Manila and finished her elementary and secondary education at St. Agnes' Academy in Legazpi City, where she was very active in drama guilds. In 1979, she was first runner-up in Miss Magnolia contest, where Joanna Paras took home the title.

In 1980 she enrolled in Communication Arts at the Ateneo de Manila University and, later, the University of the Philippines, unfortunately, she did not graduate and finish her degree. Introduced by young actor Alfie Anido to director Joey Gosiengfiao, she first appeared in teen dramas Underage (1980) and Temptation Island (1980), but her breakout movie was Katorse (1980) with Anido and Gabby Concepcion. This film established her as one of the "Regal Babies" (named after the studio, Regal Films). She then appeared in a longer slew of teenage love or growing-pains dramas. Bakit Ba Ganyan? (1981) was a film whose theme song she sang and popularized.

In 1981, she starred in Age Doesn't Matter and was paired with Vic Sotto. What started as a reel romance turned real. The couple started a sitcom from 1982 to 1986 over BBC channel 2 every Saturday at 8 pm entitled, 2 + 2 = Gulo, sharing stellar billing with Maricel Soriano, William Martinez and Herbert Bautista. During this period, she focused on being a homemaker and would occasionally accept showbiz assignments. In-between her domestic life, she was able to finish Mike de Leon's Hindi Nahahati Ang Langit in 1985, lending support to Lorna Tolentino, Elwood Perez' Till We Meet Again and Leroy Salvador's Tinik sa Dibdib, both with Nora Aunor.

In 1986, she was re-launched and re-packaged by Viva Films as a dramatic actress through the comics-adapted story, Magdusa Ka! This time, local award-giving bodies recognized her performance by giving her their highly coveted statuettes.

In 1985, she ventured into dramatic roles, starting with Mike de Leon's Hindi Nahahati ang Langit (1985). Her other films are A Dangerous Life (1988) (mini), with American actor Gary Busey; Orapronobis (1989), Pangarap na Ginto (1990), Huwag mong Salingin ang Sugat ko (1991) and Akin ang Pangarap Mo (1992). In Babaeng Nawawala sa Sarili (1989), Bonnevie sizzled and wowed critics and audiences alike in the role of a possessed woman. She also portrayed real-life characters, such as in Eskapo: The Serge Osmena-Geny Lopez Story (1995), as the wife of Geny Lopez; as one of the accused parents in the child-molestation drama, Minsan May Pangarap: The Guce Family Story (1995), shot in New York City; as the girlfriend of activist Leopoldo Mabilangan in Ka Hector (1995); and as Governor Chavit Singson's wife in Chavit (2003), opposite Cesar Montano and Eddie Garcia. She also did some sexy roles in Tag-Araw, Tag-Ulan where she starred with Gary Estrada.

Other notable films where Bonnevie showed maturity as an actress include: Tinik sa Dibdib (1985), for which she won Best Supporting Actress at the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) and Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) awarding ceremonies; Magdusa Ka (1986), for which she was given Best Actress awards by FAMAS, FAP and Catholic Mass Media Awards; Gumapang ka sa Lusak (1990), directed by Lino Brocka, for which she was nominated by FAMAS and URIAN Awards for Best Actress; and Sa Kabila ng Lahat (1991), for which she was nominated by FAMAS, FAP and Urian Awards for Best Actress.

Other acting nominations are for Kung Kasalanan Man (1989), FAMAS; Bakit Kay Tagal ng Sandali? (1990), FAP; Tanging Yaman (2000), which won Best Picture in nearly all the local awards ceremonies and gave her an URIAN Best Supporting Actress nomination; American Adobo (2001), URIAN Best Actress nomination; and Bridal Shower (2004), URIAN Best Actress nomination again.

Bonnevie also appeared in bright comedies with her former husband, Vic Sotto, in Hindi Pa Tapos Ang Labada, Darling! (1994) and Bakit Ba Ganyan? (Ewan ko nga ba, Darling) (2000). When they were still married they also appeared together in Ride on Baby (1985) and Mama Said, Papa Said, I Love You (1985). Bonnevie also topbilled Tatarin (2001), based on the short story Summer Solstice by Nick Joaquin; critics nearly panned the movie but appreciated Bonnevie's nuanced characterization of Lupe Moreta.

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