The Stunning Transformation Of Liza Soberano
In 2023, Liza Soberano decided she'd had enough. She'd been one of the biggest stars in the Philippines for years, winning over audiences and critics alike through her work in films and on television. Still, she felt unfulfilled, and in an emotional YouTube video, she took stock of just how much of her life she'd given over to the entertainment industry. "I didn't have a childhood, nor did I have the chance to grow and become an adult on my own terms. I had always been told what to do, what to wear, what to say, and what not to say." And so Soberano reintroduced herself to her fans. "Now, this is not a story of bitterness or regret," she said. "In fact, it's the opposite. It's a story about growth and gratitude."
Though she's happily headed for a career reinvention, Soberano's fans have been with her through many ups and downs since her acting debut when she was a child star. She's been a model and a film star, a soap mainstay and an outspoken activist for causes she believes in. Now, thanks to her role in "Lisa Frankenstein," she even seems poised to break into Hollywood.
This is how she got here.
She moved to the Philippines as a child
Liza Soberano was born in California and lived there for the first 10 years of her life. "I was born to a teenage mother, who got pregnant at age 17," Soberano revealed on Instagram. "She struggled with the responsibilities of motherhood and had to endure the pain and hardships of teenage motherhood." Those early years were full of family drama, and eventually, she moved to the Philippines to be with her father.
When living in the United States, the future superstar was a shy kid. "I even had a hard time making eye contact with people, so I never thought I would be a performer or be in the entertainment space," she later told The Hollywood Reporter. However, there were hints as to the career that would eventually find her. According to her mother, Soberano performed in the choir at church. "I actually have no memory of it," she admitted, "but she always said that I was born to be in front of people and perform."
Liza Soberano dedicated herself to learning Tagalog
When she got to the Philippines, Liza Soberano didn't speak Tagalog. "I knew barely anything about my culture," she told The Hollywood Reporter. "So it took me about two years to really get acclimated, and that's because I went to school here."
Within a few years of living in the country, a preteen Soberano began receiving modeling offers. She signed with the modeling agency Natasha and quickly developed skills that would aid her when her acting career came calling. Her stylist, Perry Tabora, told Vogue that his client made for the perfect "blank slate" to wear clothes. "She's so adventurous when it comes to trying out new styles," he said, "and is always open to suggestions."
Soberano also caught the attention of a talent manager, Ogie Diaz. He wanted her to move into acting, but the fact that she didn't speak the language was a hindrance. "She couldn't speak a word in Filipino when she came to Manila and it took her three years to learn it well," Diaz told The Philippine Star. "I told her that she had to do it, if she wants to be famous."
She discovered a love for acting
In the early 2010s, Liza Soberano entered the acting world. She starred in the show "Wansapanataym" and "Kung ako'y iiwan mo" ("If You Leave Me"), a series in which she acted for more than 150 episodes in one year. She'd found her calling. "I'm very passionate about acting," she later told MEGA Magazine. "I really enjoy the process of having to delve into another person's shoes, a different character, and really embodying and portraying the beauty of their individuality."
As her career began to take off thanks to roles in films like "Must Be... Love," Soberano told The Philippine Star in 2014 that she had to take time off from going to college. After all, she'd signed a contract to star in a project that was then being kept under wraps, and industry insiders were predicting that she would soon be a breakout star. "My manager said I might want to focus on my career first," she said, refusing to say what the upcoming project was.
Nevertheless, Soberano insisted that she had something that set her apart from other young, up-and-coming stars. "I'm the type of person who takes things seriously," she said. "I'm very serious for my age. And I think I have this drive to be better and to really prove myself to people."
Her partnership with Enrique Gil made her a star
In the Filipino entertainment industry, there's a concept called "love teams." A guy and a girl are paired up by an entertainment company, and then they star together in a number of movies and television shows, fans rooting for them to become a real-life couple as much as they root for their various onscreen romances. That under-wraps project Liza Soberano teased to The Philippine Star turned out to be a love team. She was paired up with a young man named Enrique Gil. Together, they were known as LizQuen.
In addition to appearing together on a soap called "Forevermore," Gil and Soberano also acted in films like "Just The Way You Are," "Everyday I Love You," and "My Ex and Whys." She told Showbiz Portal, "I'm so grateful to [Filipino media company] ABS-CBN for giving me such wonderful breaks on TV and the movies." They were interested in something else, however: was she really in love with her co-star? "That's too early to tell ... we're still getting to know each other," she said.
Though they acted in numerous projects together, it would be several years before Soberano and Gil confirmed that they were, in fact, seeing each other offscreen too. According to The Hive Asia, the confirmation finally came in 2019 when they promoted their film "Alone/Together" on the show "Gandang Gabi Vice." Asked whether they were actually in love, Gil responded simply, "Yes."
She reunited with her mother after seven years apart
When Liza Soberano moved to the Philippines, her mother, Jacqulyn Hanley, stayed behind in California. Soberano's career quickly took off, and soon it had been seven years since they had seen one another. Thankfully, in 2015, they were able to reunite; furthermore, Hanley brought along her two youngest children, whom Soberano had never met. Filipino showbiz news cameras were there to capture the emotional reunion, as was Soberano's manager Ogie Diaz. On Instagram, he shared a snap of his client and her mother, writing, "The moment. It's touching. Makes you want to cry."
At the airport, they were all smiles. Soberano's mother spoke with reporters about how great it was to see her daughter after all this time. "I'm overwhelmed right now. All this is scary to me," Hanley told ABS-CBN, indicating the fact that they were surrounded by reporters and screaming fans. She turned to her daughter and laughed, "I don't know how you do it."
Soberano, too, seemed overwhelmed by the emotional moment. "I'm happy. I'm very happy," she said. "Words can't explain how happy I am."
Liza Soberano is more than just a beautiful face
As Liza Soberano's acting career took off, she became recognized for her beauty as much as for her acting talent. According to The Filipino Journal, she topped the Independent Critic's list of the World's Most Beautiful Faces in 2017. The year prior, she was selected as the face of Maybelline in a global ad campaign.
Soberano became uncomfortable with all of the attention paid to her beauty rather than her talent, though. In an appearance on "Tonight with Boy Abunda," a shy-seeming Soberano demurred when asked whether it gets old to hear constant compliments. "For some reason, I don't feel it," she said, pointing out that she didn't think she fit the classic definition of beauty. "Audrey Hepburn, Kendall Jenner, stuff like that," she said. "I like the very simple kind of beauty, but very elegant. Of course ... I can't see that in myself."
Still, Soberano showed gratitude for all of the recognition that has come her way. "I appreciate it, but sometimes I feel ... I don't want it to be like that," she told The Philippine Star. "I don't want them to remember me because I'm pretty."
She's dealt with a lot of online hate
Liza Soberano is one of the most famous young women in the Philippines, and her fame has come with quite the spotlight. It's also come with a fairly large amount of backlash, beginning all the way back when she first starred in "Must Be... Love" opposite the love team of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla. Soberano's character came between that couple, causing "Kathniel" fans to hit out at her online. She told Sunstar, "I am also the one who voluntarily avoids Daniel so that there is no trouble," insisting that she didn't have any ongoing feud with Bernardo. "The fans are fighting me because it started in our 'Must Be... Love' movie," she said.
In the beginning of her career, Soberano used to pay close attention to negative comments about herself online. She told fellow star Bea Alonzo in a YouTube video, "I had an addiction to reading hate comments, or anything negative about me." Rather than getting sad or angry over what she saw on the internet, Soberano said she internalized it. "I would try to fix myself to accommodate them," she confessed.
In 2020, Soberano made headlines when she took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to beg fans to be kinder online. "I do honestly wish people could be a little more sensitive to public figures," she wrote. "Just because we're celebrities doesn't mean we deserve to just accept that they can hate us because they want to."
She found her voice and began advocating publicly
In 2020, Liza Soberano opened up about the importance of mental health support. The actor had been studying psychology, and while speaking with LionhearTV, she talked about how important it is to make sure that people are looking out for their mental health. "I think we should step up and start understanding all the different illnesses that people deal with," she said. "I think we should start educating ourselves about it. So that we can pinpoint someone is going through something." That same year, she was outspoken about the way the Philippines handled the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. On X, she wrote, "What our people need now is empathy not threats."
Later in 2020, Soberano spoke at the webinar "Mga Tinig ni Nene: Reclaiming Our Voice on the International Day of the Girl Child." The "Alone/Together" star talked about realizing she needed to speak out. "I know I haven't always been the most vocal about my opinions and about the advocacies that I feel very strong for, because I was always afraid that I would be dividing my supporters. I was afraid of creating conflict," she said, pointing out that women are often encouraged to internalize their pain instead of asking for help. "Why do they also expect us women, women alike and children, to remain resilient through these struggles?" she pondered.
Liza's comments about love teams sparked backlash
In early 2023, Liza Soberano released a YouTube video taking stock of her career. She discussed the concept of love teams, expressing discomfort with the fact that her early career was so heavily pigeonholed with one person in one genre. "Since I was 16, I had only worked side by side with one main co-star, with the same production company, rotating around the same three directors," she said. Indeed, she had acted in numerous films and hundreds of television episodes opposite Enrique Gil. It had become her entire identity. "And during all those years," she said, "I was never really asked for my input, my thoughts, my ideas."
A week later, Soberano appeared in a video alongside fellow star Bea Alonzo, and she elaborated on her thoughts. "Love teams are a phenomenon only created in the Philippines, only existing in the Philippines," she pointed out. "And to box a woman like that is so dangerous actually for their mental health and also for their growth, not just as a professional but as an individual."
Soberano's comments sparked backlash from fans, and the ensuing media firestorm made her the most talked-about person on the internet within the Philippines for weeks, according to Filipino outlet The Inquirer. The outlet dubbed the conversation a "cultural turning point," suggesting that Soberano's open dialogue about her experience might change the way fans look at stars who are paired together romantically on screen.
She finally addressed those Enrique Gil breakup rumors
In 2023, fans speculated that Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil had split. They hadn't been seen together in a while, and furthermore, Gil had taken a few years off from showbiz, so it was unclear whether one of the Philippines' most beloved romances was still going strong. That September, Soberano finally confirmed that they were still seeing one another ... when they could. "I've been in the States for a while and then I came back, and he's been flying," she told ABS-CBN (via Bandera). "So it's very seldom now. But we do [meet], we still do." Furthermore, Soberano clarified that she was very proud of her partner's work, noting that he wasn't just back in front of cameras, but behind them, too. "The project he is working on right now is something he is producing himself so I'm really proud of him for that and very supportive," she said.
In early 2024, Gil also confirmed he was still dating Soberano, noting that he was proud of his girlfriend for her upcoming Hollywood debut. "We're happy. We're just really busy," he told GMA. "This is her dream. You know, whatever she wants to be in her life, if it's her dream, I'm all for it."
Lisa Frankenstein marked her Hollywood debut
In 2024, Liza Soberano made her Hollywood debut in "Lisa Frankenstein," a horror comedy about a girl who falls in love with a zombie. Soberano plays Taffy, Lisa's stepsister, a popular cheerleader who subverts expectations by being nice to her sister. She told Focus Features that discovering this aspect of the character helped her realize that she was right for the part. "I asked [director Zelda Williams] what exactly she saw in me that made her think of Taffy," Soberano recalled. "She told me that it's the fact that I'm very earnest. I played with that idea. Taffy may be a little ditzy, but she has a genuine heart."
Making the jump to Hollywood had been in the works for a while, Soberano told The Hollywood Reporter. "I've always wanted to try my luck out in Hollywood, but I was busy doing other things here in the Philippines," she said, noting that she still has a lot of family in the U.S. "Hollywood is obviously the biggest stage for actors in the world," she pointed out. "Any actor on Earth would want to try their luck out there."
It seems that Soberano's gamble has paid off. While the film itself has received mixed reviews, Soberano's performance as Taffy has received praise. "I feel very flattered. It was honestly a little unbelievable for me at first," she confessed. She continued, saying, "I'm just really happy and flattered, and I'm very inspired to act again soon."
She's moving into other areas of filmmaking
In 2023, during what she called her "Year of Recalibration," Liza Soberano announced to MEGA Magazine that she had plans to get behind the camera and learn about other parts of the business, too, in addition to merely starring in films. "I think it's really special that I started out with acting, and now I am exploring a new avenue of creativity through directing," she revealed. Soberano said she planned to someday "tell stories of real-life people."
While promoting "Lisa Frankenstein" in an interview with her home network of ABS-CBN, Soberano further detailed her plans to get involved in the filmmaking process. She announced the formation of her very own production company, which was apparently already quite busy. "I currently have seven projects in development," she explained, "some of which I will be acting in, and some of them I am completely just on the back end, producing them for other artists."
Always one to acknowledge her roots, Soberano made sure to thank the fans. A lot of fans got to know her through her love team, but now that Soberano is cracking Hollywood and making movies on her own, she said she's grateful for the support. "I just [want to] say thank you to all of my solo fans that have been really, like, joining me throughout this new transition period of mine," she said.