Reina Gabriela Villafañe Bonta (born April 17, 1999) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

who plays as a

center-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. Born in the United States, she represents the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

at international level.

Early life

Bonta was born in

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and raised in

Alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada * Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan ** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santi ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to a Filipino American father originally from

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

and a mother of Puerto Rican descent from New York. Her paternal grandfather was born in the United States, her paternal grandmother in the Philippines and her maternal grandparents in Puerto Rico.

Career

College career

Like her dad, Bonta played collegiate soccer at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Club career

Santos

On March 1, 2023, it was announced that Bonta joined Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol Feminino club Santos.

International career

Bonta is eligible to represent either

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(where she was born),

(where her father was born) or

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

(where her maternal grandparents were born) at the international level.

Philippines

In September 2022, Bonta received a call-up from the

for a friendly against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The match ended in a 2–1 defeat for the Philippines, Bonta remained on the bench for the entirety of the match. A month later, she was once again called-up for a training camp in Costa Rica. She made her debut for the Philippines in a 1–1 draw against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, coming in as a substitute replacing

Jessika Cowart Jessika Rebecca Macayan Cowart (born October 30, 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Vancouver Rise in the Northern Super League. Born in the United States, she represents the Philippines at international level. C ...

on the 85th minute of the match. Bonta continued to represent the Philippines at the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's association football, football championship contested by List of women's national association football teams, women's nat ...

Personal life

Bonta belongs to a family of politicians. Her father Rob, currently serves as the

attorney general of California The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" ( Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). ...

while her mother

Mia Mia, Mía, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (American band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA. (German band), a German rock/pop band formed i ...

currently serves as a member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

. She also has a relationship with fellow footballer Brena, with the duo marrying in January 2025. Bonta's

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

, ''Lahi'', premiered at the 2022

Hawai'i International Film Festival Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Honours

Santos *: 2024

References

External links

* 1999 births Living people American sportspeople of Filipino descent American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent People of Afro–Puerto Rican descent Filipino people of American descent Sportspeople of American descent Filipino people of Puerto Rican descent American women's soccer players Filipino women's footballers 21st-century Filipino sportswomen Philippines women's international footballers Women's association football defenders Yale Bulldogs women's soccer players African-American soccer players De Anza Force women's players Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol Feminino Série A1 players Santos FC (women) players SEA Games competitors for the Philippines Competitors at the 2023 SEA Games San Francisco Nighthawks players 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games footballers for the Philippines 21st-century American sportswomen Filipino lesbians Filipino LGBTQ footballers {{US-women-footy-defender-stub