Binibini Gandanghari (; born Rustom Cariño Padilla;
Robinpadilla.net. Retrieved on August 17, 2012. ; September 4, 1967), commonly known as BB Gandanghari, is a

Filipino-American Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, model, entertainer, comedian, and director. She is the older sibling of actor and current senator

Robin Padilla Robinhood Ferdinand Cariño Padilla (; born November 23, 1969), known professionally as Robin Padilla, is a Filipino politician, television personality, martial artist, actor and director currently serving as a Senator of the Philippines since ...

and younger sibling of Royette and Rommel Padilla, all of whom are actors. Gandanghari enjoyed success in Philippine films in the early 1990s (as "Rustom Padilla"), before taking a hiatus in 2001. She returned to prominence in 2006 when she joined the

Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition ''Pinoy Big Brother'', more popularly known by its abbreviated title ''PBB'', is the Philippine version of the '' Big Brother'' reality game show franchise. The word ''Pinoy'' in the title is a colloquial term for the Filipino people. Is a Phil ...

where she

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

after 44 days. In 2009, she came out as

trans Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of". Used alone, trans may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Trans (festival), a former festival in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom * ''Trans'' (fil ...

. In 2016, her registered name and gender were changed by order of the Orange County Superior Court.

Background

Gandanghari entered show business as a matinee idol and later as an action star. She was also the presenter of Philippine franchise for ''

Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or '' Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-J ...

'' on ABC 5. After her hosting stint, Gandanghari left the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and studied film making in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Gandanghari appeared in the film adaptation of the comic book

Zsazsa Zaturnnah Zsazsa Zaturnnah is a fictional comic book superheroine created by Filipino illustrator and graphic designer Carlo Vergara. The character first appeared in the Filipino graphic novel, ''Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsazsa Zatur ...

(her first film role as a gay man) as the gay salon owner Ada (Adrian), the alter ego of Zsazsa Zaturnnah. She appeared in the television series '' La Vendetta'' on

GMA 7 DZBB-TV, Channel 7 (analog) and Channel 15 (digital), is the flagship TV station of Philippine television network GMA. The station is owned and operated by GMA Network Inc. with its studios are located at the GMA Network Center, EDSA corne ...

and the '' Happy Hearts'', later appearing on the

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Philippine commercial broadcast network that serves as the flagship property of ABS-CBN Corporation, a company unde ...

'' teleserye'',

Eva Fonda ''Eva Fonda'' is a Philippine drama show on ABS-CBN that aired from December 1, 2008 to January 30, 2009 replacing ''Kahit Isang Saglit'' and was replaced by '' May Bukas Pa''. ''Eva Fonda'' is a remake of a 1976 film of the same name starring Al ...

. In 2009, Gandanghari hosted the National Kidlat Awards on the resort island of

Boracay Boracay (; often locally shortened to Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of three barangays in Malay, Akla ...

in Malay, Aklan. She appeared again in SRO Cinema Serye: Rowena Joy. In September 2017, Gandanghari signed with The Brogan Agency in the United States. On August 9, 2019, she made her U.S. television debut in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

series '' GLOW'', where she played a fortune teller named Patricia in the eighth episode of the series' third season.

Personal life

Binibini Gandanghari was born Rustom Cariño Padilla to

Roy Padilla Sr. Casimero Bustamante Padilla Sr. (; March 4, 1926 – January 17, 1988), professionally known as Roy Padilla, was a Filipino politician serving as Governor of the province of Camarines Norte, a member of Corazon Aquino's UNIDO ticket. He was suc ...

and Lolita Eva (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Cariño). She has seven siblings: three brothers and four sisters. Prior to her public gender transition, Padilla married

Carmina Villarroel María Carmina Muñiz Villarroel-Legaspi (; August 17, 1975) is a Filipino actress, television presenter, and product endorser. Personal life Villarroel was previously married to Rustom Padilla in 1994; the two had no children, and Villarroe ...

in 1994; but Villarroel then filed for

annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning al ...

after several years, which was granted in June 2002. Gandanghari became one of the 14 housemates in '' Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition''. On March 2, 2006, she came out as gay on the show. On day 45 of the competition, Gandanghari opted to voluntarily leave the house. In January 2009, Gandanghari came out as

, and chose to undergo

gender confirmation surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...

. Her brother, action star and senator

, at first said that he fully accepted the decision, but later recanted his earlier statements and admitted that he was still shocked and not on good terms with her. Their mother, and all of Gandanghari's other siblings, still refer to her by her deadname. Gandanghari stated her full name is derived from the Filipino words Bb. (abbreviation of ''Binibini'', an honorific equivalent to "

Miss Miss (pronounced ) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as " Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, i ...

") and Gandanghari, a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words Gandanghari holds a B.A. in economics from

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, ...

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

and studied filmmaking at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

in 2010. In 2017, Gandanghari reportedly obtained employment as a driver for

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery ( Uber Eats and Postmates), pa ...

in the United States. In 2022, she announced on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

that she became a

US citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

. Her name is also recognized on her US passport.

Filmography

Television

Feature films

*'' Happy Hearts'' (2007) *''

Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, ze Moveeh ''Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Moveeh'' is a 2006 Filipino superhero musical film directed by Joel C. Lamangan and written by Dinno Erece, based on Carlo Vergara's graphic novel. The film stars Zsa Zsa Padilla, BB Gandanghari, Chokoleit, Pops Fernande ...

'' (2006) *'' Yamashita: The Tiger's Treasure'' (2001) *''Ganito ako magmahal'' (1999) *''Bilib Ako Sa'yo'' (1999) *''Ako'y ibigin mo ... Lalaking matapang'' (1999) *''May isang pamilya'' (1999) *''Ganito na akong Magmahal'' (1998) *''Walang katapusang init'' (1998) *''Abuso: Case #6433'' (1997) *''Paano Kung Wala Ka Na'' (1997) *''Bilang Na Ang Araw Mo'' (1996) *''Maruja'' (1996) *''The Jessica Alfaro Story'' (1995) *''Sana Dalawa ang Puso Ko'' (1995) *''Marami ka pang kakaining bigas'' (1994) *''Darna'' (1994) *'' Mistah'' (1994) *''Hindi Magbabago'' (1994) *''Brat Pack'' (1994) *''Kadenang Bulaklak'' (1994) *''Ikaw'' (1993) *''Gagay, Ang Prinsesa Ng Brownout'' (1993) *''Kapag Iginuhit ang Hatol ng Puso'' (1993) *''Hanggang Saan Hanggang Kailan'' (1993) *''Ngayon at Kailanman'' (1992) *''

Narito ang Puso Ko ''Narito ang Puso Ko'' () is a 1992 Filipino drama film directed by Chito S. Roño. The film Lorna Tolentino and Gabby Concepcion. Produced by Viva Films, the film was released on September 30, 1992, and was a box office success. Tolentino's per ...

'' (1992) *''Magnong Rehas'' (1992) *''Onyong Majikero'' (1991) *''AJ AJ AJ AJ AJ'' (1989)

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandanghari, BB 1967 births Living people Filipino male television actors Filipino television actresses Filipino television variety show hosts Filipino film actors Filipino film actresses Transgender actresses Transgender female models LGBT actors from the Philippines GMA Network personalities ABS-CBN personalities Star Magic TV5 (Philippine TV network) personalities Pinoy Big Brother contestants Filipino women comedians Filipino film directors UCLA Film School alumni BB Saint Louis University (Philippines) alumni 21st-century LGBT people LGBT people from the Philippines