Nora Aunor (born Nora Villamayor) grew up in a poor family in Iriga City, Camarines Sur, Philippines. As a child, she sold water at a train station, and even attended school barefoot.
In 1968, Aunor began a highly successful singing career that spawned 30 gold singles.
In the 1970s, Nora teamed up with Tirso Cruz III to create "Guy and Pip," the most popular duo in Philippine cinema.
Nora Aunor has appeared in more than 170 films since the late 1960s. She is the first Filipino actress to win an international acting award in a major film festival (in 1995 in Cairo, for the movie "The Flor Contemplacion Story").
Aunor retains her Philippine citizenship, but she became a permanent resident of the United States in 2008. She has homes in San Francisco and Las Vegas.