Angelina Jolie is famous not only as an actress but also as a philanthropist who has adopted children from different countries. But even before Angelina started building her multiracial brood, Rhian Ramos already had the same idea.
"Ang damingkids who need someone to look after them or need a home or need a role model," she tells Preview magazine as she graces their cover for the first time. "Sa tingin ko, biological or not, I'll love him or her just the same. Adopting is motherhood na rin for me."
Her heart is truly set on taking her cue from Angelina by building a family through adoption. She says, "I'm not even just considering it, it's been decided for me. I just really want to do it already—not now, because I'm kind of a kid myself, but at least I don't have to wait until I'm married."
Rhian also has her share of advocacies that she is able to support largely because of her celebrity status.
"I have been able to help more people in this position rather than when no one knew me," she tells Preview. She is involved with Greenpeace and A Better Chance Foundation, which helps out-of-school youth.
Rhian, who is Filipino-British, has a strong sense of patriotism as well. "Kasi sa tingin ko, yung pinaka-problema natin, it's not even the environment, it's not the education," she says. "We have a lack of unity. If we all just decided to care for each other, whether we know each other or not, I think we would all advance as a country."
She walks the talk, citing local designers Pepsi Herrera, Kate Torralba, and Odelon Simpao as her favorite go-to dressers, and she wears affordable label B Club over more luxurious footwear.
"These days, everything's being flown in and we're spending so much money on the products of every other country except ours," she points out. "I think our country needs us to support our own stuff."
Could Rhian Ramos be the Angelina Jolie of the Philippines? Read more about Rhian in the December issue of Preview, available in newsstands, bookstores, and supermarkets nationwide.