The challenges of motherhood in acting
With 30 years of experience, Verónica Merchant confesses that her biggest challenge has not been playing characters, but rather balancing her profession with motherhood. Married to actor Daniel Martínez and mother of Alexis and Valentina, the actress recognizes that the pressure to comply on all fronts was constant.
“It was not easy. One of the challenges of being a woman trying to fulfill yourself in a career like acting is also being a mother. You must learn texts, take care of your image, be emotionally available for the characters and respond to the media. But at the same time you come home and continue being a mother. There are many roles happening at the same time,” she says in an interview.
Merchant points out that, although she had the support of her husband, the responsibility for the household fell primarily on her. “I had a great partner and a lot of support from him, but even so I was the one who was on top of everything. It is an enormous responsibility,” he says.
The actress also reflects on gender double standards. He explains that for years he felt the need to prove that he could succeed without neglecting his family, a requirement that is rarely applied to men.
“If we have children we are judged, and if we don’t, too. If we focus on our career, we are questioned for not being mothers. And if we decide to be mothers, then we are questioned for continuing to work. We must do everything perfectly,” she points out.
That personal experience connected her in a special way with the themes of her most recent work in the telenovela “Doménica Montero”, where she played Pilar Rivas, the villain’s mother.
“I didn’t see the other versions, but Doménica is a strong woman from the beginning, someone who falls, gets up, makes mistakes and finds redemption. Not everything is based on anger; there is also compassion,” she says.
