Biography
Jessica Marie Alba (as she is sometimes credited) was born on April 28th, 1981, in Pomona, California. The aspiring actress relocated with her family (her Spanish/Mexican-American father was in the Air Force) several times before finally settling down in Southern California.
The Alba family moved to Biloxi, Mississippi, then back to California, followed by Del Rio, Texas, and finally back to the West Coast.
Despite constantly moving across the U.S., Alba knew she wanted to be an actress since the age of 5. Her career was ready to take off when an agent signed her, a mere 9 months after a 12-year-old Jessica took an acting class.
Jessica Alba’s first film role, in the 1994 film Camp Nowhere, came her way by chance. She was cast with a bit part in the film after one of the characters dropped out of the production. Dark-haired Jessica was cast as the replacement, thanks to the fact that her hair matched that of the original actress.
Jessica cheerfully admits it wasn’t her prodigious talent or charm that inspired the director to tap her to take over the part - it was her hair, which matched the original performer’s. The two-week job stretched to two months, and Jessica ended the film with an impressive first credit. Two national TV commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penney quickly followed before Jessica was featured in several independent films. She branched out into TV in 1994 with a recurring role in Nickelodeon’s popular comedy series The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994). She played an insufferable young snob, devoted to making life miserable for the the title character, played by Larisa Oleynik. That same year she won the role of Maya in Flipper (1995) and filmed the pilot for the series. She spent 1995 shooting the first season’s episodes in Australia. An avid swimmer and PADI-certified scuba diver, Jessica was delighted to be doing a show that allowed her to play with dolphins. The show’s success guaranteed it a second season, which she also starred in. Her involvement in the show lasted from 1995 to 1997. Since the show ended she has appeared in a number of TV shows and films. In 1996 she appeared in Venus Rising (1995) as Young Eve. The next year she appeared on the The Dini Petty Show (1989), a Canadian talk show, and spoke about her role in Flipper and her general acting career. She began working on P.U.N.K.S. (1999), featuring Randy Quaid, in 1998. In early 1998 she appeared in Brooklyn South (1997) as Melissa. That same year she was in two episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) as Leanne and in two episodes of The Love Boat: The Next Wave (1998). She appeared in Teen Magazine in 1995 and various European magazines in the following several years. More importantly, she was featured in the February 1999 issue of Vanity Fair magazine. She also had major roles in two movies that year: Never Been Kissed (1999) and Idle Hands (1999). In 2000 she had roles in Paranoid (2000/I) and starred in the sci-fi TV series Dark Angel (2000).
: : Trivia
Sister of Joshua Alba.
Was #1 on Maxim’s Hot 100 Babe List. [2001]
Her father is Mexican, her mother is of French and Danish descent.
Was voted the fifth Sexiest Female Star for 2002 in a Hollywood.com poll. Also, formerly engaged to Michael Weatherly. [February 2002]
Her show “Dark Angel” (2000) was canceled after two seasons on Fox.
Vote #4 in the Top 10 Sci-Fi Babes in 2002 for her role as Max in “Dark Angel” (2000).
Loves to play golf.
Voted in at #6 in FHM’s Sexiest Girls of 2002 poll, American edition. [June 2002]
Graduated high school at age 16.
Has a tatoo of a daisy with a ladybug on it on the back of her neck.
Her second cousin is skateboarding legend Steve “Salba” Alba.
Broke off her long engagement to co-star Michael Weatherly (”Dark Angel” (2000)) in 2003 but has reconciled recently.
She co-starred in one episode of “Dark Angel” (2000) with her brother, Joshua Alba, titled “…And Jesus Brought a Casserole.” He played, Krit, one of her X-5 brothers who wanted to help destroy Manticore in the Season 1 finale.
Mentioned in the D12 song “My Band”.
Was “Punk’d” (2003) on the Ashton Kutcher-hosted MTV show in 2003. Dax Shepard showed up fully nude at a clothing store Jessica was patronizing, following Miss Alba around the store and exposing his “business” to the blushing actress as she tried to shop for clothes. Jessica was a good sport after being informed it was all a practical joke, taped for the popular hidden- camera show.
Though it is common for actresses and female pop stars to strip down to various states of undress for magazine layouts and movie/TV scenes, she has stated that she is a very modest girl and would never do a nude scene or pose topless in a magazine. She has posed for men’s magazines fully dressed, however.
Ranked #12 in Stuff magazine’s “102 Sexiest Women in the World” (2002).
Said once in an interview that she began preparing her own meals as a child to control her weight and maintain her health. She said the food her family prepared led to weight problems for them, so she avoided that.
After graduating from high school, she studied with William H. Macy and his wife, Felicity Huffman, at David Mamet’s Atlantic Theater Company.
Named one of “50 Most Beautiful People” by People Magazine. [2005]
Had asthma as a child.
She wanted to become an actress at the age of five.
Became anorexic the same year she had a kidney infection (2001).
Measurements: 34-24-34 according to an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.
Has two pug dogs, named Nancy and Sid.
Named #5 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list.
Ranked #3 on E! Television’s 2006 101 Sexiest Celebrity Bodies.
She and Hayden Christensen visited Bellevue hospital and spent time with little children, bringing them Christmas cheer while filming “Awake” .
Ranked and Voted #1 by AskMen.com’s Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2006.
Threatened to sue Playboy Magazine for using her picture on the cover of the March 2006 issue without her permission. She said it misled people to believe she appeared nude in the magazine, which she did not. Hugh Hefner apologized for the confusion and made a charity contribution on her behalf, to the satisfaction of all parties.
On E’s “101 Sexiest Bodies”, she was placed at 3rd, behind Brad Pitt in 2nd and Angelina Jolie in 1st.
Nominated as “Worst Actress” for both Fantastic Four (2005) and Into the Blue (2005) for the 26th annual Razzie Awards.
Playboy magazine named her among its 25 Sexiest Celebrities, and the Sex Star of the Year in its March 2006 issue, on whose cover she appeared. Alba was involved in a litigation against Playboy for its use of her image (from a promotional shot for Into the Blue (2005) without her consent, which she contends gave the appearance that she was featured in the issue in a “nude or semi-nude pictorial.” However she later dropped the lawsuit after receiving a personal apology from Playboy owner Hugh M. Hefner, who also agreed to make donations to two charities that she has supported.
Despite her Mexican ancestry, she isn’t fluent in Spanish. She hardly understands anything in that language.
Named #22 in FHM’s “100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005″ special supplement (2005).
Was featured as #5 in Maxim Magazine’s “Hot 100 of 2002″ supplement. (2002).
Named #2 on Maxim Magazine’s “Hot 100 of 2006″ supplement (2006).
Loves to cook. Her specialty is chicken enchiladas and homemade tortillas.
Loves Harley Davidson motorcycles.
Named #3 in FHM magazine’s “100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006″ supplement. (2006).
Went to strip clubs as a part of her research for her character in Sin City (2005). However, she said that it didn’t help because all the pro-strippers were doing “is trying to get tips”.
Regularly goes to watch NBA player Baron Davis when he plays in Los Angeles as her boyfriend, Cash Warren, is a close friend of Davis.
The bra that she wore in Sin City (2005) drew a winning bid of $1,025 in an eBay auction.
Named #2 on Maxim Magazine’s “Hot 100 of 2007″ supplement (2007).
Was ranked #2 on Maxim Magazine’s “Hot 100″ of the year lists, two years in a row. (2006 and 2007).
Named the “Sexiest Woman Celebrity” by Victoria’s Secret. (2007).
Grew up in same town as Ethan Drake.
Learnt how to play the violin for her role in Eye, The (2007).
Voted #1 as the most sexy woman in the world by the Norwegian FHM in 2006 and 2007.
Mentioned in Ashley Tisdale’s song “He Said She Said”.
Her father was a pro-circuit tennis player before joining the Air Force.
She has the Sankskrit word for “lotus” tattooed on the inside of her wrist.
Her maternal grandfather was a Marine NCO for thirty years, serving in the Pacific during WWII, and later as Asst. Drum Major for the United States Marine Band.
Good friends with Eva Longoria, Eva Mendes and Kate Hudson.<br />
Started training in dance and Tae Bo two months prior to the start of scheduled filming on Honey (2003) (July 2002).
