the care of a nursemaid. The following year, she appeared in Katorse with a guest role in the series' finale episode playing a shy girl Nellie. She was then cast as the teenage Mara, a character with her same name, in the youth-oriented show Gimik 2010. 2011–2013: Breakthrough In 2010, Montes' breakthrough role came when she portrayed the role of Clara del Valle / Clara David in the remake of Emil Cruz, Jr.'s longest-running classic soap opera Mara Clara, a drama about teenage sibling rivalry, alongside her co-star and off-screen best friend Kathryn Bernardo. Montes changed her screen name from "Mara Montes" to "Julia Montes" to avoid confusion and complications, since the titular character Mara will be played by Bernardo. The finale episode of the series earned a 43.4% national ratings based on Kantar Media, making it the highest-rating teleserye episode to date aired on ABS-CBN that year. Montes' portrayal as the main antiheroine of the series received generally positive reviews and landed her lead roles in films and television series in her future projects. In 2011, Montes made her film debut in the family drama Way Back Home, which opened in August 2011 to positive reviews, as Jessica "Jessie" Lorraine S. Santiago, alongside Mara Clara co-star Kathryn Bernardo. Montes garnered largely positive reviews by critics, with Abby Mendoza of Philippine Entertainment Portal writing, "One should applaud Julia Montes for deviating from the classic snotty, mean girl character who makes life miserable for the downtrodden Mara. It is Julia's strength to gain the sympathy of the audience while playing the angsty girl who harbors much pain. She has the ability to make her audience understand the pain her character is going through, and more importantly make them see where it is coming from. Julia was astounding." That same year, she worked with Bernado for the third time in the youth-oriented show entitled Growing Up, in which she portrayed the role of Samantha "Tammy" Magtoto, the daughter of an OFW who entrusted his care to Mikaella Dimalanta (played by Bernardo). In 2012, greater success came to Montes when she starred with Coco Martin in the romantic drama series Walang Hanggan. The critically acclaimed series is loosely based on the 1991 film Hihintayin Kita sa Langit, a film based on the Emily Brontë classic novel, Wuthering Heights. Walang Hanggan features the undying love that revolves around characters from three different generations –