Beauty in Lockdown

With her new role as a mother, against the backdrop of a pandemic, Solenn Heussaff Bolzico redefines what it means to be beautiful

- ALYSSA LAPID

Over Zoom, the zeitgeist of the pandemic, Solenn Heussaff Bolzico sits barefaced and relaxed in what appears to be her bedroom. Sporting a shirt with rolled up sleeves, her loose tresses tucked behind one ear, a virtual Solenn attempts to define beauty.

Solenn, whose ascent to It-Girl status was swift, whose first name is so resonant it can stand alone, is a sought-after actress and endorser. Since her beginnings as an island castaway in the Philippine leg of Survivor, Solenn’s decade-long career resulted in dozens of roles on TV, multiple iconic films, hosting gigs, and countless endorsements. Her side projects are no small feat either. As the ultimate multi-hyphenate, Solenn also holds exhibits for her widely-acclaimed art, launches fashion lines (she studied fashion design in France), and has published two books, among others.

“In showbiz, I was working every single day. Every time I had one day off, I was like, ‘I’m not relevant anymore.’ I’d have all these anxiety attacks,” she says. But 2020 has upended her life—not just in the way the pandemic has radically stunted all of ours—but because the HeussaffBolzico household welcomed their first daughter Thylane Katana, or Tili, on the first of January.