Living a Cinderella story, Barbie Imperial never fails to inspire other people with real accounts of her roots and journey from “riles” to stardom. In this episode of TWBA, the gorgeous ‘calendar girl’ looked back on her simple life before making it big in showbiz.
Barbie was introduced as an official housemate for Pinoy Big Brother 737 carrying the moniker ‘Doll Along the Riles.’ Her family used to live by railroad tracks – a life she describes as challenging yet happy. It was a lively community, with small houses adjacent to one another. Neighbors are always outside socializing and sharing.
“Mahirap ‘yung buhay doon sa riles… pero masaya pa rin kayo kasi lahat po shine-share doon. Kunwari, ‘yung ulam ng isang kapitbahay maaamoy mo kasi ang lapit lang talaga. ‘Pahingi naman ng ulam diyan parang masarap ‘yung ulam niyo, ah!’ Bigayan po,” she said.
She used to tag along her mom going to Divisoria to buy and sell assorted products riding only their motorcycle. “’Yung motor na ‘yun, doon po namin kinakarga lahat ng kailangan namin itinda tapos nasa likod po ako, hawak ko ‘yung basket na malaki tapos ako ‘yung magbibigay sa mga bibili, ‘yung Mama ko po nagmo-motor,” shared the doll-faced Kapamilya.
Bringing only her courage and dreams for her family, Barbie entered the PBB house with hopes of giving her mom and brother a comfortable life. Unfortunately, she was the first housemate to be evicted by the second week.
Anxious thoughts about her family crossed her mind as she took her dreaded exit. “Naisip ko, paano kaya? Ito ‘yung pangarap ko para sa kanila tapos biglang na-evict po ako. Parang hindi ko alam kung anong gagawin ko.”
It was past the first semester, so going back to school was not an option. Luckily, she got to play a small role in the afternoon series, All of Me. Barbie took her workshops diligently and gave her best performance in the series, determined to get everyone’s attention and prove she can stay in showbiz for good.