Watch out, curves ahead.
For her new role in upcoming Channel U drama Marry Me, Jesseca Liu makes a dazzling transformation.
It's her first sexy role. She's Rainbow Ang, a smouldering seductress who owns a match-making agency.
As Rainbow, she has to teach her single girlfriends how to channel their sexuality to score with men.
The Singapore-based Langkawi-born actress, known for her girl-next-door roles, is currently relishing her newfound sex kitten image. To look perfect in a bikini on the show, the 1.74m-tall actress lost 7kg to weigh 47kg.
The downside to weight loss, however, was a smaller chest.
Liu, who is a B cup, revealed that there was "lots of padding" in her bikini top and bras so that she could be a more ample C cup.
Liu, 34, told The New Paper: "I wanted this role because I was so happy that I could finally break out of the sweetie-pie stereotype.
"I like being called sexy, but to be honest, the producers of the show were a little concerned at first that I wouldn't be able to pull it off.
"But after filming, they realised that there's a really sexy side to me after all."
"People tell me that the impression I give them is that I'm very 'niang' (Mandarin for girly), so I see this as a breakthrough."
Marry Me premieres on Feb 27 and airs every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8pm on Channel U.
Apart from Liu, the series also features local actors Yvonne Lim, Koh Yah Hwee, Thomas Ong and Pierre Png.
Ong and Png play a plastic surgeon and taxi driver, respectively, and are rivals for Rainbow's affections.
There is a kissing scene with one of them, but Liu declined to reveal which one.
The two scenes which caused Liu discomfort were those that required her to don revealing attire.
Due to the large number of people on the set, most of whom were men, she couldn't help but feel eyes on her when she stripped down.
In one scene, which takes place in a hotel, Liu has to shake her booty while working a cleavage-spilling dress.
She said, with a laugh: "In the scene, a teenage girl wants a showdown with me so I wear my figure-hugging 'bandage dress' to show her who's boss.
"The dress was so tight that I felt that even a sip of water would make me burst out of it.
"What's worse than stripping, however, is having to dance. Although I took lessons, it still didn't come easy to me."
In the other "stripping" scene which was shot at the beach, Liu said that as she wanted to look flawless in a bikini, she had requested that the producers give her time to lose weight.
So the scene was only shot six weeks after filming began and being 7kg lighter made all the difference.
In the scene, Rainbow teaches her girlfriends that the way to attract men on the beach is to play volleyball in a bikini.
Said Liu: "It was very difficult for me (to get into shape) as I could only have a little bit of rice for my one meal a day, which I had with fish soup.
"But during the filming at the beach, I found that it was all worth it."
"Every angle they shot me ... I felt comfortable. I was confident that my body looked good."
The price she had to pay for her cellulite-free body was having to give up her favourite "oily foods".
Crayfish hor fun, curry rice and nasi lemak, which she used to have on a regular basis, became distant memories during the three months of filming.
Flat tummy
She also traded chocolates for plenty of salad to ensure that she had a flat tummy.
But as every actress is aware, it's not all rainbows and flowers when it comes to an image change.
The soft-spoken babe has, however, taken into account that there could those who will criticise her acting or image in her new show.
She said that she would take it in her stride and treat the criticism as a learning experience.
What's worse, she felt, was being seen as a one-trick pony.
She also admitted that being career-minded in the past had affected her relationships.
A self-confessed independent woman who "thinks like a man", Liu said that she had ended up walking away from men who couldn't accept the fact that she would always put work ahead of her love life.
"I am aware of the fact that at this age, I would already be considered as marrying late in life.
"But I'll only be ready for marriage when I am established in my career.
"I want to go next into producing and directing and I'm excited about that.
"I will definitely get married ... and if I can I would love to have four kids as I like a rowdy household."
The yearning to become a mother strikes her the hardest when she visits her home in Langkawi and sees her two toddler nephews.
The older of two girls, Liu said that at home her close-knit family and extended family live close by so a meal out together could comprise some 20 people.
So far, her parents haven't pressured her about getting married because they know work takes top priority.
In Langkawi, Liu co-owns a few spas with some family members and goes back whenever she can to tend to her business there.
She is currently linked to China-born locally-based actor Zhang Zhen Huan, 27, who was quoted in an interview with a local magazine as saying that the pair were dating.
Liu declined to comment on this but gave an insight into her perspective on romance.
She claimed that she spent Valentine's Day working after she enjoyed her birthday celebration in Langkawi the day before.
Looks don't matter much to her and she would date a man as long as he was "pleasant" and taller than her.
More importantly, her ideal mate has to be filial, one who takes care of the home and is able to make her laugh every day.
When she is ready to tie the knot, Liu dreams of a cosy wedding that will take place on an island or on top of a mountain - "as long as it takes place outdoors".
Said Liu: "I think I'm a very self-centred person.
"My personality is not something that every guy can take to because I am very decisive..
"My ideal is to be with someone who enjoys having a life outside our relationship.
"I don't have a preference for dating older or younger men, society is more open these days .
"It's just really important that they accept me for who I am."
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