This is an excerpt from the June 2026 Special Issue. Subscribe to MEGA Digital All-Access to read the full story.
Long before she became one of Philippine entertainment’s most recognizable faces, Barbie Forteza was a ten-year-old actress trying to find her place in the industry. Nearly two decades later, she’s still evolving—and still surprising people.
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While Forteza has built an impressive filmography through the years, from Tween Academy: Class of 2012 to the recent Kontrabida Academy, one project for her stands apart. The 2014 Cinemalaya entry Mariquina marked a turning point in her career—not only earning her critical recognition where she won Best Supporting Actress in Cinemalaya Awards, but also changing the way the industry viewed her.
She recalled her role as the rebellious young Imelda, the younger counterpart of the character portrayed by Mylene Dizon. “That really started how people respected me in the industry. ‘Yun ‘yung breakthrough moment ko from being a teenage actress, part of a loveteam, to being a serious, professional actress.”
Her commitment to growth is reflected in the way she approaches her craft. Before stepping into a character, Forteza begins with curiosity. “Why is she going through this? Why is she like this? I try to understand her deeply first,” the actress explains. To portray a character truthfully, she must first understand and trust the person’s motivations, fears, and desires. Only then can she serve the story being told.
After nearly two decades in the industry, Forteza has also witnessed how storytelling itself has evolved. For her, the growing focus on women’s stories has expanded the kinds of characters audiences get to see on screen. “Women empowerment, specifically in film, has a huge impact. Even in terms of roles, sobrang na-emphasize na ang gender equality,” Forteza observes.
The way women are portrayed on screen often reflects how society sees them. Today, audiences are increasingly presented with female characters who are not defined by a single trait or role. They are leaders, workers, mothers, dreamers, and survivors. They are ambitious and flawed, strong and vulnerable. Rather than archetypes, they are fully realized individuals with contradictions that make them feel human.
Perhaps that is why Forteza finds herself gravitating toward women in transition. “I’m drawn to projects or characters where the woman is a bit disoriented or broken in the beginning,” she admits. “Para in the end, makita nila na even broken pieces can be put together, and still be perfect like that. Parang abstract [art].” It’s a sentiment that feels deeply connected to the kinds of stories Forteza wants to tell. She is drawn not to women who are already perfect or established, but to those who are still becoming—women who stumble and discover new versions of themselves along the way.
Photographed by JERICK SANCHEZ. Creative Direction by PATRICK TY. Art Direction by CLARE MAGNO. Beauty Direction by AGOO AZCUNA-BENGZON assisted by MARA GO. Sittings Editor PEEWEE REYES-ISIDRO and TREISHA ROVERO. Produced by THESSMAR LECTURA. Image Retouching by JONES PALTENG. Hair by STEVEN REY MERCADO. Makeup by JUSTINE NAVATO. Styled by JANRA assisted by MIKAELLA BORINAGA. Photography Assistants KARL RIMANDO and BUDDY REYES
Frequently Asked Questions
Barbie Forteza is a Filipino actress who began her career at ten years old and has built one of Philippine entertainment’s most respected filmographies over nearly two decades. She is best known for her Cinemalaya Best Supporting Actress win for the 2014 film Mariquina, which marked her transition from teenage actress and loveteam member to serious dramatic performer.
Barbie Forteza’s breakthrough role was the rebellious young Imelda in the 2014 Cinemalaya entry Mariquina, the younger counterpart to Mylene Dizon’s character. The performance earned her the Best Supporting Actress award at the Cinemalaya Awards and fundamentally shifted how the Philippine entertainment industry perceived her as an actress.
Barbie Forteza begins character preparation with curiosity — asking why a character behaves the way she does, what motivates her, and what she fears. She describes needing to deeply understand and trust a character’s inner world before she can portray her truthfully and serve the story being told.
Barbie Forteza gravitates toward characters who are disoriented or broken at the start of a story and find wholeness by the end. She describes this as similar to abstract art — broken pieces that, when assembled, form something still beautiful. She is drawn to women who are still becoming rather than those who are already established or perfect.
The MEGA June 2026 Special Issue features Barbie Forteza in an in-depth profile covering her nearly two-decade career, her Cinemalaya breakthrough, her craft philosophy, and her views on women’s storytelling in Philippine entertainment. The full story is available through MEGA Digital All-Access.
