Jodi Sta. Maria not ready for sexy roles

It must be her eyes. They can smile innocently one moment and flutter seductively the next.

Jodi Sta. Maria herself admits it’s the physical asset she’s proudest of. Through those wistful eyes, she can charm leading men, like former boyfriend Baron Geisler and Patrick Garcia, with whom Jodi is paired in the ABS-CBN soap series Tabing Ilog and Pangako Sa ’Yo, and the soon-to-be-shown Jologs.

With those eyes too, Jodi can instantly turn into a rebel, complete with colored hair and pouting mouth – in a soap opera, that is.

In real life though, Jodi is far from a rebel. She’s her mother’s darling, helping out with the bills (Jodi’s parents separated when she was still a baby), telling her older brother to take it easy after graduation because her career is doing well, dreaming of a house of her own where her grandmother, mother and brother can live.

Even when she carried on a two-year romance with Baron, Jodi’s private life was unmarred by scandals. There were no talks of wild partying or disco-hopping, hanging out in questionable places, much less nonstop drinking of any sort.

Jodi is not the type who’d cry buckets over national TV after controversy dogs her. She’s much too low-key and sober for that.

You’d even see it in the way she dresses. At the intimate lunch for the press with her and Patrick, Jodi’s attire could well be described as casual corporate. She was in a buttoned denim dress, accented only by a baby pink belt.

Other stars her age (20) would come in the latest fashion statement: something with frills or peasant-inspired, with bare shoulders for maximum effect. But not Jodi. She chose to play it low-key, even prim and proper.

Sometimes, when the occasion calls for it – a pictorial for instance, she ventures a little farther. That’s when one sees hints of curves and some cleavage – the kind that has made other people suggest sexy roles for her. But no way, at least for now.

Jodi would rather maintain that wholesome, peaches-and-cream image.

The far-from-loveless Jodi (her boyfriend is a La Salle student and the son of a controversial opposition senator) would rather also maintain that for-screen-only romance with Patrick.

"I feel more comfortable that way," Jodi explains. "It’s hard when your partner in a love team happens to be your real-life boyfriend. It affects your work."

She’s speaking from experience. After all, didn’t her relationship with Baron blossom after many a TV apperance?

"Look at the tandem of Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon," Jodi points out. "People know they are married to someone else in real life, but moviegoers still patronize their films."

That’s how Jodi would like her teamup with Patrick to be: long-lasting, but no strings attached, if possible.

That way, Jodi says she can concentrate on her acting more.

It seems so long ago when Jodi dreamt of following in her former flight stewardess-mom’s footsteps.

"My mom who worked as international stewardess for PAL would regale me with stories about her flights. One story I can’t forget was how they barely escaped a plane crash," relates Jodi, who dreams of going to Europe and other places her mom went to.

One of her endless sources of fascination is a painting from Amsterdam which her mom bought. Those who have seen it says the girl in the painting resembles Jodi.

"I’ve gotten used to not having a Dad around. After I analyze my problem and how I can solve it, I turn to my Mom. She’s neither too strict nor too liberal. Maybe, it will be harder for me to cope if my parents separated when I’m older," she continues.

Her mom is doing a good job, so far. Jodi has turned out to be level-headed, serious with her career, sure about what she wants in life.

"I plan to take up psychology in college," says this senior high school student at the ABS-CBN Distance Learning Center.

She would have loved to take up medicine, but the course would take so much of her time, she may not attend to her showbiz commitments anymore.

Let’s hope Jodi keeps her feet firmly planted on the ground, even as she aims for nothing less than the stars.