Jessica Alba

NAME

Jessica Alba

DATE OF BIRTH

April 28, 1981

BIRTH PLACE

Pomona, Calif.

After playing a genetically enhanced guy-magnet on the sci-fi series Dark Angel, Jessica Alba took her toned body to the big screen in Honey, Sin City and The Fantastic Four. Though few of her films have been huge box office hits, her star continues to rise, thanks in part to her dedicated male fan base and stunning looks. 

While her flawless beauty landed her contracts with L'Oréal and Revlon, Alba refuses to use it for nude scenes and once sued Playboy for publishing a photo of her on its cover without permission. In 2008, Alba, who was previously engaged to Dark Angel costar Michael Weatherly, started a family with husband Cash Warren, with whom she has two daughters Honor and Haven.

Five Fun Facts

1. Sci-fi fans bought 50,000 Jessica Alba Dark Angel action figures.

2. Jessica Alba had her first kiss at age 7. "I only did it so he would pick me on our neighborhood baseball team," she told Seventeen.

3. When she was growing up, Jessica Alba's strict Catholic grandparents wouldn't allow her to wear a bathing suit around the house.

4. After graduating from high school, Jessica Alba studied acting with William H. Macy and his wife, Felicity Huffman, at the Atlantic Theater Company. "Felicity was very hard on me. She's a tough cookie, that one," Alba told a Boston TV reporter. "I just remember her making me cry because I didn't prepare a scene right, or I didn't talk loud enough."

5. Jessica Alba has tattoos of a daisy with a ladybug on it on the back of her neck, a bow on her lower back and the Sanskrit symbol for lotus flower, a padma, on her wrist.

Biography

1980s

A Sickly Military Brat

Alba's father, Mark, serves in the Air Force. Before she turns 9, Alba lives in Biloxi, Miss.; California; and Del Rio, Texas. Her father and mother, Cathy, finally settle in Southern California. Her early life is also marked by physical maladies. She suffers a collapsed lung twice, pneumonia, a burst appendix, a cyst on her tonsils and asthma.

1992

 

Alba Acts Up

Alba persuades her mother to take her to an acting competition in Beverly Hills where the grand prize is free acting classes. She wins the grand prize and takes her first acting lessons. An agent signs the 12-year-old nine months later.

1993 

August

Right Place, Right Time

Alba lands a part in the feature film comedy Camp Nowhere. She was originally hired for two weeks, but her role turns into a two-month job when another actress drops out. Alba is picked as the replacement because her hair matches that of the original actress. She goes on to work in commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penny and lands a recurring role on the popular Nickelodeon comedy series The Secret World of Alex Mack.

1995

Heading Down Under

She had a role in the dark Oscar-winning drama Leaving Las Vegas, but when her scenes are shelved in the film's final cut, Alba moves to Australia to star in the remake of the short-lived TV series Flipper. She enjoys herself there, telling Entertainment Weekly 10 years later, "I learned how to scuba dive, and I swam with dolphins in the middle of the ocean."

1996 

April

Religion & Work

By the time Alba turns 15, her strict religious devotion begins to wane. "I did this episode of Chicago Hope playing a girl who had gonorrhea in her throat," she tells Entertainment Weekly, "and my friends from church made me feel so bad about it. Like I wasn't a good Christian. It started making me bitter toward the church." In the next few years, Alba films the comedy P.U.N.K.S., and makes appearances in several TV shows, including Beverly Hills, 90210, The Love Boat: The Next Wave and the crime drama Brooklyn South.

1999 

January

 

Into the Dark

Out of 1,200 hopefuls, director James Cameron (Titanic) casts Alba as Max Guevara, the lead role on his Fox sci-fi series Dark Angel. "I was a smart-ass," Alba told Entertainment Weekly. "[The producers] liked that I had a smart mouth." To prepare for the role, Alba adopts an intense training regimen, saying later that she suffered from anorexia, starving herself and becoming obsessed with exercise, at one point even dropping to 100 lbs. "A lot of girls have eating disorders, and I did too," Alba told Glamour. "I got obsessed with it. When I went from a girl's body to a woman's body with natural fat in places, I freaked out."

2001 

January

On-Set Romance

Published reports begin to circulate that Alba, 19, is dating her Dark Angel costar Michael Weatherly, 32. That May, Alba becomes engaged to Weatherly. "People always have to make it sound so titillating," Weatherly says to TV Guide of the couple's age gap. "It's like people think my interest in Jessica could only be of a sexual nature, that it couldn't be emotional or intellectual. I find that really childish and mean-spirited." In August 2003, the pair splits. No reason is given, but the two remain friendly. 

2003 

November 24

Sweet as 'Honey'

After taking the No. 1 spot on Maxim's Hot 100 list, Alba shows off her sexy side in her first big-screen star vehicle, Honey, playing a hip-hop choreographer who teaches inner-city kids to dance. "I never danced a day in my life," Alba says. "But I figured if I could train to fight in Dark Angel, I could train to dance." 

December 31

Boogie Nights

A newly-single Alba dates Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia, whom she met in Las Vegas in early October. The two go out a few times, but by New Year's Eve the actress is spotted getting cozy with actor Mark Wahlberg in Miami Beach. "They were looking into each other's eyes," one onlooker tells PEOPLE, but the romance doesn't last.

2004 

Spring

Strip Tease

Alba lands the role of a stripper in the Robert Rodriguez film Sin City. To research the part, Alba visits strip clubs in L.A., New York and Texas. She also learns to twirl a rope for the role. "I just spent every night in Texas in the Four Seasons [hotel] in my underwear, knocking over lamps trying to lasso things," Alba says in Interview. In the film, Alba strips only to a bikini, adhering to her no-nudity clause. 

2004 August

Fantastic Voyage

Alba lands the role of Sue Storm (Invisible Woman) in the big-screen comic-book adaptation Fantastic Four. While shooting the film, Alba meets director's assistant Cash Warren. The two start dating in January 2005. "He's amazing in every way, shape and form," Alba later tells PEOPLE.

2005 

June 04

A Fantastic Flash

Alba draws a lot of unwanted attention when she attends the MTV Movie Awards in a flowing green dress that becomes see-through with the camera's flash. "That was a nightmare," Alba says. In July, she stars in Fantastic Four, but the hopeful blockbuster is a box-office disappointment. "Comic book fans didn't think I was blonde enough for the part," Alba tells EW. "But most of the blondes in Hollywood aren't really blonde either." 

September 30

Bathing Beauty

Alba receives top billing in the deep-sea thriller Into the Blue. Though the film gets mediocre reviews, audiences give the bikini-clad Alba high marks. "It's not always so great to be objectified, but I don't feel I have much of a choice right now," Alba tells London's Observer. "I'm young in my career. I know I have to strike when the iron is hot. I look forward to the day when I can do a small movie and act and it's not about me wearing a bathing suit or chaps."

2006 

March 01

Hopping Mad at Hef

Alba appears on the cover of Playboy wearing a bikini, although she never posed for the magazine. The magazine used a promotional shot from Into the Blue. She threatens to sue Playboy for using her picture without her permission. Hugh Hefner apologizes for the confusion and contributes on Alba's behalf to Keep a Child Alive and Until There's a Cure. 

2007 

June 15

A 'Fantastic' Sequel

Alba dons her Sue Storm costume once again for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which opens at No. 1 and grosses $57.4 million during its opening weekend. Alba tells PEOPLE of her costume, "It was uncomfortable, like wearing pantyhose everywhere." Next up: the Dane Cook romantic comedy, Good Luck Chuck, slated for September. 

December

Jessica's 'Super-Blessed' New Life

Alba and boyfriend of three years, Cash Warren, announce they're expecting their first child. "I feel super-blessed," Alba tells PEOPLE. Weeks later, Alba, who stars in The Eye, announces her engagement to Warren. The soon-to-be parents quietly wed in a Beverly Hills courthouse that May.

2008 

June 07

Jessica & Cash Welcome Honor

Alba, 27, and husband Cash Warren, 31, welcome a baby girl named Honor Marie Warren. "I don't want to be my child's best friend; I want to be a mom," Alba said weeks ago of her parenting style. "But I do want my child to come to me when they have problems and need to talk, so it's going to be about treading that line." 

December

Alba Bares HOT Body After Baby

Mere months after Alba gave birth to baby Honor, the 27-year-old actress shows off her body-after-baby in the 2009 Campari calendar. "I'm usually walking around in comfy clothes, with a baby on my arm," says Alba, "and it's nice to dress things up and feel sophisticated, sexy, and surrounded by so much beauty."

2010 

February 12

Mommy at Work

Alba reaches the top of the box office as Ashton Kutcher's ladylove in the star-studded romantic comedy, Valentine's Day. "Honor is the best cure for stress," the actress says of juggling motherhood and work. "When I spend time with her, I get instant perspective." In the coming months, she continues to light up the screen with turns in the drama The Killer Inside Me, the action flick Machete and the hit comedy Little Fockers.

2011 

August 13

Alba Takes Two

Alba and Warren welcome their second child, a daughter named Haven Garner. "Big sister Honor couldn't be more excited about the new addition to our family," the actress, 30, writes on her Facebook page of giving her 3-year-old a baby sibling. "I can't thank you enough for all of the wonderful messages you sent me today."

Source: People