When Jo-Ann Forster graduated from the University of Miami 28 years ago with a degree in theater and English, she had visions of being an actress.

Little did she know that she would follow a career in real estate that would lead her to the top echelon of the industry nationwide.

"Being from Virginia and being just a little naive I thought I was going to open up the newspaper and there would be all of these wonderful classified ads reading ‘short actress with southern accent wanted immediately,’" Forster said with a smile and trace of a southern accent.

"They didn’t tell me in drama class it was not going to be like that. I mean, when I got out of college there were no jobs for actresses here. This was not a big film area and nothing was happening here in that arena."

So, Forster, now 51, translated her stage persona to one of sales and tossed in a bit of theatrics to create one of the hippest real estate marketing acts to come down the South Florida pike since George Merrick.

"When I first started in this business, I always wore a hat," recalls the Wimbish-Riteway associate. "I was very theatrical. I mean, I had to be. I loved architecture, antiques and design. I just thought that I’ve got to translate all of this somehow into a career. And, I like people. So, that’s how it happened, that’s how I got into real estate."

And, quite a career it has been. Over the years, she has been consistently among the industry’s big ticket sellers and in 1998 she notched Wimbish-Riteway Realty’s Top Producer award with more than $32 million in sales. Yet, she said it feels like only yesterday that she began her career.

"I’m really considered an old-timer now, which just blows me away," she said. "The kids look at me as an icon. You know, like they’re gonna wheel me up to the closing table. Because, now I have my clients’ children — who now have children — that I’m selling homes to. And, they tell me stories that their parents told them about me!"

Forster recently married Brian Goodkind, an attorney and vice president of the TerreMark corporation. She has a 25-year-old son by a previous marriage and inherited two children with her present marriage, Lauren, 13, and Sam, 9.

She was born in Portsmouth, VA, and spent her childhood there. She came to South Florida to study drama at the University of Miami, graduating in 1970. While at UM, she decided that this was the place she wanted to stay.

Forster said she discovered the charm of Coconut Grove when, as a wide-eyed student, a boyfriend took her for a drive her into the village on a date. It was love at first sight, she said of her introduction to the historic community.

"I’m definitely a Grove girl. I’ve been here a long time and I love it, I really do. My son grew up in the Grove and we knew every shopkeeper, every restaurateur, and in those days if you didn’t have money they’d trust you and you’d remember to pay the next time you came in."

Forster said her recent marriage forced her to compromise her love for living in Coconut Grove and change her city of residence.

"That was a compromise with my husband," she explains. "I had to move to Coral Gables because his children are in the school district there and we didn’t want to change them."

Forster said the face of Coconut Grove has changed considerably in the almost three decades that she has been in real estate.

"It’s gone from a sleepy community to an international destination," she observed. "And, there’s been a major change in who’s buying. The Grove used to be an artists’ colony, the homes were not expensive and real settlers lived there. Now, the area is extremely expensive, the artists have gone to other locations — though we still have wonderfully interesting people — and it’s become internationally renowned and very much sought after."

Forster has been a part of that evolution, volunteering her time with the Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce for the past 25 years. She is a past president and currently serves as a vice president with the organization, donating many hours to numerous community projects. She is a member of Wimbish-Riteway’s prestigious Winner’s Circle, as well as the industry’s top-level Master Brokers Forum.

"I love what I do," she said with a smile. "I work basically all the time, six-and-a-half days a week, under a lot of stress and with very demanding people. I don’t think in the long term that you can do this type of work unless you enjoy it."