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Jessica Alba
Biography
Birth name
Jessica Marie Alba
Date of
birth (location)
28 April 1981,
Pomona, California, USA
After a series of moves in her childhood due to her father's career in the US Air Force,
the wide-eyed, dark-haired and striking Jessica Alba settled with her family in Southern California and began to take acting
classes at the age of eleven. Soon after beginning her studies, Alba made her film debut in 1993's "Camp
Nowhere". Originally cast in a very small role, she was upgraded to a feature part when the original actress dropped
out. Although Alba claims she won the role chiefly because her look was similar to the original player, she proved capable
of the work, and made an impressive debut. After a recurring role as a contemptible snob on Nickelodeon's "The
Secret World of Alex Mack", Alba became a regular on the syndicated series "Flipper", a
revival of the popular 1960s adventure program. Fresh faced, enthusiastic and sweet, the part of Maya Graham was a nice departure
from her previous TV efforts. Alba originated the role of the young girl who befriends the titular dolphin, appearing on the
show for the 1995-1996 season.
An "ABC Afterschool Special" entitled "Too
Soon for Jeff" aired in 1996, starring Alba as a pregnant teenager and Freddie Prinze Jr. as her overwhelmed boyfriend.
Next the actress could be seen in some memorable guest performances on television series. Alba played a girl smitten with
the captain's young son on UPN's "Love Boat: The Next Wave", a confused teen mother on a two-part
episode of "Beverly Hills, 90210" (Fox) and the daughter of a police officer who identifies another officer as having indecently
exposed himself to her in the CBS police drama "Brooklyn South" (all 1998). Also in 1998, Alba
starred in the little seen children's comedy feature "P.U.N.K.S". The following year she was featured
in two higher profile films, first playing a clique leader in "Never Been Kissed", starring Drew
Barrymore as a twentysomething reporter returned to high school for an undercover story. Next was "Idle
Hands", a supernatural thriller starring Devon Sawa and Seth Green where Alba was featured as Sawa's love interest.
Alba's
career kicked into high gear when she was cast as the genetically perfect Max on James Cameron's series "Dark
Angel" in 2000. Her popularity skyrocketed along with the show's success and in the first season, she was nominated
for a Golden Globe and she won the TV Guide Award as Breakout Star of the Year--nevetheless, the very expensive series folded
in 2002 despite its devoted core following.
Alba's opportunities expanded along with her success and she became a
spokeswoman for L'Oreal hair products (the Feria line of coloring) in 2001, and in 2002, she starred in the low-profile film
"The Sleeping Dictionary" as a South American woman who falls in love with a British colonialist
who visits her village. Her first major bid toward big screen stardom came in the form of "Honey"
(2003), a feast of Alba-fueled eye candy but otherwise undistinguished effort aimed at the MTV demographic in which she played
a tough, sexy music video choreographer.
Next up was a pair of high-profile projects based on comic book properties:
first was the visually arresting "Sin City" (2005) for Robert Rodriguez and co-director/comic book
creator Frank Miller, in which she played Nancy Callahan, a sultry, lasso-spinning pole dancer with an unexpected past in
the segment "That Yellow Bastard"; then she went blonde and took the role of Susan Storm, better
known as The Invisible Girl, for the big-screen, big-budget adaptation of the classic Stan Lee-Jack Kirby Marvel Comic "The Fantastic Four" (2005). Alba's third film of 2005, the underwater diving drama "Into
the Blue" (2005) opposite Paul Walker, was distinguished primarily by its stunning scenery: the gorgeous backdrop the
Bahamas and Alba's frequently bikini-clad body, which made her status as Hollywood's breakout sex symbol of 2005 complete.
Next up were sequels to "Sin City" and "Awake" (2007) an indie about
a man (Hayden Christensen) who, due to failed anesthetic, is left completely alert, but paralyzed and unable to tell his doctors
while undergoing open heart surgery.
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