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Born April 28, 1981 in Pomona, California
April 28, 1981
Alba was born in Pomona, California to Catherine (formerly Jensen) and Mark Alba. Her mother is of Danish descent, and her father is Mexican American (though both of his parents were born in California). Alba's parents married in their teenage years. Her maternal grandfather was a Marine NCO for 30 years, serving in the Pacific during World War II, and later as Assistant Drum Major for the United States Marine Band. Alba was raised in an Air Force family with her brother, Joshua and her grandparents until she was seventeen years old. Her father's air force career took the family to Biloxi, Mississippi, and Del Rio, Texas before settling back in California.
Alba's early life was marked by a multitude of physical maladies; she suffered collapsed lungs twice, had pneumonia 4-5 times a year, a ruptured appendix, and a cyst on her tonsils. This isolated her from other children at school because, as she claims, she was in the hospital so often that no one knew her well enough to befriend her. She has also acknowledged suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder during childhood. Her health improved, however, when her family moved to California.
First Film Part in "Camp Nowhere"
August 26, 1994
Alba had expressed interest in acting since the age of five. She took her first acting class at age twelve, and an acting agent signed her nine months later. Her first appearance on film was a small role in the 1994 feature Camp Nowhere as Gail. She was originally hired for two weeks but her role turned into a two-month job when the actress in one of the prominent roles dropped out.
Alba appeared in two national television commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penney as a child. She was later featured in several independent films. She branched out into television in 1994 with a recurring role as the vain Jessica in three episodes of the Nickelodeon comedy series The Secret World of Alex Mack. She then performed the role of Maya in the first two seasons of the television series Flipper. Under the tutelage of her lifeguard mother, Alba learned to swim before she could walk, and she was a PADI-certified scuba diver, skills which were put to use on the show, which was filmed in Australia.
Jessica's Career Develops
January 1, 1998
In 1998, she appeared as Melissa Hauer in a first-season episode of the Steven Bochco crime-drama Brooklyn South, as Leanne in two episodes of Beverly Hills 90210 and as Layla in an episode of The Love Boat: The Next Wave. In 1999, she appeared in the Randy Quaid comedy feature P.U.N.K.S.. After graduating from high school, Alba studied acting with William H. Macy and his wife, Felicity Huffman, at the Atlantic Theater Company, which was developed by Macy and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and film director, David Mamet.
Alba rose to greater prominence in Hollywood in 1999 after appearing as a member of a snobby high school clique in the Drew Barrymore romantic comedy Never Been Kissed, and as the female lead in the 1999 comedy-horror film Idle Hands, opposite Devon Sawa.
Dark Angel
October 3, 2000
Her big break came when writer/director James Cameron picked Alba from a pool of 1,200 candidates for the role of the genetically-engineered super-soldier, Max Guevara, on the FOX sci-fi television series Dark Angel. Co-created by Cameron, the series starred Alba, and ran for two seasons until 2002, earning her critical acclaim as well as a Golden-Globe nomination.
During preparation for Dark Angel, in which Alba trained for three hours every day, the actress began to starve herself and became obsessed with exercise, going on to say, "A lot of girls have eating disorders and I did too. I got obsessed with it." Alba recalls coming to a realization that she had a problem when she dropped to just 100 lbs and cites her natural introduction to puberty and her development of womanly curves as two things that caused her "concern" regarding her aesthetics. Alba, who also suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder and panic attacks, says she has been cooking for herself since the age of twelve, in fear she will end up as fat as her family members.
Sin City
April 1, 2005
Alba's most notable film roles have included an aspiring dancer-choreographer in Honey, exotic dancer Nancy Callahan in Sin City and as the classic Marvel Comics character Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman in the Fantastic Four. Alba went on to host the 2006 MTV Movie Awards and performed sketches spoofing the movies King Kong, Mission Impossible 3, and The Da Vinci Code.
Alba voted "Most Desirable Woman"
January 1, 2006
In 2006, readers of Askmen.com voted Alba No. 1 on 99 Most Desirable Women, while in 2007, Maxim Magazine placed Alba on the number 2 spot of their "Top 100", after Lindsay Lohan. Both GQ and In Style had Alba on their June covers, and in May, after eight million votes, FHM (UK and USA editions) named Alba the winner as "2007’s Sexiest Woman in the World".
Alba has received successful public reception in popular culture. In 2001 Alba received a Teen Choice Award for Choice Actress for her role in Dark Angel. In 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, Alba appeared on Maxim's Hot 100 list. In 2006, Alba received an MTV Movie Award for "Sexiest Performance" for Sin City. In 2007, Alba received the Spike TV Guys' Choice Award for "Hottest Jessica".
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
June 15, 2007
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a 2007 superhero film, and sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four. Both films are based on the comic book of the same name. The film was directed by Tim Story, who also directed the original. Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon and Kerry Washington reprised their roles from the first film. Doug Jones and Beau Garrett appear in the sequel as the Silver Surfer and Frankie Raye, respectively, along with Laurence Fishburne as the voice of the Silver Surfer.
It was released June 15, 2007, in North America, and was released onto high-def Blu-ray Disc and DVD on October 2, 2007. It was rated PG by the MPAA for sequences of action violence, some mild language and innuendo. The film made $130 million in the U.S and made under $290 million worldwide,
The Eye
Feburary 1, 2008
In 2008, Alba appeared in her first horror-film role in The Eye (a remake of the Hong Kong original).
Plot: Sydney Wells, at the start of the film, is a successful classical violinist, although blind since the age of 5. She and her sister had been playing with fireworks and they had been set off too close to her face, damaging her corneas.
Now, nearly 20 years later, Sydney undergoes a cornea transplant which causes her vision, albeit blurry, to begin returning. At first, she is confused and disoriented, unable to understand if what she sees is "real" or not. During her first night with her new eyes, her bedmate at the hospital dies, and Sydney, not understanding, watches her blurry figure being led away by someone else.
Using the pretext of a psychological thriller and paranormal experiences, the film explores mental illness, and in particular, of the monothematic delusion known as Mirrored self-misidentification, referred to in the story as cellular memory.
Other themes include the concept of precognition, or premonition, perhaps becoming a popular cultural crossover from Asian beliefs about the unknown- since this film was a remake of a Hong Kong horror flick, and still retains Asian themes in the 2008 version.
Baby On the Way
June 1, 2008
While filming Dark Angel, Alba began a four year romance with fellow castmate Michael Weatherly, which caused controversy due to their 12 year age gap. He proposed to her on her 20th birthday. They eventually broke up after a four-year relationship. In July 2007, Jessica spoke out about the break up. "I don't know [why I got engaged]. I was a virgin. He was 12 years older than me. I thought he knew better. My parents weren't happy. They're really religious. They believe God wouldn't allow The Bible to be written if it wasn't what they are supposed to be believe. I'm completely different."
Alba had at one time said she envisioned a much older man as her ideal partner, making references to Morgan Freeman, Sean Connery, Robert Redford, and Michael Caine. "I have this thing for older men. They've been around and know so much." Regarding children, Alba said, "I'm really girly when it comes to kids. I've been surrounded by kids my whole life because I'm the oldest of 15 cousins — I've been changing diapers since I was six. I want to have a couple, for sure".
Alba is engaged to Cash Warren (son of actor Michael Warren), whom she met while making Fantastic Four in 2004. They are expecting their first child in early spring or summer of 2008. Alba, who never learned Spanish as a child, reportedly began mastering the language during her pregnancy, with the intention of speaking only Spanish to her child once he or she is born.
