BEIJING, China—On Sundays, Marie Angelee Conlu can often be found at home on Beijing’s east side dancing with her two young sons to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.”

But when former presidents Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, boxer Manny Pacquiao, and singer Gary Valenciano come here, her energy is channeled toward serving them either as a translator or a liaison officer, transforming herself a celebrity in her own right.