Face of Allure: Zia Quizon
MANILA, Philippines - Are stars made or born? In Zia Denise Marie Quizon’s case, the star in her is both an intrinsic part of her lineage and her own doing. But despite her regal showbiz blood, 20-year-old Zia, the youngest child of Comedy King Dolphy and singer Zsa Zsa Padilla, remains an epitome of simplicity.
When asked about the best lessons she learned from her parents, soft-spoken Zia shares, “They taught me that being yourself will bring you more fulfillment. I also learned from them that we should humbly remember where we came from.”
She understands the difficulty of growing up with parents and siblings who are in show business. Despite the busy schedule of her parents, Zia is thankful that somehow she was able to experience the little joys of a normal childhood — running around, getting bruised and playing make-believe games with sister Karylle. This 5’5” young stunner, in fact, remembers being a boyish kiddo, very active and adventurous.
During leisure time (yes, she manages to have some), Zia hones her creative side through perusing, writing, traveling, going to museums and surfing the Internet sans interacting on social networking sites. Apparently, she likes literature, arts, music and history. As a third year Literature student at the De La Salle University, Zia is your typical college girl in jeans and shirts, nerdy and quiet at times. Zia, who once dreamt of becoming a journalist, prefers non-fiction books because she finds real-life stories more interesting. She discloses that college has given her the feel of independence that she yearned for during her younger years. “I’ve been wanting to be treated as an adult,” Zia reveals.
Because music has always been present in their house, her mom tells that little Zia could already hum to herself when she was barely one year old. At 11, she started playing the guitar — the first turning point of her life. Now, she has composed five songs, including Simple Girl, which appears in her first album. She’s a consistently sweet and thoughtful daughter that she includes Mambobola and Smile in her compilation as tributes to her mom and dad, respectively. The album that was released in September also includes So Much in Love, Dear Lonely, Simple Girl and Ako na Lang, her single that topped the Myx Charts for three weeks. She’s also one of the featured performers in ASAP Rocks’ Acoustic Republic.
The undeniable making of a star has challenged the introvert girl to get out of her shell. She’s now determined to follow her family’s legacy, especially her mom’s. “I know showbiz is what I’d like to do for the rest of my life,” she says, still with a humble smile. Zia believes that there’s a reason for everything. She knows that one can always go with the flow; but in the process, one has to consider other people’s feelings and carefully maintain a level head about things. Aside from her parents, her role model is, well, everyone. She believes that every individual has a simple piece of wisdom to teach us. It is that simple.
