STAR Dream Girl: Danielle Bianca Calma

Life is like a big ballgame. Every second counts. Every move is watched. Every player is a star in his own right. When the ball starts rolling, the cheering crowd goes wild. Offense and defense are essential. In the end, it’s either you win or you lose.

This, Danielle Bianca Calma knows by heart. After all, she has PBA star Hector Calma (now San Miguel Team manager) for her father. Her mom, real estate broker Inez Ortiz-Calma, is her best friend and confidant.

"My dad always takes me to watch the PBA and I find it really entertaining," she begins. Danielle likewise plays tennis and enjoys biking, doing yoga and Pilates and going to the gym. "I also love to swim for relaxation. The beach is my favorite playground."

Someone who never sulks on regrets, Danielle is looking forward to the Year of the Pig with much anticipation of all things bright and beautiful. "I have no regrets. I just learn from my mistakes and keep on moving on." This Fil-Spanish headturner is usually typecast as timid and aloof. Oftentimes, she is seated in the corner with her head buried on the pages of a good book. Reading, after all, is her favorite pastime. Judging from the books she collects – from inspirational books like Girlosophy by Anthea Paul to fashion magazines Elle and Teen Vogue and non-fiction novels Gossip Girl and The Clique – Danielle is every inch your usual kikay teenager.

Clad in soft cotton skirt and a simple tank top when she arrived in the photo shoot, the alabaster-skinned teener says she considers fashion designing as a career in the near future. "I love to see what the fashion world is coming up with next," she gushes. "So I look through magazines and browse through the Internet." The classic elegance of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn are her inspirations.

Music and arts also catch her interests. "I have been taking voice lessons since I was six," she says. "I listen to all kinds of music and according to what suits my mood." Danielle also draws and enjoys capturing moments on camera.

The Grade 10 student at Kolbe Academy, a US-based home schooling Catholic program, also has a penchant for animals. She is a proud owner of three dogs – Abram, a Golden Retriever; Uma, a Shih tzu; and Bella, a chocolate Labrador.

Danielle further quips, "I love rainbows. They remind me that there will always be a rainbow after every storm." Optimistic she really is. –Jerni May H. Camposano