The Untold Truth Of Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba has become quite the Renaissance woman. Not only has she been acting since she was a kid. She's also proven to be a butt-kicking action star in "Dark Angel" and "L.A.'s Finest," has showed off serious dancing skills in the film "Honey" and her viral TikToks, and has fiercely entered the business world as the successful entrepreneur behind The Honest Company, which manufactures non-toxic cleaning and beauty products. On top of all of that, Alba has been named one of the most beautiful people in the world on more than one occasion.
Alba has transformed from teen star to a businessperson and power mom who has raised three children with her longtime husband Cash Warren. Whether you're a fan of Alba from her leather-wearing, motorcycle-riding "Dark Angel" days or are more familiar with her as The Honest Company mogul, here are a few facts you might not know about the multifaceted star.
Jessica Alba is proud of her Mexican heritage
When Jessica Alba told USA Today that she never sought out specifically Latinx roles for fear of perpetuating stereotypes, her intention was quickly misconstrued by celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, which stirred drama. He claimed, "...she hates her ethnicity and refuses to play Latin women in film." Alba fired back, denying the accusations. "I never said that," she told Latina Magazine (via People), adding, "I always took pride in being Latina, it's something I always embraced."
Instead, the roles she took on were largely dominated by how Hollywood viewed her. "They couldn't figure out my ethnicity. ... They were like, 'You're not Latin enough to play a Latina, and you're not Caucasian enough to play the leading lady," she explained to PopSugar.
But despite accusations of denying her heritage, she's often spoken about her family history publicly, like when she appeared on the PBS series "Finding Your Roots," in which she explored the history of the Mexican side of her family. "Growing up in California in my grandmother's house, surrounded by tías, tíos, and all my cousins, I always felt a deep connection to my Mexican-American roots," she wrote in an article for PopSugar. On her mother's side, she's Danish and Québécois, she explained on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show."
The health problems she struggled with as a child
When she was young, Jessica Alba experienced a lot of health issues. The actor was prone to allergies, asthma, and pneumonia and spent much of her childhood in and out of the hospital, per Forbes. "She was the most sensitive child," her mother, Cathy Alba, told the publication. Jessica explained to Romper, "I grew up with chronic illness. I had five surgeries before I was 11 years old."
Spending so much time under the weather and cooped up inside inspired Jessica Alba's career choice in the entertainment business. "Because I grew up as a sick kid, I really wanted and I fantasized about being somebody else. I wanted to be somebody that was a superhero," she said in an interview with PBS. After loads of action roles and literally playing a superhero in "Fantastic Four," she pretty much achieved that goal. But her childhood illnesses also partly inspired her to create The Honest Company. Once she started having children of her own, Alba wanted to ensure her kids had access to safe and non-toxic products to avoid having the same allergies and health issues she had experienced. "My health matters. I want this little person to be healthy. And it's really freaking hard to be happy when you don't have your health," she told Romper.
She began questioning her Catholic upbringing as a teen
Jessica Alba grew up in a religious household. "I come from a very Catholic family," she told MSN. She explained to The Daily Beast that she was also in a "born-again Christian youth group" when she was a teenager, but after falling in love at 16 with a boy whom she described as a bisexual ballerina, Alba decided that her Catholic church might have gotten a few things wrong. "I was so in love with him and thought, 'There's no way this guy's going to hell,' because in my church, it was, 'Anybody who's gay is going to hell' ... and I thought, 'There's no chance! This guy is amazing!'" she told the media outlet.
Alba had also previously discussed how her church had distorted the way she viewed herself when she was a young woman. "Older men would hit on me, and my youth pastor said it was because I was wearing provocative clothing, when I wasn't. It just made me feel like if I was in any way desirable to the opposite sex that it was my fault, and it made me ashamed of my body and being a woman," she told Elle (via Metro). Though she doesn't adhere to a strict Catholic ideology anymore, she does describe herself as spiritual, per GLAAD.
Why Jessica Alba lived in Australia as a teenager
Before Jessica Alba's breakthrough role in "Dark Angel," she starred in the TV series "Flipper" when she was 14. The series, a reboot of the '60s show about two children and their pet dolphin, was shot in Australia and required her to live Down Under for two years, as she explained to Jay Leno. Even though Alba was only in Australia for a brief amount of time as a teen, it had a lasting impact on her.
She told Vogue Australia in a 2021 interview (via the Daily Mail), "I did a TV show in Australia for two years, and that's where I learned about homeopathy and homeopathic medicine." She explained, "There are so many natural products and natural things like tea tree oil and all this tea tree-based stuff that came out of Australia, so I would bring that home with me. I learned a lot." The knowledge she gained about healing cures from the earth would later be useful when creating her non-toxic household cleaning and beauty business, The Honest Company.
She nearly married her first boyfriend
Jessica Alba started dating Michael Weatherly, her "Dark Angel" co-star, when she was 18 and he was 30. According to her, it was her first serious relationship. "I didn't really [seriously] go out with any guys until I was 18," she told Cosmopolitan. Alba was clearly young and in love. "He's the best man in the world," she proclaimed on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show."
Weatherly proposed to Alba on her 20th birthday and they remained engaged for two years before splitting in 2003, per Page Six. "It just didn't work out. ... It's really, really, really difficult to have the same occupation as the person you're with — especially when you're both actors. Actors are pulled in so many different directions that unless you both are absolutely into it through thick and thin and completely sure about each other, it's just hard. I've decided I'll never date an actor again," she explained in the Cosmopolitan interview.
Alba eventually realized that she was perhaps too young and their age gap too wide. "I don't know [why I got engaged]. I was a virgin. He was 12 years older than me. I thought he knew better," she reportedly confessed (via StarPulse). To make matters worse, her family didn't approve of the match. "My parents weren't happy," she said.
She was ready to give up acting after a director told her to 'cry pretty'
Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was created and became one of the biggest money-making machines in the movie industry, movies based on the Marvel comics didn't always hit the mark. "Fantastic Four," starring Jessica Alba as Susan Storm, was one of the superhero films that critics were less than impressed with. The sequel, "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," wasn't exactly a hit, either. And for Alba, the movie was almost her last.
When Alba was shooting a scene that required her character to show emotion, the director, Tim Story, instructed her to look prettier when she cried. "[He told me] 'It looks too real. It looks too painful. Can you be prettier when you cry? Cry pretty, Jessica.' He was like, 'Don't do that thing with your face. Just make it flat. We can CGI the tears in,'" she explained in an interview with Elle (via Vulture). The comment deeply discouraged her and was her first hint of losing interest in the business. "It all got me thinking: Am I not good enough? Are my instincts and my emotions not good enough? ... And so I just said, 'F*** it. I don't care about this business anymore,'" she added.
Obviously, that frustration didn't completely stick. She went on to star in several other films after "Silver Surfer," though she did eventually shift her focus somewhat away from acting.
Who is Jessica Alba's husband?
Speaking of "Fantastic Four," Jessica Alba actually met her future husband, Cash Warren, on the set of the superhero movie. Staying true to Alba's proclamation that she would never date another actor again after Michael Weatherly, Warren works behind the scenes. At the time, he was working as a director's assistant. "He's not famous. He might be The One. It was kind of a love-at-first-sight thing," she told Cosmopolitan in a 2005 interview. He did, in fact, become "the one." The couple have been going strong for 18 years and married for 14, according to Alba's Instagram. They have three children together.
Warren is the son of television actor and basketball player Michael Warren. After working as a director's assistant, he went on to produce several projects and co-founded the clothing company Pair of Thieves. The brand started out selling socks and has now expanded to underwear and loungewear. The brand sells online and at Target and frequently partners with charities helping the homeless and LGBTQ+ youth. According to NetSuite, the company's annual revenue soared to more than $30 million. When Warren isn't working, he's focused on being a good dad. "Kids need your undivided attention, and they don't understand why you need to go to work. They don't get that, so it's about making sure that they feel that love and support," he told Mom.com.
She lobbied hard for the Safe Chemicals Act
When Jessica Alba was pregnant with her first child, she became concerned with potential harmful ingredients used in everyday products. "Children are especially vulnerable to toxic chemicals because their bodies are still developing. ... I was aware of problems like air and water pollution but I was shocked to learn that it is perfectly legal to have known toxic chemicals in consumer products that are on our shelves. Like most people, I thought the government regulated chemicals the way they regulated drugs. I was wrong," she explained to ABC News.
Disturbed by the lack of action politicians seemed to be taking, Alba became a spokesperson for the coalition Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families and spoke to Congress to encourage members to support the Safe Chemicals Act, legislation introduced by Senator Frank Lautenberg in 2011. The act was calling for stricter regulations against toxic chemicals in household products. "As I did research, I learned about how there really wasn't any kind of legislation that protected people from exposure to chemicals in everyday products. So I went and advocated for chemical reform, and I learned pretty quickly that it turned into a liberal versus conservative conversation and it's unfortunate that it gets politicized, something like human health," Alba told PBS. Despite the politicization of the issue, the act gained bipartisan support and was passed into law in 2016, per EPA.
She started The Honest Company with her own money
Jessica Alba came up with the idea for The Honest Company after a popular laundry detergent brand caused her to have an allergic reaction, she said on "The Pursuit of Healthiness with Blake Griffin" (via People). This experience made her even more concerned for her child, so she started to seek out more natural alternatives. However, Alba became frustrated with the lack of green products available and was inspired her to start her own company with the virtue of transparency at its forefront.
But she didn't find immediate success. "It took me three-and-a-half years just to find partners to even join me, and I got lots of rejection. I had to learn how to build decks. In every stage, I'm trying to get better and better as a business person, but it's a totally different skill set than just taking your influence and fame and putting your name on a package and doing a press tour," she said in an interview with Romper.
Her entertainment industry fortune was used to launch the business in the beginning. "I did a lot of research and funded it with my own personal money. Everyone told me I was crazy. It's not very sexy to make safe household cleaning products," she told Yahoo! Finance. Proving herself to be a true entrepreneur, she's been heavily involved in every step of building her business to the massive household name it has become.
Why Jessica Alba was accused of vandalism
In 2009, Jessica Alba got involved with a campaign to raise awareness about endangered great white sharks, a move that led her to commit a minor crime. While shooting the movie "The Killer Inside of Me" in Oklahoma City, she was caught gluing posters on public buildings. Photos of her in the act were uncovered, per The Insider.
Alba could have faced charges due to Oklahoma's law that states, "defacing or damaging property is a misdemeanor if the damage amount is less than $1,000, and a felony if the damage exceeds the $1,000 mark," according to The Oklahoman. Bob Spinks, the director of the local United Way, told The Oklahoman, "We find it unfortunate that Ms. Alba chose to vandalize a United Way billboard."
Alba formally apologized via the local newspaper, writing, "I got involved in something I should have had no part of. I realize that I should have used better judgment, and I regret not thinking things through before I made a spontaneous and ill-advised decision to let myself get involved with the people behind this campaign." Ultimately, the owners of the property did not press charges, via People.
What is it like to work with Jessica Alba?
As it turns out, Jessica Alba might not be the most pleasant co-worker. At least not according to Jensen Ackles, the "Supernatural" star who formerly worked with Alba on "Dark Angel." In a 2022 interview on "Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum," Ackles said, "She was horrible. ... I've told this to her face." However, he did admit to some understanding of her attitude, stating, "She was under an immense amount of pressure on that show. She was young, she was in a relationship..." Ackles explained that Alba would mock him on set, so he gave her a taste of her own medicine. The co-stars ended up developing a brother-sister bond.
As far as what she's like as the head of The Honest Company, Alba has admitted to being intensely straightforward to a fault. "I've made people cry. I have to say, 'This isn't personal. This is what needs to get done, and it's just as simple as that.' ... I'm learning to tone myself down," she told More magazine (via Us Weekly). On the other hand, The Honest Company's co-founder and CPO, Christopher Gavigan, only had positive things to say about Alba. "Jessica is incredibly committed to the brand. ... She offers a ton of inspiration for culture, the consumer, and the design elements of the business. She's really a powerhouse when it comes to having a great eye and instinct," he told Well+Good.
Jessica Alba is an experienced stuntwoman
Jessica Alba started intense stunt-training as a teenager while starring in James Cameron's TV series "Dark Angel." Going into detail about her regime, she explained in an interview promoting the 2000 series, "I did 11 months of training, three hours of weight training, and it [included] cardio, and then we'd do weight training five days a week...and I did gymnastics three times a week — an hour and a half a day. Motorcycle training. And I did some kung fu."
She's been doing her own stunt work ever since. "I did all my stunts for 'Mechanic: Resurrection.' Hand-to-hand combat is where I'm home," she said in a 2016 interview with Us Weekly. When she starred in the 2019 series "L.A.'s Finest" alongside Gabrielle Union, many scenes required her to put her training to use. While she may be used to the adrenaline rush that comes along with performing stunts, Alba confessed to Sky News that while shooting the series, she was anxious at times.
"Whenever I would have to run on moving vehicles, from one roof to another, that was when my heart would beat very quickly. Or when I would rappel from the roof of something, down the tops of the ceilings of a warehouse, my heart would pitter-patter. And when I would drive a motorcycle 40mph without a helmet, that was scary too," she said. But even so, the outlet reported that she still enjoys doing her own stunts.
Why she scaled back on acting
After Jessica Alba gave birth to her first child in 2008, she took a break from acting. "I had this real moment of, I want to live, and thrive, and spend as much time with this little person that I'm bringing into the world as possible," she said in an interview with Romper. Her first impression of motherhood was that despite how difficult it could be at times, it helped her zero in on the most important things in life. "[Motherhood] is exhausting but way more fulfilling than anything I have done. Everything I do now is so much more meaningful because of her," she said to People after her daughter Honor was born.
Becoming a parent put her life in perspective and ultimately made her realize that her true calling was perhaps outside of the entertainment industry. "I couldn't go back to what I was doing before and be authentic. I just couldn't. I didn't care about it the same way," Alba explained to Romper. "It was something bigger. I felt like if I was going to have this platform, then what can I do with it that could be meaningful and make a difference? That just felt so real when I became a mom for the first time," she added.
How does Jessica Alba stay so young?
The world has practically watched Jessica Alba grow up. Yet her looks have hardly changed. Now in her 40s, she doesn't appear to have aged much over the years. So how does she still radiate a youthful glow? Perhaps some insight can be found in her skincare and beauty regime.
Her lengthy 12-step process goes above and beyond your typical cleanse and moisturize routine. In a video for Harpers Bazaar, Alba demonstrated her nightly skincare regime, which includes a gel cleanser followed by a foaming cleanser, a detox mud mask, hydrogel eye patches, eye creams, facial oils, serums, creams, and multiple facial massaging tools. In the video, she also admits to being no stranger to IPL therapy, a nonsurgical treatment for reducing age spots, and laser skin-tightening procedures. Her other tips for keeping young and dewy skin include drinking a lot of electrolyte water, and she told Bustle that consistent moisturizing is essential, along with "always wearing a hat when I'm in the sun."
What is Jessica Alba's net worth?
In 2015, Jessica Alba appeared on the cover of Forbes in their annual "America's Richest Self-Made Women" issue. So what is Alba's net worth? Back then, The Honest Company was valued at $1 billion and Alba's net worth was $200 million, according to the outlet. In an interview with More (via Us Weekly), Alba claimed, "When you look at the marketplace that we're playing in, it's trillions of dollars. Window cleaner alone is a billion-dollar business, just to give a bit of perspective, because people get so freaked out by our valuation. Also, it doesn't feel tangible yet, because I'm still hustling," she said.
That high number, however, hasn't exactly lasted. The Honest Company came back from a series of lawsuits and went public in 2021. Since going public and suffering from supply-chain issues and a decrease in demand for products related to pandemic-fueled cleaning, the value of the company has fluctuated and dropped from its billion-dollar value to $550 million, per CNBC. Though The Hollywood Reporter reported that Alba's net worth had significantly dropped as a result, she still took home an almost $8 million dollar salary (mostly a stock award) in 2021, which isn't too shabby. Her estimated net worth is $100 million at the time of this writing.