Nine US celebrities you might not know are part Filipino

Filipino American History Month is observed each October in the United States, celebrating the Filipino experience and recognizing the community’s contribution to American culture beginning with the arrival of the first Filipinos in 1587.

The US and the Philippines share a long history, largely because the latter was a colony of the former for almost 50 years from 1898 to 1946. Filipinos also fought alongside Americans in World War II, and millions have immigrated to the US over the years. October is also the birth month of Larry Itliong, a labor rights activist in the 1960s who was considered a key figure in the Asian-American movement.

The event, first proposed by the Filipino American National Historical Society in 1992 and officially recognized by the US government in 2009, usually includes exhibitions and celebrations that focus on the contribution of Filipinos to American culture.

Google has partnered with Filipinas Heritage Library for an online exhibition, A Long Road to Dignity, featuring images and stories of Filipino soldiers and their experiences of war and their long struggle to be accepted as veterans.

On Tuesday, Disney shared a special illustrated recipe for one of the Philippines’ most popular dishes: chicken adobo. The picture shows Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy smiling over a pot of food.

“Mickey and his friends are here to share a special chicken adobo recipe! #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth,” the caption reads.

According to the United States Census Bureau, there were 4.2 million Filipino Americans or Americans of Filipino descent in the country in 2019, making them the third-largest group of Asian descent.

In celebration of Filipino American History Month, here are some celebrities you might not know are part Filipino.

Olivia Rodrigo

Olivia Rodrigo performs at the American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on November 21, 2021 in Los Angeles. ` photo

The Grammy winner and 2021 breakout musical star has often spoken proudly about her Filipino heritage. “My great-grandfather immigrated [to the US] from the Philippines when he was a teenager. He is my grandma’s father and my grandpa is also Filipino,” she told the Center for Asian American Media in 2018.

“My father grew up in a house where Filipino food was always prepared, his grandfather always spoke Tagalog. All of these traditions have trickled down to our generation. Every Thanksgiving we have lumpia and stuff like that.”

Rodrigo, 19, rose to fame as a Disney Channel star and became the No. 1 music artist after the release of her record-breaking single Drivers License last year. This year she won three Grammys including Best New Artist, Best Pop Solo Performance for Drivers License and Best Pop Vocal Album for her debut Sour.

Bruno Mars

Born Peter Gene Hernandez to a Filipino mother and Puerto Rican father, 37-year-old Mars is one of music’s biggest stars, known for his powerful singing and hit songs. His mother, Bernadette, was born in Manila and moved to Hawaii, where she worked as a hula dancer and met her future husband, Peter Hernandez, who was the drummer in her troupe.

YOU

HER performs at the Spotify Best New Artist 2019 Party in Los Angeles. `

For the past three years, the RnB singer has been on a winning streak, earning critical acclaim for her two compilation albums and singles. HER, released in 2017, won two Grammys in 2019 for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance for the song Best Part, a duet with singer Daniel Caesar.

At the 2020 Grammys, the 24-year-old artist was nominated in five categories, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year for Hard Place, for her second album, I Used to Know Her. And then, in 2021, HER won another Grammy for Song of the Year with I Can’t Breathe, the rousing single inspired by the assassination of George Floyd. She also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year for Fight for You from the film Judas and the Black Messiah.

HER, real name Gabriella Wilson, was born in California to a Filipino mother and an African American father. After her Oscar performance last year, one of the few Filipino women with that honor, she told Variety that she fully understands the implications of winning.

“It means there’s another Filipino girl out there and a black girl out there that’s like, ‘I can do that too,'” she said.

Saweetie

Saweetie at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in April 2022. AFP

Saweetie, 28, born Diamonte Quiava Valentin Harper, daughter of a Filipino-Chinese mother and an African-American father, first caused a stir in 2018 with her debut single Icy Girl. She has since released two extended tracks, High Maintenance in 2018 and Icy in 2019, the latter spawning the massive hit single My Type.

The rapper has often spoken out about how proud she was of her mixed heritage.

“Being multicultural, like being black, being Filipino, being Chinese, I think it taught me from a very young age that no group of people is the same. However, we have to respect them, their cultures, their values, their morals, so I’m really grateful,” she told The Philippine Star last year.

“It was quite difficult as a little kid because my two families were like night and day. But I love my Filipino side. My mother is an immigrant. All my aunts, my uncles, my lolo, my lola, they are all immigrants. So I feel very honored and blessed to grow up in a family that has traditional Filipino morals and values.”

dave baptist

Dave Bautista on the red carpet for the premiere of ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ at this month’s BFI London Film Festival. EPA

The Guardians of the Galaxy star has two tattoos on his body inspired by the Philippine flag. The former wrestler, whose paternal grandparents immigrated to the United States, said he was genuinely proud of his roots when he first visited the Philippines in 2007 while still with WWE.

“They really accepted me as one of their own, even though I was born in the United States,” he told ABS-CBN. “And they said, ‘It’s not often that Filipino people take inspiration from one of their own.’ I kind of got it and I never took it for granted for a day.

Nicole Scherzinger

Nicole Scherzinger at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. AFP

The former The Pussycat Dolls lead singer was born to a Filipino father and Hawaiian mother. Scherzinger, who took her stepfather’s surname, has often paid tribute to her Filipino roots in the past.

In 2020, she recorded a song in Tagalog called Pangako with Filipino-American producer Troy Laureta.

“I really hope this collaboration will make my Filipino fans proud. I’ve always wanted to honor my legacy and when my music director and dear friend @troylaureta came to me with this project, it felt like the perfect opportunity. This was my first time singing in Tagalog and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I loved singing it to yours with all my heart,” she said on Instagram while sharing the song.

Monique Lhuillier

Monique Lhuillier is Filipino on her mother’s side. `

Known for her dreamy wedding dresses, acclaimed designer Lhuillier was born in the Philippines, where she believes her love of fashion began. Her mother is Hispanic-Filipino and her father is French.

“Growing up in the Philippines, I was surrounded by a close-knit family. My mother was my biggest fashion inspiration growing up; she was very elegant and had a fabulous personal style,” she told The Zoe Report’s website. “Fashion was ingrained in me from a young age and I often dreamed of becoming a designer.”

Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Hudgens at the 75th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York in June. EPA

The High School Musical star has opened up about one day making a film about her Filipino immigrant mother’s journey to the United States when she was 25.

“My mom is from the Philippines, and growing up there, there weren’t really many women who looked like me and my mom and my family on screen,” she told Glamor magazine last year.

“It’s so important to share all the different stories because America is a huge melting pot [just like the] World. There are so many different stories that need to be told so that we can be exposed to them and have more empathy for different people.

“As an immigrant coming to the States and not knowing anyone, I can’t even imagine how difficult and challenging that is and the challenges she faced as a woman. And my dad was a firefighter, so he was a week away and a week at home,” she said.

Hudgens was last seen in the Netflix Christmas comedy The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star.

Enrique Iglesias

Enrique Iglesias performed in San Antonio, Texas last year. AFP

Iglesias’ mother, Isabel Preysler, was born in Manila, one of the best-selling Latin music stars of all time. Preysler comes from a wealthy Spanish-Filipino family and immigrated to Spain when she was 16, where she worked as a model and journalist. Her future husband, Julio Iglesias, was one of the first people she interviewed. The couple, who have been married for seven years, have three children, Enrique, born in 1975, is the youngest.

“Even though I was born in Madrid, my Filipino is very strong in me,” Enrique told the Manila Standard. “Growing up, my mother always talked about the Philippines. She taught us things that are very important to Filipino culture such as family, hospitality to guests and fear of God. I even remember the Filipino dishes she used to prepare.”

Updated October 27, 2022 3:16 am