Tween star's best friend is Mom

CEBU, Philippines - Lexi Fernandez’ actress-mom may be a known contravida, but with how the tween star describes her Mama, she’s far from one in real life.

“She’s the best. She’s not strict. Although she still acts like a mom, she’s more of my best friend,” said Lexi of her mom Maritoni Fernandez, last seen playing a social climber in the GMA-7 primetime series Legacy. “Even when it comes to boys, that’s okay with her. But I haven’t been exclusive with anyone yet. I’ve only had crushes so far.”

The 17-year old Kapuso talent joined the main stars of the teenage flick Just One Summer – Julie Ann San Jose and Elmo Magalona aka JuliElmo – and fellow support cast Sef Cayadona for a thanksgiving show with fans at Barangay Opao, Mandaue City. Lexi appears briefly in the film, and she’s also regularly seen in the popular tandem’s Saturday television series Together Forever.

According to Lexi, it was witnessing her mom at work as a kid that inspired and influenced her to be an actress herself.

“Of course, she’s the reason why I became an actress because I saw her acting while I was growing up. I would see what was happening behind the cameras, and I came to love it. I started going with my mom on the set during her Anna Karenina days. I was two years old then. So doon pa lang, tinuturuan na ako ng director na dapat kapag action, bawal ang maingay. Ever since, I told myself that I also wanted to be an actress,” recalled Lexi.

But her mom wasn’t initially sold to the idea of her mini-me compromising academics for showbiz. It was not until she was 15 years old when Maritoni finally gave in to Lexi’s dream of following in her footsteps.

“She wanted me to study first. But she saw how determined I was, that I badly wanted to be an actress.”

Now, Lexi is a home-schooled fourth year high school student.

She shared that her mom, who’s been there and done that, does not lack in giving advice such as how a showbiz personality should behave and how she should master the role assigned to her.

As fate would have it, Lexi got to work with the same Anna Karenina director, Gil Tejada, whom she mingled with on set as a tot. This was on the afternoon soap Nita Negrita where she played her most major contravida role to date. Like mother, like daughter indeed.

And if apart from looks and talent, Lexi also inherited her cancer-surviving mom’s fighting spirit, then it’s safe to predict this pretty teen has a long way to go.