Famous Flips

We're not being flip, just interested in famous Filipinos. Just because. Here’s a list of celebs, the famous and the high-profile who boast a Filipino heritage. Some may surprise you. We don’t claim that this is the most comprehensive list of famous folk of Filipino descent, but we dare you to find a better one (as of the date of this posting, of course)

Lynda Barry -- writer, one-quarter Filipina
Veronica De La Cruz – CNN News Anchor
Kristine Johnson -- anchor, WCBS-TV half Filipina
Cristeta Comerford -- White House Executive Chef
Allen Evangelista -- actor, "The Secret Life of The American Teenager" (Henry Miller)
Caterina Fake – Cofounder, Flickr.com, acquired by Yahoo! Inc. half Filipina
Josie Natori – founder, The Natori Company
Alley Baggett -- Playboy model and WWF
Tia Carrere – actress
Phoebe Cates – actress; mother is Filipina
Emy Coligado Piama -- actress; Malcolm in the Middle, Crossing Jordan
Vanessa Hudgens
Dean Devlin – screenwriter/producer Independence Day, Godzilla and Stargate, occasional actor; mother Filipina
Rob Schneider -- actor, mother is Filipina
Tessa Keller -- reality performer; Laguna Beach
Kevin Kleinberg –actor, Power Rangers; mother is Filipina
Sharon Leal – Guiding Light, Rent, Dreamgirls; mother is Filipina
Cris Judd -- choreographer, former Mr. Jennifer Lopez
Alex Mapa -- actor, comedian “Half & Half,” Ugly Betty
Madison Michele -- TV Host; mother is Filipina
Pia Manalo – actress; Min on “Barney”
Vanessa Minillo -- companion of Nick Lachey (aka former Mr. Jessica Simpson)
Irene Molloy – actress, mother is Filipina; “Andy Richter Controls the Universe” (Wendy), “Grosse Point” (Becky)
Elena Murzullo – actress, Canadian; “L-Word” (Anna)
Nia Peeples
Lou Diamond Phillips
Melissa Reyes – Pussycat Dolls
Lourdes Benedicto – actress; Crazy for You
Christina Chang – actress; CSI: Miami; mother is Filipina-Chinese
Kira Clavell-- actress
Victoria Principal -- actress; mother is Filipina
Shannen Sossamon -- actress; mother is of Filipino descent
Cassie Steele – actress, Canadian; mother is Filipina; “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” “Instant Star”
Tamlyn Tomita -- actress; mother is half-Filipino, half-Japanese
Leeann Tweeden – mother is Filipina
Leslie Usi – actress, “One Life to Live,” “Suite Life of Zack and Cody”
Cassie Ventura – actress; Step Up 2: The Streets (Sophie)
Jade Villalon – model, actress; father Filipino “Final Fantasy: X2”
Vanessa Viola – dancer/actress, “Smith,” “General Hospital”
Herve Villachaize -- late little-person actor ("da plane!) was of Filipino descent
Elizabeth Wubishet – actress; mother Filipina, father Ethiopian
Brandon Baker -- actor, Johnny Tsunami; mother is Filipino
Anna Maria Perez de Tagle – actress; Ashley from Hannah Montana
Cheryl Burke –Dancing with the Stars; mother is Filipina
Mark Dacascos -- The Crow, Iron Chef America; father is Filipino
Allan Pineda a.k.a. Apl.de.ap –of The Black Eyed Peas; African American father, Filipina mother
Kirk Hammett -- Metallica lead guitarist; Filipina mother
Arnel Pineda -- current lead singer of Journey
Nicole Scherzinger – lead singer Pussycat Dolls
Joey Santiago – lead guitarist of the Pixies, The Martinis
Kara Crane – actress, Minuteman
Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys -- mother is Filipina, father is Ashkenazi Jewish
Monique Lhuillier – Fashion Designer, from Cebu, Philippines
Tracy Douglas – actress, Mortal Kombat
Leilani Dowding – Miss Great Britain 1998, half Filipino
Rachel Grant – actress; body double for Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft: Tomb Croft
Rebecca Grant – actress, sister of the above; their mother is Filipina; their father is a baron; their great grandmother was first cousin to the Queen Mother and grew up with her at Glamis Castle in Scotland
Emm Gryner – actress, Canadian
Kelly Hu – acress, of Filipino/Hawaiian/Chinese descent
Natalie Jackson Mendoza – actress, singer, Australian; Hotel Babylon, Beastmaster
Rhoda Jordan – actress, half African American, half Filipina
Traycee King – acttess, mother Filipina
Liza Lapira – actress, “NCIS,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Huff”
Mallory Low – actress, “Lincoln Heights,” “Dance Revolution”
Ernie Reyes Jr. – actor, Teenage Ninja Turtles
Samantha Esteban – actress, Saved by the Bell: The New Class
Barbara Luna – actress
Claudia Malkovich – actress, British; mother Filipino; “Cracker”
Camille Mana – actress, “One on One”
Pedro Flores -- inventor, Father of the Modern American Yo-Yo (1926)
Victoria Manalo Draves -- 1st Woman in Olympic History to Win 2 Gold Medals in Diving (London Olympics, 1948) on the U.S. Olympic Team
Bobby Balcena -- Major League Baseball Player -- Cincinnati Reds (Redlegs) in 1956
Tai Babilonia – Olympic figure skater; African American mother; Filipino and Hopi-Indian father)
Elizabeth Punsalan – U.S. Olympic figure skater
Natalie Coughlin – Olympic swimmer, gold medalist; mother is Filipina)
Victoria Recaño -- correspondent The Insider, Inside Edition; father Filipino
Natassia Malthe -- model, dancer, actress "Fallen"; mother Filipina
Reggie Lee – actor Pirates of Carribean, Fast & Furious, Prison Break
Liza Lapira – actor; 21, Huff, NCIS
Lalaine – actress/singer, Lizzie Maguire; busted for meth in 2007
Michael Copon – actor, One Tree Hill; father Filipino
Danny Barcelona -- drummer, Louis Armstrong's All-Stars band, 1958 until Satchmo died 1971
Joe Bataan -- King of Latin R&B, his discography, "most famous Afro-Filipino in East Harlem"
Billy Hinsche -- of Dino, Desi & Billy, now Ricci, Desi & Billy, & Beach Boys
Joseph "Flip" Nunez -- (1931-1995) -- jazz pianist-vocalist-composer
Larry Ramos -- singer New Christy Minstrels, then with The Association - audio of Cherish, Windy
Rocky Fellers -- Dinah Shore, 1960; Killer Joe #16 Billboard’s Top 100, 1963; Great Big World
Roman Gabriel Jr. – football player
Malia Jones – model, surfer
Enrique Iglesias – singer; mother Isabel Preysler is Filipina journalist/socialite
Gerald Anderson – actor; mother is Filipina
Billy Crawford – actor
Anthony Quinn – actor; part Filipino
Anna Zelinski – actress, mother Filipina, father Polish; “Vanished”


Beauty Queens

* Angela Perez Baraquio- Miss America 2001
* Gemma Cruz Araneta - Miss International 1964
* Gloria Diaz - Miss Universe 1969
* Raquel Gibson - Playmate of the Month November 2005
* Ruffa Gutierrez- 2nd princess Miss World
* Aurora Pijuan - Miss International 1970
* Margarita Moran - Miss Universe 1973
* Melanie Marquez - Miss International 1979
* Evangeline Pascual - 1st runner up Miss World 1973
* Pilar Pilapil* Miss Philippines
* Precious Lara Quigaman - Miss International 2005
* Miriam Quiambao - 1st runner up Miss Universe 1999

Images: Nathalie Coughlin, Phoebe Cates (with husband, actor Kevin Kline)