FAMOUS FILIPINOS / ASIANS

Li Na

Tuesday, September 8th, US Open - Li Na, Asia and China’s No. 1 (as of 2009), No. 19 in the world and at Wimbledon, and No. 18 seed at the US Open, was defeated 6-2, 6-4 by former No. 1 Kim Clijsters in the Women’s Quarterfinals in just over an hour.

Demonstrating the mark of a true sportsman and champion, Li Na maintains a positive, humble attitude.  “…still I do well for the whole tournament. Good experience for me…You never know. Maybe it’s day for [Clijsters], not for me…” More of Li Na’s interview here.

Li Na became the first Chinese tennis player to ever reach the top 30 (2006) and the top 20 (2007).  She switched from badminton to tennis at age 8 when her coach saw her potential.  More on her profile and stats here.


Watch Federer v. Soderling and Oudin v. Wozniacki play in the Men’s and Women’s US Open Quarterfinals LIVE tonight at 7pm on ESPN2.

Y.E. Yang - Historic Victory!

By 5 strokes, Yang beat 14-time Majors champion Tiger Woods to WIN the 91st PGA Championship on August 18, 2009.  The win earns Yang the fourth and final seat in one of the world’s toughest tournaments to be held Oct. 20-21 at Bermuda’s Port Royal Golf Course - the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.

Turning Pro only 5 years ago, the 37-year old South Korean’s victory will “go down in the history books as one of sports greatest upsets.  The most notable aspect [being] that Yang did to Tiger Woods what Tiger has become famous for doing to everyone else.” [source]

Imagine this win … HELL YEAH !!!    [top photo source, bottom photo source]

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

is the newest national ambassador for the Diabetes Aware Campaign and appears in a Novo Nordis and Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) sponsored PSA that debuted on People.com August 12th.

Aiming to reach 24 million Americans living with Diabetes and 6.2 million more who are unaware they have the disease, the campaign attempts to underscore the importance of detection, monitoring, and disease management.

“We can make a difference in our own families through exercise, eating right and teaching healthy behaviors to our children.”

Stats, action kits, and more info are available on the NYC Department of Health’s Diabetes Prevention and Control program website.

Dwayne Johnson born May 2, 1972 is an American actor of Samoan and African-American descent, a former nine time world champion professional wrestler with the WWF/E, and a former defensive tackle for the University of Miami.

Johnson not only landed his first leading role in The Scorpion King (2001), but also the highest salary for an actor in his first starring role, earning $5.5 million. He has since appeared in movies such as The Rundown, Be Cool, Walking Tall, Gridiron Gang, The Game Plan, Get Smart, Race to Witch Mountain, and Planet 51.


[sources: Access Hollywood tv, Celebrity Babies.com, About.com, Wiki]

Brandon Soo Hoo born November 2, 1995 (Wiki) plays the young Storm Shadow in GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra and was Tran in Ben Stiller’s, Tropic Thunder, (2008).

Though the specificity of his Asian heritage has yet to be confirmed on the internet, where everything is true, Lee will be tagged as “other” (than Filipino/mix) Asian.

Brandon holds a black belt in Tae Kwan Do and is currently training in extreme martial arts and Wing Chun Kung Fu. Soo Hoo has also received training in weapons such as the bō staff, sword, and the nunchaku.^[2] (Rock on!)

Soo Hoo was nominated for and won the award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor award at the Young Artists Awards.^[3]

Tai Reina Babilonia (born September 22, 1959), skating with Randy Gardner, was a five-time gold medalists at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and won the gold medal at the 1979 World Figure Skating Championships.  They were medal favorites at the 1980 Olympics but were forced to withdraw due to an injury to Gardner.

Babilonia was the first figure skater of partial African American descent to win U.S. and World titles.  She is part Filipino and Native American on her father’s side.  In the late 70’s and early 80’s, however, her mixed ethnic ancestry was rarely discussed by the media.

While skating as a professional, Babilonia became addicted to amphetamines and alcohol and attempted suicide via an overdose of sleeping pills in the fall of 1988.^[1] After receiving treatment, she returned to the ice.

Babilonia appeared in the 2006 FOX television program “Skating with Celebrities”, partnered with Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner (Decathlon).

In retirement, she is living in Ashland, Oregon^[5]where she coaches part-time and also designs with Bear Hill Sports an activewear line called Tai.

Gorgeous Malia Jones, yo…she part Filipino…model and pro-surfer from Cali…born March 27, 1977.  Hawaiian, Spanish-Filipino, and German descent.

Jones began to surf competitively in her early teens, and at age 15 won the girls division of the United States Amateur Surfing Championship. While competing, Surfing Magazine spotted her and asked her to model for their swimsuit issue, and thus a second career was born.

Since then, she has appeared on the cover of over a dozen magazines, and has been named one of the “50 Most Beautiful People” by People magazine, and one of America’s “10 Sexiest Athletes” by Esquire. She has also been a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. Jones has done TV commercials for American Express, Capri Sun, Coca-Cola, Corona Beer, and VO5 shampoo.  Jones was a consultant for the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch.

She is married to the Aussie WCT Pro Surfer Luke Stedman.^[1] Currently she divides her time between Hawaii, France, and Sydney, Australia, and designs a line of swimwear for Mambo Graphics sportswear.

Roman Gabriel, born Roman Ildonzo Gabriel, Jr. is the son of a Filipino immigrant.  (Filipino American on his father’s side and Irish-American on his mother’s.)

He was the first Asian-American to start as an NFL quarterback and is considered by many to have been one of the best players at that position during the late 1960s and early 70s.

Born August 5, 1940 in Wilmington, North Carolina, Gabriel QB’d with the Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams, and the Philly Eagles, to name a few.  At 6’4” and 235 pounds, he is considered the first truly big quarterback of the modern era.

• 1973 -NFL Comeback Player of the Year
• 1969- NFL Most Valuable Player Award, AP, UPI, NEA, and the Bert Bell MVP Trophy (Maxwell Club)
• 1968 - Pro Bowl MVP

He was also a two-time All-American, and a two-time Two-time ACC Player of the Year (1960-61) he starred at quarterback for North Carolina State University in the early 1960s and finished his career holding virtually every Wolfpack passing record. An academic All-American, Gabriel saw his jersey retired and presented to him by North Carolina governor Terry Sanford on Jan. 20, 1962, at half-time of an NC State-Maryland basketball game in Reynolds Coliseum.

Gabriel later had acting roles in movies and television and became a tv and radio sports commentator.