In her teen years, Iolanda developed an interest in acting due to her uncle's job as a projectionist for a local cinema, and often participated in school performances at the end of the semester, becoming popular in the neighborhood. She graduated in 1951, but eventually started working as a copy typist in a pharmaceutical company in the same year. While required to work to financially help her family, Iolanda still had acting ambitions as she continued searching for an opportunity for a breakthrough.