River Joseph

River Iye Manalo Joseph is a Filipino actor, model and entrepreneur. He is best known for his roles in the television series He's Into Her, The Iron Heart, Pamilya Sagrado, and Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition.

Early life and education

River Iye Manalo Joseph was born in Muntinlupa to a family of entrepreneurs. His father, Robert Lim Joseph, died of cancer in 2022. His mother, Ida Manalo Joseph, is the sister of SM Retail president Chito Manalo. Through his father, Joseph is of Chinese, Iraqi, and Syrian descent. He finished his secondary education at De La Salle Santiago Zobel School and attended De La Salle University for college, where he was active in student politics, being an active member of the political party, Alyansang Tapat sa Lasallista. He earned a degree in Business Management in 2023. a talent management division of Star Magic. He made his acting debut in 2022 as part of the cast of He's Into Her Season 2.

Following his debut, Joseph had a role in the action-drama series The Iron Heart and later appeared in the romantic drama Unbreak My Heart. Reflecting on his role, Joseph shared that delivering his Tagalog lines was challenging because English was his first language and he grew up speaking it with his friends. He described the transition to speaking Tagalog on screen as an adjustment that he continues to work on.

In 2025, Joseph was revealed as one of the housemates for Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition, where he gained wider public recognition. He was introduced with the moniker, "Sporty Business Bro ng Muntinlupa City," In July, Joseph portrayed Parker Robinson, the antagonist in the sports series, Love at First Spike. He also starred in the Wattpad digital film adaptation of The Four Bad Boys and Me as Charles Gonzales. Joseph described Charles as very different from himself, noting that the character was hotheaded, prone to trouble, and spoke mostly in Tagalog. “Through the help of Direk, the writers, they really helped me build the character of Charles. […] I hope I was able to give justice to Charles […].”

Media presence In 2021, Joseph was featured in an exclusive interview with Garage PH, where he discussed his burgeoning showbiz career, business ventures, personal style, and upcoming projects.

In 2023, Joseph was named one of Mega Magazine's "5 Online Filipino Boyfriends of TikTok." Later that year, he was also featured in the anniversary issue for PARCINQ Super Fresh, where he discussed his transition from being a TV commercial actor to a full-fledged presence in show business. He was also featured in a Metro exclusive article titled "River Joseph Sets the Standard as the PBB 'Green Flag'", which reflected on his time as a housemate on the reality television show.

Other ventures

Business Apart from acting, Joseph is also an entrepreneur.

Philanthropy Joseph is involved with the Rich for the Poor, an outreach initiative aimed at assisting street children and other underprivileged groups.

Personal life

Joseph has expressed an interest in sports.

He is currently in a relationship with fellow Star Magic talent Gela Alonte.

Filmography +Key Denotes productions that have not yet been released

Film Year Title Role 2023 Toss Coin Pia's Ex Boyfriend 2025 The Four Bad Boys and Me Charles Gonzales It's Showtime Guest PerformerLove At First Spike Parker Robinson Sins of the Father Rainier 2026 Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition 2.0 Houseguest The Secrets of Hotel 88 Leon Almazan Blood vs Duty Agent Andre Flores

Music video appearance Year Song Artist 2022 "Awake" Shanaia Gomez