In a year marked by personal milestones, award-winning actress Jodi Sta. Maria makes a triumphant return to primetime television with "Lavender Fields," an action-drama series that delves into the depth of a woman's strength and resilience.

The timing of this project couldn't be more fitting for Jodi, who, just last June, announced that her marriage to Panfilo "Pampi" Lacson Jr. had been annulled after a 13-year wait — a significant chapter in her life that she describes as both a closure and a new beginning.

"Life isn't perfect, but I choose to see the blessings," Jodi acknowledged in a special interview organized by ABS-CBN for The Manila Times Entertainment. Her voice, calm and reflective, bore a deepened sense of appreciation that has grown stronger through the years despite her life's myriad challenges.

Jodi Sta. Maria is grateful for new beginnings — a new chapter in her personal life and her latest series on ABS-CBN.

In an earlier interview with ABS-CBN News, Jodi shared that while she and her ex-husband failed to provide their son, Thirdy, with what a conservative society considered an 'ideal' environment, they strove to forge a harmonious co-parenting relationship, ensuring he grew up with a loving blended family on both sides — an outcome for which she remains deeply thankful.

Nonetheless, she added that the annulment was a legal step that both she and Pampi deserved — a clean slate that granted them the freedom to move forward.

Asked how she feels returning to work amid this new beginning, Jodi replied, "I think I'm just more and more grateful. I'm grateful for work. I'm grateful for the significant milestones in my life."

Having spent nearly 30 years in the entertainment industry, Jodi explained that it is important to continue finding joy in her work. She considers it a gift that should never be taken for granted.

"I think I am blessed with a passion that turned into a profession," she averred. "I go to work and feel like I'm not working. So I always look forward to being on set and sharing the lives and talents of my colleagues and co-actors."

As she steps into her titular role in "Lavender Fields," Jodi finds herself channeling much of her own emotions into the character she portrays — a woman who, much like her, navigates life's complexities with courage and grace. The Dreamscape series, set to drop on Netflix on August 30 while premiering across ABS-CBN's multimedia platforms in September, delves into themes of love, redemption, and the masks people wear to protect themselves from the world. It is a concept that Jodi, who is always known to speak her mind despite striving to keep much of her personal life private as of late, found deeply relatable.

"In a way, we all wear masks," she said. "No matter how kind or genuine a person may seem, there's always something behind that mask. I wouldn't call it inauthentic; it's more like personas we put on that are socially acceptable.

"When I'm at work, I have my career persona, for example, and when I'm at home, I'm Jodi the mother, the daughter," the actress who also happens to hold a degree in Psychology excitedly explained.

"We all have personas, and that's what drew me to 'Lavender Fields' — the idea that it's OK to have these layers, these defenses, as long as we know when to take them off and be vulnerable."

Another significant milestone marking Jodi's return to primetime after starring in 2023's highly successful landmark collaboration between ABS-CBN and GMA Network, "Unbreak My Heart," is that "Lavender Fields" marks her first foray into action drama.

Initially apprehensive about the role's physical demands, Jodi recalled, "When they offered me the series, and I found out it was an action drama, I was frightened to start with because I'm scared of getting hurt," she added with a sheepish chuckle. "But I've always welcomed challenges, and I knew this would be a good addition to my body of work."

Sta. Maria fittingly stars in 'Lavender Fields,' an action-drama series that delves into the depth of a woman's strength and resilience

The actress related that the preparation for her action scenes was rigorous. Months before the cameras started rolling, Jodi said she enrolled in strength and conditioning training, an experience she described as both physically and mentally demanding.

"We were preparing months before we even shot the first scene. There's a lot of strength and conditioning involved because we don't want anyone to get injured on set," she noted.

Warned by her director that she would need to perform high-powered action sequences while delivering her lines in her Asian Academy Creative Award-caliber, Jodi laughingly revealed she devised an unusual kind of training.

"I started running on the treadmill while singing," she elaborated. "It was the only way I could think of to help me build that endurance so I wouldn't have to catch my breath while saying my lines."

From all angles, Jodi's latest TV role is surely bound to inspire audiences with another truly empowered female character.

Grateful for the opportunity, she expressed, "It's important for me to portray someone who does not choose to become a victim all her life. The stories we tell — perhaps with less of the dramatics and extreme turning points — can and do reflect real life, and you never know who might be watching. You never know who might be inspired to find their own strength because of what they see."

With "Lavender Fields" serving as a testament to Jodi's enduring passion for her craft and her commitment to telling stories that matter--unfolding, too, at a pivotal time in her personal life--the series, much like the actress herself, is a fitting celebration of strength, resilience and the power of vulnerability which the actress believes can be found in all women.

"What I love most about the character of Lavender Fields is that up to the end, she knows her core — she knows who she is," Jodi reflected once more on her character as the interview concluded. "It's just that sometimes, because she is so eager to achieve her objective and what she wants to do, she forgets that core. But when she remembers it — which I believe all women can —, then she becomes the phoenix we all want to be."

Joining Jodi "Lavender Fields" are Jericho Rosales, Janine Gutierrez, Jolina Magdangal and Maricel Soriano. The series also stars Edu Manzano, Albert Martinez, Krystal Mejes, Marc Santiago, Jana Agoncillo and Miguel Vergara.