She gained wider recognition for portraying a fruit plantation farmer in the romantic drama series Forevermore (2014), which was the first of her many collaborations with actor Enrique Gil.
[2][3][4] Shortly after her birth, Soberano's parents separated,[2] and she was raised by her maternal grandparents Jeff, who served in the U.S. Navy, and Divina, a bank teller.
[2] Soberano developed an interest in acting after watching Filipino drama shows such as Tayong Dalawa, Agua Bendita, and Mara Clara, despite not knowing the language.
Playing the supporting role of Jake Cuenca's character, she found being in the show to be an important learning experience which shaped her work ethic,[5] and said in a 2018 interview that since earning her first salary from the project, she became the family breadwinner.
[19] Critical reaction to the film was negative;[17][19] Oggs Cruz from Rappler termed it "completely generic" and "utterly forgettable", though he credited Soberano for lending her appeal and charm.
[21] Abigail Mendoza of the Philippine Entertainment Portal wrote, "She is a natural who displays the right restraint, pleasing to watch all the more since she doesn't try too hard.
[23] Dolce Amore, a romantic drama series shot in Rome and Florence, was Soberano's television project of 2016, which reunited her with Gil and Garcia-Molina.
[24][25] It tells the story of Serena Marchesa, a young aristocrat who is forced to marry her childhood friend (played by Matteo Guidicelli) but leaves for Manila and falls in love with an impoverished man working as a male escort.
[26][25] In preparation for the part, Soberano learned to speak Italian and worked closely with co-actor Ruben Maria Soriquez, who served as the cast's dialect coach.
[29] The romantic drama My Ex and Whys (2017), with Gil as the male lead, featured Soberano as a blogger who must work with her ex-boyfriend as part of a job assignment.
[30] The director, Garcia-Molina, wanted Soberano to dissociate from the persona she portrayed in Dolce Amore, and thus asked her to "act lighter" and play the part by deglamorizing.
[36] Also that year, she took on a starring role in an episode of the anthology series Maalaala Mo Kaya, portraying Pia Wurtzbach, who became known for winning Miss Universe 2015.
[45] Playing a college couple who go through a series of relationship struggles, the pair spent some time immersing in academic experiences to prepare; she attended classes at the University of the Philippines Diliman, while Gil visited a hospital to interact with medical students.
[50] Filmed in Dubrovnik, Croatia, it featured Soberano as a struggling overseas worker and con artist who deceives an undocumented migrant (played by Gil).
[51] She was drawn to the idea of exploring a distinct "visual experience" for her character and thus cut her hair short to look drastically different from her performances in the past.
[54] Reception of her voice acting was mixed; Kathleen Llemit of The Philippine Star thought that her delivery had "dynamics" but contained "almost the exact same cadence",[56] and Rappler's Emil Hofileña criticized her disjointed performance and considered her miscast.
[59] Lisa Frankenstein (2024), starring Kathryn Newton in the title role, is about a misunderstood teenage girl who meets and develops a relationship with a re-animated Victorian-era corpse (played by Cole Sprouse).
Soberano collaborated closely with Cody and Williams to create Taffy's origin; and, to adopt the character's mental space, she drew inspiration from teen film genres.
[63] Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle dismissed the film as an "unfunny, disgusting mess", but deemed Soberano as the only notable aspect of the production.
[70] In a discussion of her career trajectory, the Philippine Entertainment Portal has profiled her as a "top-rating prime-time actress [and] a blockbuster movie star", citing her talent and diligent work as significant factors in her rise.
[2] The writer Romy Antonette Peña Cruz, also from the same publication, attributed Soberano's success as an actress to her willingness to rely on her acting talent rather than her perceived beauty.
[7] Regarding her approach to acting, Soberano has commented that she views dissociating from herself as an obvious requirement in her portrayals, remarking, "It's like allowing myself to completely kind of let go of everything that makes me, me.
"[67] Analyzing her on-screen persona, Rhea Manila Santos of News.ABS-CBN.com noted that Soberano usually plays "conservative girl-next-door roles", but commended her willingness to "completely reinvent herself".
[32] Commenting on her performance in Alone/Together, Pablo Tariman of The Philippine Star called it an "acting so well-defined" which she "immersed into with quiet but smoldering result",[47] while Garcia-Molina, who directed Soberano in My Ex and Whys, considered her "comedic side" to be a revelation.
[71] Describing her off-screen personality, actress Kira Balinger praised Soberano's "humble approach to fame",[72] and the Asian Journal writer Monet Lu found her to be "very amiable", adding that "her simplicity just makes her even more attractive".
Together, they were part of a "love team", a romantic on-screen couple from which she has achieved commercial success, bolstering her reputation as one of the Philippines' preeminent talents.
She identifies as a feminist, a concept she argues should not intimidate people because society has always "conditioned women and children to stay quiet when dealing with hardships and struggles".
[86] This participation led to trolling and red-tagging from military government officials, spreading public misinformation of her being allied with the communist group New People's Army.
[95] In a 2024 interview, Soberano has publicly acknowledged her mental health struggles, stating, "That was coming from like, just years of focusing on work and not really getting to, I guess, be fully present in my childhood.
[112] Soberano's television projects include the primetimes series Kung Ako'y Iiwan Mo, Got To Believe, Forevermore, Dolce Amore, Bagani, and Make It With You.