Rustom Padilla was born on September 4, 1967 to Carlos Roy Padilla and Eva Carino and has seven siblings. He is a Filipino actor and a model. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the famous St. Louis University I Baguio City and furthers his studies at UCLA where he took a course in Filmmaking. He used to be married with Carmina Villaroel, which is also an actress in her own right. After being husband and wife for several months, they filed an annulment to end their marriage. Their annulment was granted in June 2002 and Carmina has since then moved on and had a family of her own. Rustom on the other hand went to take a break in the United States of America wherein he stayed for a while to reassess himself.
Upon return to the Philippines, he decided to join a reality search show ‘Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition” of the ABS CBN productions. Eventually, he made a revelation that shocked the Philippine entertainment industry. He confessed being a gay to Keana Reeves, a fellow housemate. On the 45th day, Rustom chose for a voluntary exit and left the Big Brother’s house. His family and brother Robin Padilla doesn’t approve of Rustom being a gay.
Once again Rustom Padilla went to the United States. He went home in the year 2009 and admitted being a transsexual and changed his name to BB Gandanghari while contemplating to undergo a sex change surgery. And again, there were strong disagreements with his family especially his brother Robin. The family still values the old Rustom and in their hearts, he is still Rustom.
His acting career started as a famous matinee idol, teamed with different beautiful actresses of the Philippine cinema. He made various romantic, drama and action movies to his name and even became a regular host of ABC 5’s Wheel of Fortune. After a short hosting career, he studied a film making course in the US. He had numerous appearances in the films “Zsazsa Zaturnah,” “Happy Hearts,” and TV shows “La Vendetta “and “Eva Fonda.” He hosted the National Kidlat Awards in Boracay in 2009, and starred in “SRO Cinema Serye: Rowena Joy.”
Rustom Padilla or BB Gandanghari is finally at peace with himself after the controversial revelation and admission of his sexuality. He says he is happier and contented of himself despite the fact that his family has not accepted the real person he is yet. In time he says, they will try to accept him because time heals all wounds.
Recently he has been trying his luck on stage and theater in the title role “Halik Ng Tarantula,” which was portrayed by William Hurt in the film version. The concept of the story lies on two cell mates, a leftist who tries to overthrow the government and another prisoner who is a homosexual whose offense is corrupting a minor. The play was inspired from the novel “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”
