Iza Calzado on her new rhythm, embracing motherhood and championing causes

To understand the depth of Iza’s current joy, one must appreciate the precipice from which she almost fell. Her journey to motherhood was not a straight line; it was a winding path paved with fear, anxiety and eventually, miraculous grace. For years, Iza harboured a deep-seated fear of motherhood. “What if I ended up not being a good mother?” she confesses, referencing her own complex and challenging childhood and the painful battles her mother fought with mental health. “My relationship with my mother was not ideal. It was hard. She had a mental health condition, and it was hard for me to understand that at such a young age. There were a lot of good moments, but there were a lot of really painful ones, too.”

By 2022, she had made peace with other plans. She just finished filming for Darna, was eyeing trips to Los Angeles and New York, even bargaining with the universe that perhaps a baby could wait until she was 42. “I was using Janet Jackson as an example. She was [weeks shy of turning] 50. Like it can be done,” she laughs. But the universe, it seems, had a different script.

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Discovering she was pregnant was a shock that initially elicited a colourful reaction—“Oh, fudge,” she recalls saying, mindful that the baby might already hear her. But what followed was a test of faith that would shake any expectant mother to her core. While in Europe to share the good news with Ben’s family, a routine check-up turned into a nightmare. Iza tested positive for Toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that can be catastrophic during pregnancy.

Stranded in the UK for two months for treatment unavailable in the Philippines, Iza faced the darkest “what ifs”. During a Zoom call with a specialist while atop a mountain in Switzerland, the reality of the situation was laid bare: potential visual impairment, brain damage. The doctor gently reminded her that in the UK, she had “options”—a veiled reference to termination.

“I am pro-choice,” Iza says, her voice steady but emotive. “But pag ganito pala... Holy Smokes. At that moment I knew that no, no, no. It was a firm no.”

Weeping by the mountainside, she made a covenant with her unborn child. “Lalaban tayo [We will fight]. God gave you to me at this specific point in my life.” Amidst the fear, the mother in her was born. A chance encounter with a stranger a few days prior solidified this resolve: “You know your child best,” the woman, whom she barely knew, had told her.

Deia Amihan was born full-term, albeit small and undernourished due to the heavy antibiotics Iza endured for five months. But she was here. She was safe. “My god, she came out so well,” the mother whispers, the relief still palpable.

If pregnancy was a battle, postpartum was a reckoning. Iza describes it as “matrescence”—the profound psychological and physical transformation a woman undergoes when becoming a mother, akin to adolescence. “It involves a push and pull of identity as a woman navigates her former self with the new role of a mother,” she admits with refreshing candour.

Despite having help—a luxury she acknowledges with immense gratitude—the shift was seismic. The hormonal drop, sleep deprivation and struggle to breastfeed due to low milk supply tested her resilience.  “It’s a tough pill to swallow,” she says.

Yet, in this chaos, Iza found a new rhythm. The woman who once spent hours meditating and journalling now finds luxury in a quick workout or a moment of silence. Her body, once a source of trauma and scrutiny in an industry obsessed with thinness, is now honoured for its strength. She is moving, not to punish herself as she once did, but to sustain her sanity and vitality for Deia.

This new season has also reshaped her marriage. Iza and Ben, once free to roam and work independently, are now navigating the intricate dance of parenting. It’s a learning curve, and parenting is among the topics they are exploring in their new podcast, Between Us. Produced by Mel Lozano and The Pod Network, the project was born from a desire to create something purposeful together.

“We discovered that it’s like a date for us,” she says of the recording sessions. The podcast delves into intrinsic values, debunking CEO and business myths (a nod to Ben’s work with Booky), and exploring spiritual awakenings. It is content created not for “relevance”—a word Iza disdains—but for connection. “I want to create content from a more empowered, more intentional place.”

Iza’s maternal instinct extends far beyond the walls of her home. It permeates her work with She Talks Asia and AKTOR, two organisations that have become the vessels for her wider advocacy.

This March, She Talks Asia celebrates its 10th Summit, themed “Better Together”, at the Globe Tower in BGC. “We are honoured and excited to have Atom Araullo and Hannah Pangilinan as co-chairs for this year. Melai Cantiveros will be part of the summit as well to talk about the importance of regional representation in what is sometimes an overly Manila-centric country,” she says.

For Iza, who joined the movement in 2017 after realising she “wasn’t doing enough” with her platform, the organisation has been a catalyst for her own healing. It was through She Talks Asia that she first opened up about her mother’s death and her body image struggles, launching the Revolution. In the following year, a campaign centred on mental health.

Today, however, the mission is evolving. Beyond the summits and digital campaigns, Iza is intent on grounding the movement in reality. “One of our goals for this year and beyond is to increase the reach to the grassroots,” she explains. This initiative is called “Kinaiya”, a Bisaya word meaning inner being, nature and character. It is a push to take the conversation off the stage and into the communities that need it most.

“We aim to empower underprivileged communities through workshops,” Iza shares with visible excitement. “In 2022, we successfully held a mental health workshop with mothers of students from Mano Amiga School. Last year, we held an afternoon with different workshops for our youth at Nayon ng Kabataan. Excited for what and where our Kinaiya brings us in the years to come!”

This grassroots work parallels her tireless efforts with AKTOR, the League of Filipino Actors. As the organisation’s president, she serves as a protector of her peers. “I am part of a team that leads projects and conversations aiming to champion and empower artists,” she explains.

The challenges are systemic—long working hours, lack of security and a culture of fear that keeps actors from speaking out. “Fear of losing work and upsetting powerful people or groups is definitely a hurdle,” she admits, speaking of the challenges they had to face when the group was just starting to recruit members. But Iza sees the walls slowly crumbling. Through initiatives such as the AKTOR Database, health insurance, mental health programmes and legal help desks, she, along with her colleagues at AKTOR, is helping to build a safety net for an industry that has long operated without one.

“I hope more big stars understand that using their power equates to the protection of those who are still on the rise,” she says. It is a call to collective welfare and a unified front over individual stardom.

As she navigates these leadership roles, Iza is immensely aware of the passage of time—not as something to fear, but as a source of power. When asked what message she wishes to impart to Filipino women this Women’s Month, her thoughts turn to the global conversation on ageing, a topic often fraught with anxiety in her industry.

“There is a widespread conversation on reframing ageing on the global platform, and we, at She Talks Asia, believe that these discussions are relevant to the modern Filipina,” she posits. “We must not limit ourselves because we feel we are too old to thrive and our ‘peak’ time is up. We must allow and support other women to flourish in their lives—personal or professional when they are labelled middle-aged.”

It is a sentiment born of her own experience as she enters this middle season, finding herself in the unique position of being both a student of life and a mentor to the next generation.

“We believe that there is beauty and value in intergenerational wisdom,” Iza says. “We grew up in a society that told us that wisdom is only learnt and earned from experience, so we must listen to and obey older people. While there is much truth to this, there is also so much to learn from every woman, every human, young or old. So whatever season of life you are in, you are worthy of teaching and learning.”

In a conversation with Tatler, Iza could not help but look back on her 24-year career, when she categorises her life into three distinct seasons. The first, her GMA 7 years, was the “inertia” phase—young, moulded by her mentors, and swept up in the whirlwind fame of her brand advertisements and soap operas like Encantadia. The second, her move to ABS-CBN, was a season of humbling growth, establishing autonomy and finding her footing in a new environment. This season of her career culminated in the most powerful way possible as she played the iconic role of Darna for the pilot week of the series in 2022.

Now, she signed up for her most important role yet at the “Deia Network”, as mother to Deia. This season, more than ever, she is guided by intrinsic values—meaning, purpose and service. 

She looks back at her mentors with a heart full of grace and gratitude: “I don’t think I’d be this person if not for people like you,” she says, addressing them directly.

But if there is one lesson this season has taught her, it is that the “Superwoman” trope is a myth she no longer subscribes to. Iza is the first to admit that her ability to mother her child, her advocacies and her career are not solo acts.

“All these new roles and responsibilities as leader and mother can be overwhelming,” she confesses with a smile. “It really takes a village to make all of this work. My husband, our angels at home, my friends and family, my management team, social media team and my co-founder in She Talks Asia and the entire AKTOR leadership and operations team enable me to do so much more than I thought was possible for myself and for others.”

She leans back, looking lighter than she has in years. “I’m learning and growing so much. It’s challenging but truly a fulfilling season in my life. What a gift!”

Then, with the infectious energy that has kept her in our hearts for over two decades, she laughs, “Sa totoo lang, gusto ko lang sumayaw [Truth be told, I just want to dance]!”

Perhaps, that is the most radical act of all—bearing the weight of the world, fighting for a better nation, raising a daughter and still, at the end of the day, finding the music and dancing to her own tune.

This deep-seated desire to protect and nurture has fundamentally shifted how Iza views the world, not just for her colleagues but for the country Deia will inherit. In her new life season, the lines between mother, citizen and advocate have blurred into a single mission.

“As a woman and a mother, my heart aches seeing and experiencing the state of our nation,” she says. “I hope we collectively fight back against oppression in whatever shape or form. We must use our voice to inspire change, big or small. The prayer is to collectively heal from the trauma so we can move forward with hope for a healthier and more harmonious Philippines.”

For Iza, the question of what kind of nation we are building is no longer abstract; it is about her daughter’s future.

“I say this because I want something better for my child, for all children and for the generations to come,” she asserts passionately. “I envision a nation and a world where kindness is strength, where courage is contagious and where equality is the norm.”

She pauses, reflecting on the weight of raising a girl in today’s landscape. “I’m committed to raising a child who is not just a survivor but hopefully a changemaker—strong, independent, compassionate and bold. Let’s empower our kids and the next generation to build a brighter future, one where love and justice far outweigh fear and injustice. Let’s show them that their voice matters and together, we can create a nation and a world that’s worthy of their dreams.”

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