JACKIE Lou Blanco has always been a favorite subject of entertainment writers. She is interestingly sweet yet straightforward and she is knowledgeable about a lot of things without pretending to be smarter than she actually is.

As an actress, there's no doubt that Jackie Lou Blanco is first-rate, although she can easily fall into the category of filmdom's underrated actors. Her glowing performances in the few movies she has done indicate how gifted she can be in breathing life into diverse characters on film.

She was a nun who broke convent rules and fell in love with a gardener in "Isusumbong Kita sa Diyos." She was an envious and manipulative sister in "Kung Aagawin Mo ang Lahat sa Akin." She was evil glamorously personified in "Magic Temple."

But she shone brightest as a young woman who begged for love and affection in "Hihintayin Kita sa Langit."

Her other "roles" as Ms Ricky Davao and mom to their three kids are as challenging to her as her best film parts.

"A woman has to balance her role as wife to her husband and mother to her kids. And sometimes that can be difficult, because when one starts to have more than one child, the tendency is for the mom to devote more time to the kids than to the husband.

"I believe both relationships are equally important although raising kids seem to carry greater weight since you have to constantly guide them and be there for them during their growing-up years," she observes.

The young mother has learned many priceless lessons from the way her mom has raised her. Mom is respected songstress Pilita Corrales, who is set to plunge into marriage anytime now. "Being a daughter to a strong-willed and hyper-active woman can be really a problem. But in all objectivity, my mom raised us well and ingrained in us the proper values needed to lead normal, decent and productive lives," Jackie Lou shares.

Jackie Lou adds that her mom never believed in spanking and would always initiate openness and uninhibited communication.

She has three kids-Kenneth, 11, Rikki Mae, 7, and Arabella, 3, and personally feels that the number can stop there. But she quickly adds that her husband would want to have another. "Gusto talaga ni Ricky ng isa pa, pero we haven't reached an agreement yet." She kids, "E lagi namang kung kailan ako sumeseksi, saka ako nabubuntis!"

She has given up important offers because of her role as mother but she doesn't see them as losses. "There's nothing more rewarding than a happy and complete family. It's better than any compliment you read about how galing you are as an actress or how popular you are as a star."

Acting offers keep pouring in. On the early evening soap "Saan Ka Man Naroroon," she is subtly devious and cunning. And she's often asked to endorse family-oriented products.

Her gift of gab is another plus point for Jackie Lou who hosts "Baby Talk" on Channel 5 every weekend. For 30 minutes, Jackie tackles topics related to motherhood, parenting and child-rearing.

"It's wonderful since I discover a lot of things in doing the show which I can apply to my own parenting chores," she smiles.