Jessica Alba American Actress Born 1981 in Pomona

Early life

Jessica Alba was born on 28 April 1981 in Pomona, California. Her family moved several times because of her father's Air Force career before settling in Claremont, where she attended Claremont High School. She became interested in acting early, and at eleven she persuaded her mother to take her to an acting competition in Beverly Hills. She won the grand prize, which was a set of acting classes, and an agent signed her about nine months later. After finishing school she studied at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York.

Career

Her first film role was in Camp Nowhere (1994), and she appeared the same year in the Nickelodeon series The Secret World of Alex Mack. She then played Maya in Flipper during its first two seasons. In 1999 she was seen in Never Been Kissed and Idle Hands.

Her breakthrough came when James Cameron cast her as Max Guevara, a genetically engineered soldier, in the Fox series Dark Angel, which ran from 2000 to 2002. The role led to film leads, including Honey (2003), in which she played a dancer and choreographer. In 2005 she appeared in three films. In Sin City she played Nancy Callahan, in Fantastic Four she played Susan Storm, and in Into the Blue she starred opposite Paul Walker. Fantastic Four grossed about $331 million worldwide, the highest figure on record among her titles. She returned as Susan Storm in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007).

Later in the 2000s she worked in comedy and thriller roles, among them Good Luck Chuck and Awake (both 2007), The Love Guru and The Eye (both 2008) and Knocked Up (2007). In 2010 she appeared in five films, including Valentine's Day, The Killer Inside Me, Machete and Little Fockers. Her collaboration with the director Robert Rodriguez covers five titles, including Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (2011), Machete Kills (2013) and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014), in which she repeated the role of Nancy Callahan. Later credits include Mechanic: Resurrection (2016) and the television series L.A.'s Finest. Her credits run from 1994 to Trigger Warning in 2024, and cover roughly 40 films and several television series.

Alba is also a businesswoman. With Christopher Gavigan she co-founded the Honest Company, which sells baby, personal-care and household products. Her book The Honest Life, about creating a non-toxic home for her family, was published in 2013 and reached the New York Times best-seller list. In 2015 she launched the skin-care line Honest Beauty, and in April 2024 she stepped down as chief creative officer. In 2024 she also founded the production company Lady Spitfire with the producer Tracey Nyberg.

Recognition

Alba won the Saturn Award for best actress on television for Dark Angel in 2001, and the series also brought her a Golden Globe nomination. She was nominated for a Saturn Award for best supporting actress for Sin City in 2006 and received an ALMA Award in 2011. The same year she was given a Golden Raspberry Award for worst supporting actress in connection with Valentine's Day.

Public roles

Alba has taken part in advocacy work on consumer chemicals safety, joining lobbying efforts in Washington in 2011 and 2015. She supports a number of charities, including Baby2Baby, and is an ambassador for the 1Goal education campaign.

Personal life

Alba married Cash Warren in 2008, and the couple had three children. The marriage ended in divorce in 2025.