Lisa Haydon on motherhood, ambition, and finding her own path

What comes through, note after note, is a woman entirely at ease in her own skin: warm, curious, quick to laugh at herself, and unabashedly sentimental about her family. There’s a restless, outdoorsy energy to her—she surfs, skis, hikes, and wakes up every single morning excited for the day.

Instinct and not any strategic planning has guided most of her life, Haydon makes a point. The girl who arrived in Mumbai to model went on to walk the ramp, host India’s Next Top Model and, in 2014, steal scenes as the free-spirited Vijayalakshmi in Queen—a female-driven film that nobody, least of all Haydon, expected to become what it did. “It just felt right,” she says of saying yes to the role. It is a phrase she returns to often.

A few years later, she stepped back from the spotlight and moved to Hong Kong, where two of her three children were born. If you assume motherhood dimmed her drive, she’ll correct you. “I’m probably more ambitious today than I’ve ever been,” she says. What has changed is how she measures success. Where she once counted milestones, she now looks at the ‘whole pie’ of a life: being present, compassionate, and available to the people in front of her. “Thank God I moved with heart,” she adds.

With her children growing more independent, a new season is opening up. She is thinking about acting again, returning to the skincare brand she once had, and building a forever home around her love for cooking. Haydon speaks to Bazaar India about ambition, authenticity, and the art of living in the moment.

Lisa Haydon: The most obvious change since I started is the internet and social media. Everything is under the microscope now—what you wear, how quickly it’s published, how quickly it’s talked about. In the old days, after a show, you’d wait for the next day’s newspapers to see the highlighted looks, and even then it would just be the girl who wore the best dress.

Models today also get to have their own voice. Who you are isn’t restricted to one person’s vision; you get to show different parts of your character and the nuance in between. It’s harder to stereotype people when their lives are showcased in a more well-rounded way, on their own terms. What I do love is watching everyone’s sensibility grow. People can access trends and interpret them in their own way, and everyone is so much more globally aware because of it.

HB: You’ve often spoken about following instinct rather than a carefully mapped-out career path. Looking back, which unexpected turn has shaped you the most?

LH: Career-wise, it was definitely Queen. Nobody could have anticipated it. I really loved the character. The film took a year or two to release while they deliberated on the edit, and I thought, whatever happens, happens. There were no expectations, so the response, and everything that followed, was a real surprise.

But looking back, I wouldn’t call any of my decisions unexpected. Whether or not my choices have made sense to other people, they’ve had to feel visceral and instinctive to me first. We all make the best decisions we can, in the moment we’re in, with whatever we know at the time.

HB: There is a certain confidence and ease associated with your public persona. Was that always innate, or is it something you consciously built over the years?

LH: First of all, thank you! I’ve always felt there’s nothing wrong with just being yourself, and I hope that’s what comes through. The more real you are with people, and the more you show up with curiosity, the more you connect. Authenticity speaks, I guess. So yes, I think it’s innate, and it’s something I hope to lean into more as I go through life. It lets other people be themselves around me too, and every interaction becomes more meaningful.

HB: After stepping away from films and the constant visibility that comes with being an actor, did you find a different kind of freedom in choosing what parts of yourself you share with the world?

LH: That’s a really interesting question. When you’re in films and living in Mumbai, the whole neighbourhood knows which apartment you live in; you're recognised at the grocery store. That’s just how it is.

I didn’t even have social media until my last year of working very actively, so what was shared about me was never really up to me. Around the time Queen released, everyone was moving onto social media, and what I posted was mostly professional, or bits of my life I already felt were public. Once I stepped back, it felt foreign to keep putting my life out there, because it wasn’t my day-to-day reality anymore.

I'd set out to be a model, and then acting happened. Posting to stay relevant or build a community was such a new concept that I didn’t know what to do with my following. I never thought, “How do I keep the trajectory building?” I probably should have—maybe that’s a flaw, because years pass and opportunities get lost. It’s only in the last couple of years, as social media has evolved, that I’ve learned to share in a way that feels real to me.

And yes, I’ve found a different kind of freedom in that. These are my kids, this is me, this is our day to day, with work rolled in. I’ve lived outside India for years now, so I share what I want to share—nobody’s watching me at the grocery store. I’ve found real freedom in being able to live and let live, without a whole bunch of expectations on myself.

HB: How has becoming a mother changed your understanding of ambition, identity, and success?

LH: I’ve always lived by what the moment calls for, and by a sense of purpose. In my teens and twenties, that meant not wasting the opportunities in front of me—working really, really hard, every single day

I can see now that the seeds I planted then have borne fruit. And I know the years I’ve given my family lately are something I’ll never regret. But that’s hindsight, not strategy. I’ve never made choices based on what I could gain from them; I’d much rather move with heart and sincerity than chart a path that looks clever. You can make all the plans you want. What I do believe is that big decisions ripple. The love you put into your work, how much you show up in your relationships, how much you give your kids—it all bears fruit later.

Identity does blur in the first few years, when the kids are practically a part of your body. But as they grow more independent and I’m more mobile again, it’s coming back to me. And ambition? Nah, that doesn’t go anywhere. That hunger to break glass ceilings is still there—as much in the mountains I climb, the waves I surf, and my fitness goals as in my career.

Success, though, means something different now. I love being on magazine covers—being on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar is an incredible milestone. But life isn’t perpetually a peak, and if I pinned all my joy on outward achievements, I’d have nothing to hold on to in the troughs. What interests me now is a picture of success in every area. The more purposeful something feels, the more of myself I can give it. For me, success is finding what’s truly meaningful and committing to it fully.

HB: Fashion has always been central to your identity, from your early days as a model to your current style. How has your personal aesthetic evolved over the years? What are the wardrobe essentials you return to season after season?

LH: This is a question I never know how to answer! When I was starting out, I wore a lot of black, because budgets weren’t on tap and black always looked cool on me. I’ve never overthought it. I look for pieces that can multitask—a dinner out, a red carpet, a family get-together—and really go to work in my wardrobe. A stylist friend once told me, “Lisa, you never buy unnecessary things,” and I took that as a compliment. I always think about what I already have and what something will go with. I want everything to deliver bang for my buck.

As for wardrobe essentials, just pieces that suit me and that I feel like myself in. When you dress in a way that’s true to you, it carries an effortless feeling. I’ve definitely, on occasion, dressed up as something I thought was cool. Nothing wrong with that, but when I look back at those pictures, it looks a little borrowed. Your style should evolve as you do, and reflect the galleries you’ve been to, the countries you’ve seen, the colours inspiring you right now while staying true to your core taste.

And I’ve always loved fashion. My dad still jokes that when I was two or three, I’d change my clothes three or four times a day. Putting on a new outfit just felt fun. I definitely enjoy it—it just has to be functional.

HB: Having worked with some of the world’s leading designers and photographers, what is the one lesson the fashion industry has taught you about confidence and self-expression?

LH: Confidence in your self-expression gets sturdier as you go through life. But I’ve always felt I’m allowed to wear something the way I want to wear it. Trends come and go—including whether your particular look is on point—but individuality is what carries. There’s no harm in being yourself.

HB: You divide your time between different cultures and lifestyles. How have these experiences influenced the way you think about wellness, home, and personal happiness?

LH: I love dividing my time. We’ve moved to so many places for my husband’s career, and I can travel for my work, so I don’t need to be fixed in one place—or in one place to feel grounded on the inside. I’ve never thought about this consciously, but reflecting on it now, my sensibility and curiosity have definitely grown with every move, and it all rolls into my worldview and the way I live. Wellness, for me, is simply this: I get to choose how well I feel. One of the most important things you can do is know yourself well enough to recognise what triggers you and how to handle it. I tell my kids, as they navigate school and friendships, that what people say to you has more to do with them than with you. At home, I try to keep things consistent, so life feels like an adventure but our core values and stability stay the same. That’s personal happiness, too. My husband and I have very different characters, but we bond over this shared need to maximise life. We know we want an adventure-filled life—it’s simply how we’ve decided to live

“I’ve never made choices based on what I could gain from them; I’d much rather move with heart and sincerity than chart a path that looks clever.”

HB: At this stage of your life, what are you most curious about—personally, creatively, or professionally?

LH: Personally, I want my kids to have healthy minds, to know themselves, and to have an innate confidence. I want our family to keep thriving on stability and joy.

Creatively and professionally, I’d love to get back into skincare and to explore acting again, whether on stage or behind the camera. Those passions never ceased; I just had to shift focus because the hour called for it. And revisiting something doesn’t have to mean doing it the same way. I’m also extremely passionate about cooking, and I’d love to build our forever home with the kitchen at its heart.

More than achieving more, I want to grow in my mindset: to be present, to trust god with every season of my life, and to surrender in my faith. Sometimes going deeper right where you are means more than constantly taking another step up.

HB: If the younger Lisa who arrived in Mumbai chasing a modelling career could meet you today, what do you think she would be most surprised by?

LH: Wow, that’s so deep. I think she’d be surprised by how sweet it can be. I think young Lisa would feel content. She’d be like, ‘Wow, okay, cool. Interesting choices, but you made them.’ Maybe she’d be surprised at how much sturdier and more settled I am—more balanced, hopefully a lot more mature, and less driven by the worry that I'm running out of time. I think she’d be pleased.