10 Filipinos Who Are Succeeding Internationally

5. Hailee Steinfeld (Hollywood Actress, Academy Award nominee)

18-year old Hailee is daughter to a Jewish father and an English-Filipino-German mother. At the age of 13 she rose to fame for her role of Mattie Ross in True Grit. She was one of the youngest acctresses to ever be nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress at the 83rd Academy Awards. Other remarkable movie roles include Juliet Capulet in the 2013 adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, Petra Arkanian in Ender’s Game and Emily in the upcoming Pitch Perfect 2.

 

 4. Kiwi Camara (Lawyer, youngest person to enroll at Harvard Law School)

Kiwi Camara was born in Manila in 1984 to two licensed physicians, Enrico Camara and Teresa Danao. At the age of 11, he wrote a medical paper which was published in the Hawaii Journal of Medicine. He skipped High School and at the age of 16 graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science summa cum laude from Hawaii Pacific University. As the youngest person to ever enroll at Harvard Law School he went on to earn a JD magna cum laude from the prestigious institution. In 2009 he co-founded Camara & Sibley. His articles have been published in The Journal of Corporation Law and the Yale Law Journal.

Kiwi Camara, Photo Courtesy of www.camarasibley.com

 

3. Josie Natori (Fashion Designer & Businesswoman)

Josie Natori, the daughter of Angelita Almeda and Felipe Cruz, is the founder and CEO of the Natori Company, a US$500-million New York-based corporation that designs and manufactures women’s fashion and accessories. Natori was born in Manila in 1947 and moved to the USA in 1964 to study at Manhattanville College. Upon graduating, she worked on Wall Street and became the first female Vice President in Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch.

In 1977, she changed career paths and created her fashion empire by selling hand-embroidered nightshirts from the Philippines at Bloomingdales. Today the Natori Company sells lingerie, sleep- and loungewear, home accessories and perfume to high-end department stores in the US and internationally to more than 15 countries.

2. Bruno Mars(Singer/Songwriter/Musician)

A lot of people know Bruno Mars to be from Hawaii but not everyone is aware that this part Puerto Rican singer/songwriter/musician/producer is also half Filipino. Bruno, whose real name is Peter Gene Hernandez, was raised in a family of musicians. Both his Jewish-Puerto Rican father and his Filipina mother, who comes from Cebu, are singers and dancers. Bruno’s career skyrocketed from humble beginnings as an Elvis impersonator to that of a world famous, Grammy award winning chart topper who sold over 12 million albums and over 68 million singles worldwide.

Bruno Mars, Photo by GETTY Images

 

1. Cristeta Comerford (White House Executive Chef)

Who knew that the Obamas have their daily meals prepared by Filipina White House Executive Chef Cristeta Pasia Comerford? Ms. Comerford is not only the first Asian to be selected for the position but also the first female. She has been the White House Executive Chef since 2005 when she started out serving the Bush family. Comerford studied food technology at UP Diliman. She was born in Manila and grew up in Sampaloc, Manila. Wonder if Mr. President & the First Lady have tried Adobo? 

Photo Source: Getty Images

 

There are many more Filipinos that are accomplished and succeeding on an international level. Who else can you think of? Comment below to let us know!

 

10 Filipinos Who Are Succeeding Internationally 

10 Filipinos Who Are Succeeding Internationally