Not Just a Gorgeous Gal

Jessica Alba: Then and Now

Even though she has topped many "sexy" lists, Jessica does not want to be offered roles based on that. She says, "Somehow, I don't think this is happening to Natalie Portman."

(Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)

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Jessica Alba Actress Jessica Alba is one of Hollywood's most attractive and intriguing young stars.

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Alba Arrives Apr... Born in Pomona, California to a conservative Latin American family, Jessica Alba began her acting career at a very young age.

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Alba's Ailments Alba dealt with multiple physical problems growing up such as asthma, collapsed lungs, multiple bouts of pneumonia, a ruptured appendix and a tonsillar cyst.

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Air Force Brat In addition to these physical troubles, Jessica’s father was in the Air Force which took the family to Mississippi, Texas and then back to California. The combination of illnesses and frequent moves made Jessica's childhood a lonely one.

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Jessica Alba At the age of 11, Jessica convinced her mom to take her to an acting competition in Beverly Hills. She then won the grand prize; free acting classes. She was signed by an agent 9 months later.

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First Role Her first appearance on the big screen was in the 1994 film "Camp Nowhere."

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Alba on TV Jessica then appeared on the popular Nickelodeon TV show "The Secret World of Alex Mac" and the first two seasons of the television series "Flipper." Jessica’s mom was a lifeguard so she learned to swim before she could walk and was a PADI-certified scuba diver which helped her land "Flipper," which was filmed in Australia.

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High School Grad... Jessica graduated high school at age 16 and then attended the Atlantic Theater Company. There she studied acting with William H. Macy and his wife, "Desperate Housewives' star Felicity Huffman.

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Alba Takes Off In 1999, Jessica began to appear in more prominent films such as "Never Been Kissed" as the head of the mean girls clique opposite Drew Barrymore and in "Idle Hands."

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'Idle Hands' (19... Jessica Alba in "Idle Hands."

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Alba a 'Dark Ang... But her big break in Hollywood was as the genetically-engineered super-soldier Max Guevara in the sci-fi series "Dark Angel." She received critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination for her work.

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Jessica in Maxim In 2001 Alba was #1 on Maxim’s Hot 100 List. She has been featured on Maxim’s list a total of six times as of 2009.

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Dark Moments for... Jessica has stated that she developed an eating disorder while preparing for "Dark Angel."

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'Angel' Romance In January 2000, Jessica began dating "Dark Angel" co-star Michael Weatherly, who is 12 years her senior. Their relationship lasted for 3 years.

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Broken Engagemen... Weatherly proposed to Jessica on her 20th birthday and she accepted. However, in August of 2003 they announced they ended their relationship.

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Jessica Makes Mo... In 2002, Alba was voted #4 in the Top 10 Sci-Fi Babes and voted #6 in FHM’s Sexiest Girl poll and #12 in Stuff magazines “102 Sexiest Women in the World”.

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'Honey' (2003) In 2003, Alba starred in the dance flick "Honey."

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Alba Meets Her M... In 2004, while filming "Fantastic Four," Alba met her husband Cash Warren, the son of director Michael Warren.

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Fantastic Four (... Jessica Alba in the Invisible Woman "Fantastic Four."

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Alba Is 'Most Be... In 2005 she was named one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People and in People’s 100 Most Beautiful list in 2007.

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'Sin City' (2005... Jessica Alba starred as stripper Nancy Callahan in the graphic novel-based film "Sin City."

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Jessica Alba In 2005, Jessica offered up her acting talents for free to raise money for Amfar and AIDS charity at the Cannes Film Festival. She promised to star as an unpaid actress in one of Bob Weinstein’s movies if he agreed to bid $100,000 for tennis lessons with Monica Seles and Boris Becker.

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'Into the Blue' ... Jessica Alba bared her bikini bod in the surfer flick in "Into the Blue".

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Alba Not Much of... Jessica’s acting has drawn criticism. She was nominated multiple for Razzie Awards for Worst Actress in "Awake," "Good Luck Chuck," "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," "The Eye," and "The Love Guru."

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Alba Against Pla... Alba was featured on the March 2006 Playboy cover since she was named Sex Star of the Year. However, she was involved in litigation against Playboy for its use of her image which was a promotional shot from “Into the Blue” without her consent. After an apology from Hugh Heffner who offered to make donations to two charities that Jessica supported, she dropped the charges.

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Not Just a Gorge... Even though she has topped many "sexy" lists, Jessica does not want to be offered roles based on that. She says, "Somehow, I don't think this is happening to Natalie Portman."

(Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)
Jessica's Clothi... Alba was on the cover of GQ in minimal clothing for being named one of the 25 Sexiest Women in film of all time, she was reported saying, "They didn't want me to wear the granny panties, but I said, 'If I'm gonna be topless I need to wear granny panties." Jessica has a strict no-nudity clause in her contract.

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'Good Luck Chuck... Jessica Alba starred with Dane Cook in the 2007 flop "Good Luck Chuck."

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Jessica Gets Mar... Cash Warren and Jessica Alba announced their engagement on December 27, 2007 and were married on May 19, 2008.

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Honor Marie Jessica had her first child, a baby girl born on June 7, 2008. OK! magazine reportedly paid $1.5 million for the first pictures of Honor Marie Warren.

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'The Eye' (2008) Jessica Alba was nominated for another Razzie for her role as Sydney Wells in horror film, "The Eye."

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'Invisible' Alba In 2008 Alba filmed “An Invisible Sign of My Own” as the lead role which is set to release in late 2009.

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Generous Jessica Alba participates in many charities to date such as; Clothes Off Our Back, Habitat for Humanity, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Project HOME, RADD, Revlon Run/Walk for Women, SOS Children Villages, Soles4Souls, and Step up.

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All-Star Alba Alba will also star in the romantic comedy "Valentines Day" which is set to be released February 12, 2010. She joins an all-star cast that includes Julia Roberts, Jessica Biel, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Emma Roberts and Jennifer Garner.

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'The Love Guru' ... Alba was nominated for yet another Razzie for her role in the Mike Myers bomb "The Love Guru."

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Activist Alba Jessica openly supported President Barack Obama in the 2008 election. She also appeared in a bondage-themed print ad campaign by Declare Yourself which encouraged youth to register to vote for the 2008 election.

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Alba's Controver... For the advertisement, Jessica was wrapped and gagged with black tape. Some described the ads as "shocking" but said, "It didn't freak me out at all. I think it is important for young people to be aware of the need we have in this country to get them more active politically. People respond to things that are shocking."

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Jessica Films 'K... Currently, Jessica is filming “The Killer Inside Me” where she plays Joyce Lakeland, a prostitute. The film costars Kate Hudson and Casey Affleck and will be released in 2010.

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Jessica in Jail? In June 2009, during filming of “The Killer Inside Me” in Oklahoma City, Jessica pasted posters of sharks around the town to bring awareness to the depletion of the great white shark population. There was speculation that she would be charged with vandalism but on June 16th the Oklahoma City police said they would not be pursuing criminal charges against Alba.

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Alba Apologizes Alba later apologized for her vandalism in People magazine stating she regretted her actions. She then donated an undisclosed amount of money to United Way whose billboard she covered with shark posters.

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