The actress with a traumatized but successful life: Who is Jessica Alba?

Her full name is Jessica Marie Alba, she was born on April 28, 1981 in Pomona, California. Her mother is lifeguard Catherine Louisa Jensen and her father is soldier Mark David Alba. Her father is of Mexican descent while her mother is of Danish, Welsh, German, English and French descent. Alba has a brother named Joshua. Due to her father's job, he first moved the family to Biloxi, Mississippi, and then to Del Rio, Texas. They moved to de Claremont, California when Alba was nine years old.

Alba's childhood life struggled with numerous physical illnesses. She had pneumonia four to five times a year, her lungs collapsed twice, her appendix ruptured, and a tonsillar cyst formed. She also has asthma since childhood. Alba, who could not attend school regularly due to being hospitalized frequently, was isolated from other children and could not make friends with anyone. In addition, she said she was isolated from her peers as a result of her family's constant relocation.

Growing up as a sports fan, Alba became interested in acting from the age of five. 11 year old Alba applied to an acting competition in Beverly Hills, where the top prize was free acting lessons. Alba, who won the grand prize, took her first acting lessons, and nine months later an agent wanted to sign with her. Alba's first movie appearance was a small role in the adventure comedy "Camp Nowhere" (1994).

In the same year, she appeared in commercials for "Nintendo" and "J. C. Penney" and in several independent films. Later that year, she appeared in a recurring role in three episodes of the Nickelodeon comedy TV series "The Secret World of Alex Mack." She then starred in the first two seasons of the television series "Flipper" (1995). Alba learned to swim thanks to her lifeguard mother being a good swimmer and certified diver, and these skills helped her role in the show. Alba, who was abducted from the set and taken hostage for 14 hours when she was only 15 years old, was found in the trunk of a car with her hands and blindfolded. The unsuccessful case took its place among the unresolved files.

In 1998, she appeared in the police crime-drama TV series "Brooklyn South", the youth TV series "Beverly Hills, 90210" and the comedy TV series "Love Boat: The Next Wave." After graduating from high school, she studied acting with William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman at the Atlantic Theater Company, developed by Macy and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and director David Mamet.

Alba gained greater fame in Hollywood after starring with Drew Barrymore in the romantic comedy "Never Been Kissed" (1999) and with Devon Sawa in the horror comedy "Idle Hands" (1999).

She was chosen as the lead among 1200 candidates for her role in James Cameron's sci-fi drama television series "Dark Angel" (2000) and made her big break. The series aired for two seasons and received great acclaim for its performance. She also earned Golden Globe nominations, a Teen Choice Award for Best Actress, and a Saturn Award. Her role in the series has been recognized as a feminist character and a symbol of female empowerment. In 2002, she was named the fifth Sexiest Female Star in a Hollywood.com poll. In 2004, she was ranked 17th on TV Guide's "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" list.

Alba made her screen debut in the dance movie "Honey" (2003), playing Honey Daniels, a candidate to be dancer and choreographer. The movie managed to earn a healthy income at the box office. She was later part of the cast in the neo-noir crime anthology film "Sin City" (2005), produced and directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller. The film was a critical success and grossed US$158.8 million at the box office. Alba received the MTV Movie Award for Sexiest Performance for her performance.

Also in 2005, she starred in the "Fantastic Four" with Ioan Gruffudd, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis and Julian McMahon. The film was a financial success despite many negative reviews. Alba was nominated for an MTV Award for Best Hero and Best Screen Crew. She made her last appearance in 2005 when she appeared opposite Paul Walker in the action thriller "Into the Blue". The movie earned a decent amount at the box office.

She appeared on People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 2005 and on the same magazine's 100 Most Beautiful Lists in 2007. In addition to this, she has also ranked in FHM's Sexiest Women list. Alba, who was on Playboy magazine's "25 Sexiest Celebrities" list in 2006, also appeared on the cover of the magazine the same year. Also in 2006, she was chosen as number 1 on the "99 Most Desirable Women" list by AskMen.com readers.

In June 2007, Alba reprized her role in its sequel, "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," which grossed US$290 million worldwide. That same year, she co-starred with Dane Cook in the comedy "Good Luck Chuck". While the film was heavily criticized by critics, it made a healthy box office receipt after its release. Her other role that year came with the psychological thriller "Awake." Reviews of the film were not very warm, but its performance was praised. In 2007, Alba was ranked #4 on Empire Magazine's "100 Sexiest Movie Stars" list.

Alba's role in the horror genre came in "The Eye" (2008), a supernatural horror-thriller. The film was not well received by critics, with Alba's performance receiving mixed reviews and winning the Teen Choice Award for Best Actress. That same year, she starred in the romantic comedy "Meet Bill" with Logan Lerman and Elizabeth Banks. She then appeared in the romantic comedy movie "The Love Guru" with Mike Myers and Justin Timberlake. While the film failed critically and commercially, Alba earned a nomination for a Razzie Award for Worst Actress.

Alba appeared in major roles in five high-profile films in 2010. She made her debut in "The Killer Within", an adaptation of the book of the same name, with Kate Hudson and Casey Affleck. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Her next film was the romantic comedy Valentine's Day, in which she starred as part of a cast of Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Taylor Lautner and Julia Roberts. Despite all the negative reviews, the film was a commercial success with the proceeds. Later, she had a role in the exploitation action movie "Machete" directed by Robert Rodriguez.

Alba appeared in the drama film "An Invisible Sign of My Own" in late 2008 and released in 2010. In the following years, she took part in the sequel comedy "Little Fockers", where she reunited with Robert De Niro. Despite the negative reviews from critics, the film grossed hugely worldwide. She won the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress for all her roles in 2010.

In 2011, Alba appeared in the spy action comedy movie "Spy Kids: All the Time in the World" directed by Robert Rodriguez. The film failed at the box office compared to previous films in the series, although it was a moderate commercial success worldwide. In January 2012, Alba and partner Christopher Gavigan founded 'The Honest Company', which sells a collection of household goods, diapers and body care products. In early 2013, she released her book "The Honest Life", based on her experiences of creating a natural, non-toxic life for her family, and the book became a bestseller. Later, she starred in the comedy "A.C.O.D."(2013) with Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Jane Lynch, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Catherine O'Hara.

Alba worked with director Rodriguez once again for the sequel and reprized her role in "Machete Kills" (2013). The film was unsuccessful among critics and audiences. Later, she appeared in the action crime anthology movie "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For". The film was both a commercial failure and received mixed reviews from critics.

That year, she appeared in the romantic comedy "Some Kind of Beautiful" (2014), "Dear Eleanor" (2014), directed by Kevin Connolly, and the crime comedy "Stretch" (2014). In the following years, she received lead roles in the action crime comedy film "Barely Lethal" (2015) and the supernatural horror film "The Veil" (2016). In October 2015, she launched a collection of skincare and beauty products called "Honest Beauty".

She co-starred with Jason Statham in the action thriller "Mechanic: Resurrection"(2016). She did Krav Maga for her role in the movie. The film was a successful worldwide. Alba later appeared in the comedy film "El Camino Christmas" (2017) and the crime thriller "Killers Anonymous" (2019). She will star in and executive produce a new documentary series for Disney+ called Parenting Without Borders, which will focus on families around the world, their beliefs and cultures.

Private life

Alba began a three year romantic relationship with co-star Michael Weatherly in January 2000. Weatherly proposed to Alba on her 20th birthday, and the couple got engaged in 2001. However, they ended their relationship in August 2003. Alba met Cash Warren while filming Fantastic Four in 2004. The couple married in Los Angeles in May 2008 and they have three children. These; they have a daughter, Honor Marie, born in June 2008, daughter Haven Garner, born in August 2011, and son Hayes, born in December 2017. Alba has 2 small pug dogs and a pit bull named Bowie.

Alba has been involved in many charitable organizations and works. She also became an ambassador for the 1Goal movement to provide education to children in Africa. Alba topped Maxim Magazine's Hot 100 list multiple times from 2001 to 2014. In 2011, she was named one of the "100 Hottest Women of All Time" by Men's Health magazine, and in 2012 People magazine named her "Most Beautiful At Any Age" of the year.