Besides being the happiest people on earth, Filipinos also pride themselves on talent and exceptional skills, hence the term “Pinoy Pride.”
From singers, actors and musicians to dancers, models, stand-up comedians and even YouTube personalities, several Filipinos or people with Filipino blood have achieved success on the international stage.
In celebration of Filipino-American Month in the United States, we bring you the latest list of movie stars making waves on the Hollywood scene.
Bella Poarch
After gaining fame after making her “To The B” video on TikTok, Denari Taylor, known professionally as Bella Poarch, became an instant celebrity, amassing 1.9 billion likes and 82.9 million followers on TikTok.
Following her success, Bella also entered the music scene, releasing her debut single “Build a B*tch”, one of the biggest YouTube debuts in history with over 307 million views.
She is one of Forbes’ Top 50 Fashion Creators for 2023.
Bretman Rock
Bretman Rock Sakayanan, nicknamed “the worst content creator,” is a Filipino-American internet celebrity based in Hawaii. Since starting to appear online with his tutorials, Bretman has come a long way from collaborating with major brands like Nike to releasing his book titled You’re Such a Bitch: And Other Sweet Lessons on Being Yourself.
He even became Playboy’s first gay cover of 2021. Bretman also did a cover for Vogue Philippines in June to celebrate Pride Month.
Bretman has 18 million followers on Instagram, 13 million followers on TikTok and nearly 9 million on YouTube.
Hailee Steinfeld
Known for her role as Kate Bishop in Marvel’s Hawkeye, Hailee Steinfeld is proud of her Filipino roots. Her mother Cherie was born in Los Angeles, California and has roots in Panglao, Bohol, Philippines.
In her past interviews, Hayley shared loving words with her Filipino grandfather Ricardo Doma, who died in 2014.
“One thing about my Filipino grandfather is the amount of pride he had in me, himself, his heritage and his family was incredible. I now realize that this is perhaps something I wish I had realized sooner. A quality that he has and had. He was born and raised with it and is proud of his family. I’m so lucky to have experienced that from him,” she said.
In addition to acting, Hailey has also ventured into the music scene, releasing her debut song “Love Myself” in 2015 and another single “Let Me Go” featuring Alesso, Florida Georgia Line and Watt in 2016.
That same year, Hayley traveled to the Philippines for a mall tour in support of her EP “Haiz”.
Olivia Rodrigo
She made waves in the music industry when she debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 2021 with her song “Driver’s License.” television programs “Bizaardvark” and “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.”
Olivia’s father is Filipino-American and her mother is Irish-German American.
Jacob Batalon
Jacob Batalon is another actor based in Hawaii. He is best known for his role as Ned in the 2017 superhero film Spider-Man: Homecoming and the 2018 film Avengers: Infinity War.
His Filipino mother, who has always supported his dreams, is Eva Andres, originally from Pangasinan in the Philippines.
During his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jacob has also appeared in several films such as Bloodfest (2018) and Let It Snow (2019).
Vanessa Hudgens
Vanessa is an actress and singer who gained fame after her role as Gabriela Montez in High School Musical. Now our favorite trio in the Princess Change film series is half Filipino. Her mother Gina Guanco is from Manila and her father is of Irish, French and Indian descent. She has also always been proud of her Filipino roots.
After visiting the Philippines for the first time in March, the 34-year-old actress also found time to film a travel documentary called Awakening. Directed by Paul Soriano, the film was shot in Palawan and Manila.
During her visit, she was also named Ambassador of Global Tourism for the Philippines, receiving the title from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacañang Palace on March 30.
HER
Another Filipino-American singer/actress making headlines in Hollywood is Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, also known as HER.
Debuting as Disney’s first Filipino princess after playing Belle in the Beauty and the Beast 30th Anniversary TV special, the Grammy Award-winning singer is a proud Filipino herself. She was born to a Filipino mother and an African-American father, so her childhood was a mixture of Filipino and black culture.
During her visit to the Philippines, HER revealed that she took her family on a yacht vacation in Palawan. She also shared that she loves to cook kare-kare for her family.
Nico Santos
Nico Santos is an American actor of Filipino descent, best known for his roles as salesman Mateo Liwanag in the NBC series Superstore and the incredibly gay Oliver Tsien in the hit film Crazy Rich Asians.
He also appeared in the latest MCU film, Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3, where he played the role of Recorder Teela.
Nico was born in Manila and moved to the United States when he was 16 years old.
Manny Jacinto
Known for his role as Jason Mendoza in The Good Place, Filipino-American actor Manny Jacinto is a proud member of a new group of Hollywood actors representing Asian men on screen. His family moved to Canada in 1990, settling in Richmond, British Columbia.
Besides gaining attention as Jason, he also appeared in the TV series Brand New Cherry Flavor.
Jo-Koy
Jo Koy is a popular Filipino-American stand-up comedian who is a regular on the late-night show Chelsea Lately. He is of Filipino, European and American descent. He will soon be seen in the animated films The Monkey King and Leo.