Geraldine Schaer Bonnevie was born on January 27, 1961, to Honesto Bonnevie and Jeannette Schaer. Her grandmother, Rosita Rivera, was a pre-World War II actress. Bonnevie has two children with comedian Vic Sotto, who are also interested in acting.
She began her schooling at St. Theresa's College in Manila but finished her elementary and secondary education at St. Agnes' Academy in Legaspi City, where she was active in drama guilds. Bonnevie enrolled in Communication Arts at the Ateneo de Manila University and later at the University of the Philippines.
She made her film debut in the teen dramas "Under-age" (1980) and "Temptation Island" (1980),but her launching movie was "Katorse" (1984) with Alfie Anido and Gabby Concepcion. This film established her as one of the "Regal Babies" named after the studio, Regal Films.
Bonnevie then appeared in a slew of teenage love or growing-pains dramas, including "Bakit ba ganyan" (1981),where she sang the theme song and popularized it. In 1985, she ventured into dramatic roles, starting with "Heaven Is Not Divided" (1985) directed by Mike de Leon.
Her other notable films include "A Dangerous Life" (1988) with American actor Gary Busey, "Orapronobis" (1989),"Pangarap na ginto" (1990),"Huwag mong salingin ang sugat ko" (1991),and "Akin ang pangarap mo" (1992).
Bonnevie also portrayed real-life characters, such as in "Eskapo" (1995) as the wife of Geny Lopez, "Minsan may pangarap: The Guce Family Story" (1995) as one of the accused parents, "Ka Hector" (1994) as the girlfriend of activist Leopoldo Mabilangan, and "Chavit" (2003) as the wife of Governor Chavit Singson.
Some of her notable film awards and nominations include Best Supporting Actress for "Tinik sa dibdib" (1985) and Best Actress for "Magdusa ka!" (1986).
Bonnevie also appeared in comedies with her ex-husband, Vic Sotto, including "Hindi pa tapos ang labada, darling" (1994) and "Bakit ba ganyan? (Ewan ko nga ba, Darling)" (2000). She has also topbilled films like "Tatarin" (2001) and "American Adobo" (2001).
After her disappearance from the limelight during 2005 and 2006, Bonnevie reappeared recently, appearing unclothed as the cover of FHM Magazine.
