Yasmien balances time between home & career

MANILA, Philippines - Yasmien Kurdi has come full circle. She has returned to acting after she recently changed roles in real life — from being a single teen actress and nursing student to becoming a wife to Rey Soldevilla Jr. and a mom to one-year-old Ayesha Zara.

Motherhood doesn’t at all hinder her from continuing her passion for acting. “Okay naman, masaya. My daughter inspires me more to work because now whenever I come home from tapings, she showers me with kisses,” says Yasmien during a pocket interview held at the 17th floor of the Kapuso Network building.

For about six months, Ayesha spent time exclusively with mom Yasmien who decided not to hire a nanny which made her more knowledgeable in the baby care department. “I was breastfeeding her even when I resumed my acting career in her sixth month. Anna KareNina was my comeback project. Now, Ayesha’s grandmas are taking turns in looking after her while I’m out of the house.”

Besides, her work schedule still allows her to spend more time with Ayesha. Yasmien works three times a week at the most. “So magaan lang talaga and so far there is no problem about juggling motherhood and acting.”

She also relates how supportive her husband has been of whatever she wanted to do, especially during the time when depression started creeping inside her. “He asked me what I really wanted to do because after my nursing studies, I was still undecided on whether I was going to take the board exam or continue my acting career. I needed to weigh things properly so I could make the right decision. (But) I knew then that I cannot just stay in the house kasi nade-depress ako na walang ginagawa. Then, I decided not to take the board exam anymore because I love acting more. My baby was six months old when I went back to acting. I am so thankful that GMA is always there to support me.”

She, too, insists that it had only been a year since the public last saw her on TV. When her contract with GMA ended in 2011, she decided to lay low to finish her schooling but still accepted guest roles. It was her marriage and pregnancy that led her to set aside her career.

Yasmien admits she was initially shocked when she was offered to play mom to Barbie Forteza, Krystal Reyes and Joyce Ching in Anna KareNina. “Even if I’m a mom already, the role still came quite unexpectedly kasi naging mom ako sa malalaki ng tao and I read on blog sites comments saying that they couldn’t believe that I agreed to be a mom to teenagers. They even made some computations na parang seven or eight years old lang nanganak na daw ako but for me, it was okay because it was like an experimental task.”

The mommy role, Yasmien adds, proved anew her ability to plunge and lose herself into a character. “I am now given another opportunity to work in a new project.”  

Yasmien is set to star alongside Jennylyn Mercado on GMA 7’s new primetime drama series Rhodora X which is about sibling rivalry between two sisters with one of them afflicted with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and tells how the disability affects their relationship, leading to a power struggle between them. Yasmien plays Angela, the sister of Jennylyn’s characters Rhodora/Roxanne.

“I’m thankful to Miss Lilybeth (Rasonable), Miss Redgie (Magno) and Miss Gigi (Santiago-Lara) for giving me another role na di naman mommy role. I’m acting as my age this time,” says Yasmien.

It’s good that she took time for diet and exercise to shed those excess poundage she gained from her pregnancy. “I was 184 lbs. then but I am now down to 122 lbs. which makes it more fitting for me to play other roles.”