Liza Soberano on taking control of her own narrative

Such composure does not come from nowhere. Sixteen years in an industry that demands long hours, constant availability and a careful negotiation between public and private life would teach anyone patience. Soberano has been in front of the camera since she was 13, growing up alongside an audience that has watched her career unfold. She is confident without being imposing, warm without being performative, and, by her own admission, innately shy. The ease we see is not necessarily an absence of nerves, but the result of learning how to work with them.

“When I look back at 13-year-old Liza on her very first set, I see a young girl filled with self-doubt who hadn’t quite discovered her own worth,” she shares. “I constantly felt like an impostor in an industry surrounded by people who had grown up in the business or had years of formal training. It was difficult to feel deserving of my achievements, especially when I was constantly reminded that I was ‘just a pretty face’ or mocked for not having the most perfect Filipino accent.” It is a revealing admission, particularly when one considers how easily the public can mistake familiarity for understanding.

Soberano became a household name through television hits such as Forevermore (2014), Dolce Amore (2016) and Bagani (2018), before box-office successes including My Ex and Whys (2017) and Alone/ Together (2019) cemented her place in popular culture. Her beauty was an undeniable part of her appeal, but the label of “just a pretty face” was a limiting one for a young woman still discovering her capabilities.

Today, she speaks about those years without seemingly interested in revisiting old grievances. Instead, she has arrived at a more useful understanding: other people’s opinions need not become the measure of one’s worth. She has learnt to separate being liked from being respected, recognising that professionalism and kindness need not come at the expense of personal agency. “I’ve stopped trying to prove that I can fit into someone else’s idea of who I should be,” she says. “I think in our industry, particularly in parts of Asia where the traditional entertainment business model can be quite hierarchical, a lot of artists grow up believing they have very little agency over their own careers, or even their personal lives.”

Her decision to return to the United States was a significant step towards reclaiming that sovereignty. At the height of her career in the Philippines, Soberano had achieved the sort of visibility many actors spend years working towards. Leaving that relative certainty for a less predictable path abroad required a different kind of ambition, one that was not guaranteed to pay off. It also meant accepting that a decision which felt right to her might not immediately make sense to everyone else. The move was never simply about trading one entertainment industry for another. It was about discovering what she might be capable of beyond the roles and expectations that had defined her early career.

In 2024, she appeared in Lisa Frankenstein as Taffy, reaching a wider international audience. Since then, her creative pursuits have expanded into music and other forms of storytelling. “I think there’s a big misconception about dreamers,” she says. “[They] are often dismissed as naive or out of touch with reality. But in my experience, dreaming big has actually forced me to become more mature.” She speaks of ambition not as a glamorous idea but as a practice demanding discipline, resilience and a willingness to endure uncertainty. Opportunities will not always come easily, and the people one hopes will take a chance may not. The challenge is to keep going without allowing the pursuit itself to erode one’s values.

“What I’ve found inspiring about living in America is being surrounded by people who approach ambition as something natural than needing to be justified,” she continues. “When you’re constantly surrounded by people who believe that their dreams are worth pursuing, you start to believe that yours are too.” There is something liberating about allowing oneself to want more, particularly when success is measured against a narrow set of conventional milestones. Yet Soberano is careful to distinguish her own aspirations from any universal definition of achievement. Hollywood may have been her dream, but she does not believe it has to be anyone else’s. “What I’ve always advocated for is living with purpose and being intentional about the life you want to build,” says the Tatler Most Influential honouree.

“Success should look different for everyone because our dreams are as unique as we are.” Nowadays, Soberano has learnt to fully embrace new facets of her creative life. Her latest single, Killshot, offers a first glimpse into Killer Queens, a film concept developed by her team at Funny Face Films about beauty queens who are secretly trained assassins. Bringing together her interests in music, fashion, film and storytelling, the project reveals an appetite for creative exploration that extends beyond acting. “Sometimes a door opens that I never even thought to knock on, and my curiosity makes me want to see where it leads,” she says. For someone whose career began so young, the freedom to experiment without immediately needing to define the outcome feels particularly meaningful. She is allowing herself to discover new interests and take risks, guided less by a particular title than by the possibility of learning something new.

That curiosity has also shaped her relationship with home. In 2026, Soberano lends her voice to Raissa, one of the lead characters in Forgotten Island, a DreamWorks Animation film rooted in Filipino folklore, mythology and heritage. Featuring H.E.R., Lea Salonga, Jo Koy and Manny Jacinto, among others, the film brings Filipino stories to an international audience. For Soberano, its significance extends beyond the opportunity to participate in a global production.

“When I first announced that I wanted to pursue a global career, I was almost hesitant to acknowledge the magnitude of what I was trying to do,” she recalls. “I would downplay my ambitions, partly because of my own impostor syndrome, but also because I didn’t feel comfortable with the pressure of being seen as someone representing an entire country.” During the film’s promotional tour, meeting members of the Filipino diaspora and hearing their stories changed her perspective. “I realised that representation isn’t necessarily about claiming to speak for an entire community. Sometimes it’s simply about being visible in spaces where people like you haven’t always been seen, and giving someone else the confidence to imagine themselves there too.”

See also: The things that make us Filipino that ‘Forgotten Island’ helps us remember

Leaving the Philippines once felt like stepping away from a familiar identity. Now, distance has helped her appreciate it more deeply. She has come to understand that building a life abroad need not mean becoming disconnected from the place that shaped her. “I can pursue opportunities anywhere in the world while remaining deeply connected to where I come from,” she says. For Soberano, homecoming is less a grand affair than a collection of familiar comforts: spending time with people she misses, slipping back into routines and being somewhere she does not have to explain herself.

The Philippines is also where she feels most pampered. After time spent navigating different climates, flights and demanding production schedules, she makes room for the rituals that help her feel restored. Belo, which has been part of her life since she was 14, is among them. She appreciates the familiarity of returning to doctors who understand her skin and can offer advice without unnecessary additions to her routine. 

“My skin goes through a lot when I’m away,” she shares. “The dry air, the flights, the long shoot days. So, when I’m back in Manila, it’s one of the things I make time for. It’s nice to sit with doctors who’ve known Filipino skin forever, who don’t need me to explain anything. And they’ll actually tell me, ‘You don’t need that,’ which I love.”

More from Tatler: Belo continues to introduce new treatments in aesthetics, 36 years later

Her favourites include the Belo Genesis Lift, which she says leaves her jawline looking more defined, the NeuroGlow Facial and AdvaClear for her scars. She also makes time for a good massage whenever she can. “I genuinely believe nothing beats a massage in the Philippines!” she says.

There is something endearing about this detail, a reminder that even as her world expands, some pleasures remain wonderfully uncomplicated. For someone whose appearance has long been part of her public identity, taking care of herself on her own terms is another expression of the independence she has worked towards. It is not simply about looking a certain way, but about finding moments of rest amid a life that rarely stands still. At this stage of her life, Soberano is also thinking more deliberately about what the future might hold beyond her career. As she approaches 30, she is learning to make space for the ambitions of her younger self while considering what happiness might look like for the woman she is becoming. It may include a global career and creative ventures still waiting to be explored. It may also involve something quieter, such as building a family and nurturing relationships away from the public eye.

“I’m still incredibly ambitious, but I’m learning to be just as intentional about enjoying my life as I am about building it,” she says. When I think back to our shoot in Los Angeles, it is this sense of quiet assurance that stays with me. The girl who once questioned whether she deserved her place in the room has grown into a woman more comfortable with uncertainty, and more trusting of her own judgement. She remains warm and unassuming, but there is a steadiness beneath it, shaped by years of experience and a growing understanding of what she wants. “I’m a woman who’s still very much a work in progress, but genuinely excited about that,” she tells me. “I don’t have everything figured out, but I wake up excited about what life has in store for me.” Perhaps that is what it means to come into one’s own: not to arrive at a definitive version of oneself, but to become comfortable with the possibilities still unfolding. 

Soberano continues to venture further into the world, exploring new creative territory while finding her way back to the people and places that ground her. She no longer seems concerned with proving that she belongs. Instead, she is discovering just how much room there is to grow when the life she pursues is, finally, her own.

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