Filipinos always take pride in the exceptional talent and skills of other Pinoys. Hence, the term “Pinoy Pride.”
In the sports arena, senator Manny Pacquiao has brought so much honor to the Philippines and his countrymen over the decades. And Pacman will definitely go down in history as one of the greats when it comes to boxing.
When it comes to beauty pageants, the Philippines has produced a significant number of queens, making us the third country in the world--next to the US and Venezuela--to have the most number of beauty queen title holders.
So far, we have four Miss Universe winners, namely: Gloria Diaz (1969), Margie Moran (1973), Pia Wurtzbach (2015), and Catriona Gray (2018).
When it comes to the Miss Earth beauty pageant, the Philippines had also produced four winners, namely: Karla Henry (2008), Jamie Herrell (2014), Angelia Ong (2015), and Karen Ibasco (2017).
The beauty pageant that we have the most number of queens is the Miss International pageant. Our Miss International queens so far are the following: Gemma Cruz (1964), Aurora Pijuan (1970), Melanie Marquez (1979), Lara Quigaman (2005), Bea Rose Santiago (2013), and Kylie Verzosa (2016).
Meanwhile, we have only one Miss World winner so far. It's none other than our very own Kapuso actress Megan Young, who took home the coveted crown in 2013.
Aside from sports and beauty pageants, there are plenty of other fields where Filipinos excel in. One of these is the entertainment industry.
From singers, actors and musicians, to dancers, models, stand-up comedians, and even YouTube personalities, there have been plenty of Filipinos or those with Filipino blood that have made it big in the international scene.
And most of them have been great inspiration and motivation for fellow Filipinos to keep dreaming and believing that they too can one can have the same international success or recognition.
Get to know all the international celebrities with Filipino blood in the gallery below.
Both parents of Broadway actor Jose Llana are Filipino.
Spider-Man's best friend is a Filipino! Jacob Batalon, a Hawaii-based actor, is best known for his performance as Ned in the 2017 superhero movie 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' and 2018 film 'Avengers: Infinity War.'
Jo Koy is an American stand-up comedian who is a frequent panelist for the late night show 'Chelsea Lately.' He is of Filipino, European, and American descent. He is of Filipino blood from his mother's side.
Nico Santos is a Filipino-American actor known for portraying the sales associate Mateo Liwanag in NBC's 'Superstore' and the fabulously gay Oliver T'sien in the hit movie 'Crazy Rich Asians.' He was born in Manila and moved to the United States when he was 16.
Hailing from the famous Basco clan, Korean-Filipina actress Ella Jay Basco made her acting debut in the 2020 anti-hero flick, 'Birds of Prey: The Emancipation of Harley Quinn,' where she plays Cassandra Cain and stars opposite Hollywood actress Margot Robbie.
She is also the goddaughter of fellow actor Dante Basco and had been acting when she was only six years old. She has already starred in various commercials and made TV appearances in the hit series, 'Grey's Anatomy.'
Paolo Montalban is a Hollywood actor best known for starring in the 1997 Disney TV film 'Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella.' He played the role of Prince Christopher, opposite of actress-singer Brandy, who played Cinderella. The film also starred Whoopi Goldberg and the late Whitney Houston. Paolo also played the role of Kung Lao in the TV series 'Mortal Kombat: Conquest.' Both parents of Paolo Montalban are Filipino-Americans.
Filpino American singer Jocelyn Enriquez shot to fame in the late '90s with her international dance hits “Do You Miss Me?” and “A Little Bit of Ecstasy.”
The lead guitarist and contributing songwriter of the iconic heavy metal band Metallica is half-Filipino. Kirk Hammett is the son of Filipina Teofila "Chefela" Oyao and merchant mariner Dennis L. Hammett, who had English, German, Scottish and Irish ancestry.
Saweetie (pronounced “sweetie”), one of the hottest female rappers right now has Filipino blood. Her real name is Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper. Her mom is Trinidad Valentin is Filipino-Chinese, while her dad Johnny Harper is African American. She's called “Ate Icy” by her Filipino fans. She recently collaborated with Doja Cat for the song titled “Best Friend.” Saweetie is the cousin of actress Gabrielle Union and is in a relationship with fellow rapper Quavo.
Another Filipina who has recently made it big in the international music scene is Olivia Rodrigo. Her single 'Drivers License' had just debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Olivia's father is a Filipino American, while her mother is American of Irish and German descent.
Filipino-American singer-songwriter H.E.R., or Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson in real life, won a Grammy Award for her protest song "I Can't Breathe.' In 2022, H.E.R. was chosen to portray Belle in the TV special 'Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration' alongside Josh Groban, who plays Beast.
Filipino-American actress Aina Dumlao guested in the popular American medical drama 'Grey's Anatomy' as Filipino nurse Girlie Bernardo.
Nicole Santiago also played a Filipino nurse named Jane in American sitcom 'Bob Hearts Abishola.'
Bretman Rock Sacayanan is a Filipino-American internet star based in Hawaii. He was born on July 31, 1998 in the province of Cagayan Valley, Philippines. His parents are Mercedita Sacayanan and Edmund Laforga.
Bretman was dubbed as the 'Baddest Content Creator' with over 17 million followers on Instagram, 13 million followers on TikTok and almost 9 million followers on YouTube.
In 2017, Time Magazine recognized him as one of the 30 Most Influential Teens. Recently, Bretman gives his fans a closer look of his life as he becomes the newest reality star of 'MTV's following.'
Bella Poarch is a Filipino TikToker-turned-Biggest YouTube Star. She first went viral in her “M To The B” TikTok entry and then soon gained 1.9 billion likes and 82.9 million followers on TikTok.
Following her online success, Bella surprises her fans with her debut song "Build a B*tch" which is one of the biggest YouTube music debuts in history with over 307 million views and counting. Bella continued to pursue her music career. She recently released her newest song titled "Inferno" featuring American singer Sub Urban.
Bella Poarch and Bretman Rock are cousins.
Rachell Hofstetter better known as Valkyrae is a Filipino-German streamer who has recently built her career in the online gaming industry. She starred as the blood-spitting heroine in Machine Gun Kelly's new horror-tinged music video, “Day Walker.”
According to The New York Times report, Valkyrae is the fastest growing live streamer in the entire world and dubbed as the “biggest female gaming streamer'.
The 29-year-old gamer is now one of the six owners of 100 Thieves, the e-sports team juggernaut and lifestyle brand in Los Angeles.
In April 2023 Disney announced the cast of the live-action adaptation of the well-loved Disney movie 'Lilo & Stitch' which includes Filipino-American actress Sydney Agudong. According to reports, Sydney's father is a Filipino.
In the movie, Sydney will play Nani, Lilo's older sister and legal guardian.