On this date in 1981, Jessica Marie Alba was born in Pomona, California, to Mark and Catherine (Jensen) Alba. Her father was in the military, so the family moved frequently during her younger years before settling in California when she was 9. Her father was Mexican-American and she was raised Catholic. However, she rebelled by attending an evangelical Christian church. She left the church as a teen, citing its sexism and homophobia.
At age 11 she took an interest in acting. Her first role was in the 1994 film “Camp Nowhere.” She began modeling and appeared in several national commercials. She also took a recurring role on the TV show “The Secret World of Alex Mack” and in the adventure series “Flipper.”
Her breakthrough role came in 2000 when she was cast as Max Guevera, the lead in 42 episodes of “Dark Angel.” Since then she has appeared in numerous films and television productions. She owns her own business, The Honest Company, which specializes in toxin-free bath, body and baby products; She published her first book, “The Honest Life,” in 2013.
She married film producer Cash Warren in 2008 after meeting him on the set of “Fantastic Four” in 2004. They have daughters born in 2008 and 2011 and a son born in 2017. Her charity work has included participation with Clothes Off Our Back, Habitat for Humanity, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Project HOME, RADD, Revlon Run/Walk for Women, SOS Children’s Villages, Soles4Souls, Step Up and Baby2Baby. Alba is an ambassador for the 1Goal movement to provide education to children in Africa.
PHOTO: Alba at a film screening in 2008; Thierry Caro photo under CC 3.0.
