Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

AFTER A WHILE of being out of touch, I got the chance to bond with Dr. Frieda Brookshire this past weekend at the California Wok in Los Alamitos with other friends. I even admitted this to her na medyo nagtampo ako sa kanya ng konti kasi matagal ko din siyang iniimbitahan na mag get-together to no avail. But, such is the life of a busy doctor, I guess.

My connection with Dr. Brookshire started when she was nominated as Woman of the Year during Reflections 18 a few years back.

Needless to say, she’s a phenomenal Prosthodontist. Just look at the brilliant smiles of Ms. Kuh Ledesma and Ms. Pops Fernandez. That’s the Dr. Brookshire brand.

During our outing, we had some enjoyable conversations and laughs. Nakakatuwang kasama si Dr. Brookshire when she’s out of her doctor’s robe and just relaxing with friends.

The way she is outside work is in stark contrast to her professional life. Being a brilliant Prosthodontist, she does take her job seriously and she is excellent at it.

With the support of her younger brother Frederick, Dr. Brookshire has expanded her practice over the past year. They moved to a much bigger, more state-of-the-art dental office in Orange County, California.

When I’m at her clinic, I sometimes forget that Dr. Brookshire had a much different career path before--being Frieda Fonda, the authentic Ms. Body Language on Philippine TV.

You can only detect traces of that kikay showbiz girl in her when she steps outside her workplace. As you may recall, Frieda Fonda was a very popular dancer during the 1980s. She started showbiz at age 16 and went on to join the cast of TODAS, headlined by comedian Joey De Leon.

When the show TODAS got the axe, Frieda had her academic studies to fall back on. She armed her herself with a degree in dentistry. Shortly after, she migrated to the US and reinforced her dentistry credentials at the University of Loma Linda, California.