Childhood & Early Life
Daniel Padilla was born Daniel John Ford Padilla, on April 26, 1995, in Manila, Philippines, to Rommel Padilla and Karla Estrada. His parents were full-time entertainment industry professionals. His uncles were well-known actors too. Thus, having been born into a family that was deeply rooted in the entertainment industry, Daniel was fascinated by show business from a very young age.
However, his family life was not as ideal as it seemed from a distance. His parents divorced when he was a kid. His mother raised him all by herself, and his father married another woman. Daniel has seven half-siblings from his father’s side and three half-siblings from his mother’s side. The bitterness between his father and mother kept Daniel away from meeting him for a very long time, and he met his half-siblings from his father’s side only after he turned 16.
He accompanied his mother to most of her shoots and got fascinated by the entertainment world. He became determined to build a career in the industry in his early teenage years. He lived in Tacloban for a year and studied there. He then registered as a student of the ‘AMA Education System.’ However, he had already started working as an actor, and his academic commitments often clashed with his acting projects. His mother did not allow him to stop his studies to pursue acting, and Daniel had to finally opt for the home education program of ‘Angelicum College.’
It is said that Daniel had earlier expressed his desire to go back to school, as he did not like acting initially. It was talent manager Douglas Quijano who sparked his interest in acting and compelled him to try his luck with ‘Star Magic,’ a popular youth talent agency in the Philippines. In 2013, Daniel was introduced to the media as a member of the ‘Star Magic Circle’ and received immense mainstream exposure.
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Career
Daniel started acting at the age of 15, starring in the soap opera ‘Gimik 2010’ in 2010. It was the official remake of a Filipino show from the 1990s, and although he had a minor role in the show, his performance did not go unnoticed. He was offered another youth-oriented show, ‘Growing Up,’ in 2011, and this time around, he played one of the main roles in the series.
His career received a major boost in 2012 when he bagged a role in the soap opera ‘Princess and I,’ which quickly became one of the most popular soap operas in the Filipino industry. Riding high on success, he made his film debut with ‘24/7 in Love’ in 2012. The film was a huge success and his pairing with his co-star Bernardo became iconic. The pair came together yet again in the same year, in the film ‘Sisterakas.’ The film was showcased at the 2012 ‘Metro Manila Film Festival.’
By then, Daniel had become confident about his music skills. The success of his film and TV projects made him believe that he should work on his first musical endeavor. In May 2012, he released his self-titled debut album, ‘Daniel Padilla.’ It became a major local success, and within a year of its release, it was declared a “double-platinum” album.
His video for the song ‘Nasa lyo Na Ang Lahat’ became a national rage. It featured as one of the top three Filipino videos of 2013 and won several awards.
In March 2013, Daniel released the first single of his sophomore album ‘DJP’ in ‘My Music Store Philippines.’ He released the album on April 16 the same year. The album surpassed his previous effort, in terms of success, and was declared “platinum” within a day of its release. On the very next day, it was tagged as a “double-platinum” album. Following the encouraging success of the album, Daniel embarked on his concert, ‘Daniel: Live!’ This was the first concert that was broadcast live on ‘Sky Cable’s pay-per-view service.
In April 2014, Daniel released another album, ‘I Heart You,’ and it debuted at the top of the ‘iTunes Philippines’ chart. It was marked as the highest-selling album of the year by ‘Odyssey Music & Video,’ and in less than a month, it was declared “platinum.” Within a little more than a month of its release, the album became a “double-platinum” album.
In 2014, he appeared in ‘She’s Dating the Gangster,’ a film which earned tremendous success. It was later declared as one of the highest-grossing films of the year. In April 2014, Daniel went international with his music and held a mega successful concert with Yeng Constantino in Dubai, followed by gigs in London, Rome, and Milan.
In December 2014, he earned a “star” at the Filipino equivalent of the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame.’ In the same month, he was named as one of the top 10 OPM artists on the ‘Year in Music’ list released by ‘Spotify.’
In January 2015, Padilla held a concert in Dubai, titled ‘Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo Live in Dubai.’ In February 2015, ‘Nickelodeon’ tagged him as their ‘Global Slime Star.’ He thus became the first Filipino actor to receive the honor.
In the same year, he starred in a film titled ‘Crazy Beautiful You,’ which became one of the highest-grossing films of the year. In mid-2015, he starred in the series ‘Pangako Sa 'Yo’ and it quickly became one of the most-viewed Filipino TV shows. His third studio album, ‘I Feel Good,’ consisted of 13 songs and was declared “gold” within the first week of its release. ‘Odyssey Music & Video’ marked it as the top-selling album of the year.
He then held a concert in the US, along with several other Filipino stars, titled ‘ASAP Live in New York.’ He also promoted his film ‘Barcelona: A Love Untold’ during the concert. He was paired opposite Bernardo in the film, and it was the first time he had acted as an adult on screen. The film received rave reviews and became one of the highest-grossing films of 2016.
In 2017, he appeared in the successful romantic comedy ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ and the series ‘La Luna Sangre.’
Personal Life
Daniel Padilla is widely known for his philanthropist endeavors. He donated to the victims of ‘Typhoon Haiyan’ and held a free concert to help the affected families.
Daniel has been the face of several brands in the Philippines, such as ‘KFC,’ ‘Honda,’ and ‘Nescafe.’
He has been romantically linked with actors Julia Montes and Jasmine Curtis in the past, although he has never been vocal about his relationships.
