Table of Biography
Benjie Paras is a prominent Filipino former basketball player, coach, and actor. Benjie Paras bagged the titles “Rookie of the Year” and “Most Valuable Player (MVP)” at the beginning of his basketball career while playing for Shell Turbo Chargers.
Early Life and Education
Benjie Paras was born on October 2, 1968, and he is currently 52 years old. He hails from Caloocan, Philippines, and his zodiac sign is Libra.
There is no verified information regarding Paras’ parents, siblings, and other personal information.
Talking about his educational journey, he graduated from San Beda College and later went to study at the University of the Philippines. Likewise, his full name is Venancio Johnson Paras Jr.
Benjie Paras – Net Worth 2023
This veteran actor has earned a decent amount of money throughout his acting career. Moving on, he has a net worth estimation of approximately $1 million to $5 million US dollars.
Relationship Status
Benjie Paras is married to Lyxen Diomampo. His wife is a former preschool teacher as well as a commercial model. The couple shares two sons namely Riley and Sam as well as a daughter named Georja.
This is actually Paras’ second marriage. From his previous marriage with Jakie Foster, Paras has two sons namely Andre and Kobe.
His elder sons Andre and Kobe both have basketball careers. They started playing for the La Salle Greenhills basketball team in grade school.
Moreover, Andre is also an actor whereas Kobe played in the US NCAA Division I. Kobe has also played for Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, as well as the California State University, Northridge.
Caption: Benjie Paras posing for a photo with his wife Lyxen Diomampo and his sons. Source: Instagram
Body Measurements
He stands tall at an approximate height of 6 feet 4 inches or 1.93 meters and his weight is around 220 lbs or 100 kg.
These are his listed body measurements. Moreover, he has dark brown eyes and hair of the same color.
Career and Professional Life
Professionally, Benjie Paras is an actor and comedian. Moreover, he is also a retired professional basketball player as well as a coach.
While in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), Paras played for Shell Turbo Chargers and San Miguel Beermen.
Shell Turbo Chargers drafted Paras in the year 1989. Although they didn’t win any titles that season, Paras took home the valuable titles “Rookie of the Year” and “Most Valuable Player (MVP)”.
He won the MVP title once again in the year 1999. As of 2020, he is the only PBA player to bag these precious titles.
In the latter three years of his basketball career, Paras experienced numerous injuries and they were so bad that Paras was seen in action in only 44 games from 2000 to 2002.
The professional basketball then retired at the young age of 34. It was prior to the opening of the 2003 season. Paras returned later in the same year but retired again at the end of the season.
Besides being a professional player, he is also an assistant coach. He has been an assistant coach since 2012 for the team San Beda Red Lions.
Likewise, he is also an assistant coach for the UP Fighting Maroons since the year 2019. Paras is continuing this profession to date.
Moreover, in 2014, he became a member of the PBA Legends Team and played in Asia Tour Singapore.
Caption: Benjie Paras was captured while playing basketball during his youth. Source: Yahoo News
Career in Acting
After his retirement, Paras became an actor playing roles in local films and TV shows. Benjie starred in his first drama series called Narito Ang Puso Ko. The star also appeared in a Lagot Ka, Isusumbong Kita, a weekly sitcom.
Moreover, Paras also appeared in Encantadia playing the role of the Ascano barbarian named Wahid. In ABC’s local version of the Guinness Book of Records, Paras became the host.
He then played offbeat roles in Lupin playing the role of Richard Gutierrez’s gay inmate and in Fantastic Man.
Then in late 2007, Paras was cast as the main character in Resiklo, having an entry in Metro Manila Film Festival. The actor was the main host for WinWinWin, a short-lived late-night game show.
Then in November 2007, Paras appeared as a fictional character in Kamandag playing the role of Haring Dinggol – the king of the human apes.
Furthermore, he appeared in the comedy TV soap opera called Adik Sa’Yo working alongside Marvin Agustin and Jolina Magdangal. The actor has worked with boxer Manny Pacquiao in Show Me Da Manny.
Likewise, the star played the role of a villain in The Last Prince.
Caption: Benjie Paras posing for a photo with his two eldest sons. Source: Instagram
The actor then returned to comedy with a reality comedy show, Ang Yaman ni Lola. Paras appeared in a 1st Christmas reality show and is also a part of the newest reality show called Puso Ng Pasko: Artista Challenge.
Likewise, the actor returned to drama again with Bantatay in which he plays the role of Jace Ventura.
He also appeared in Spooky Nights Presents: The Ringtone as well as Alice Bungisngis And Her Wonder Walis in 2012.
Moreover, in the movie Iskul Bukol 20 Years After (Adventures of Vic Ungasis and the Escalera Brothers), he appeared as the best friend of Vic Sotto.
He then played the role of Vhong Navarro’s best friend in the movie My Only U. In mid-2012, the actor appeared in One True Love.
Benjie Paras – Social Media
It seems like Benjie doesn’t have an official account on any social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok, etc.
However, we can find occasional updates on his sons’ Instagram accounts @_kokoparas and @andreparas.