Jessica Alba

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Jessica Alba

Alba at the Fantastic Four: RotSS premiere in London, June 2007
Born Jessica Marie Alba
April 28, 1981 (1981-04-28) (age 27)
Pomona, California, United States
Years active 1994–present
Spouse(s) Cash Warren (2008 - present)

Jessica Marie Alba (born April 28, 1981) is an American television and film actress. She has received many awards for her acting and physical appearance.[1][2][3][4]

Alba began her television and movie appearances as a child actor in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994). Alba rose to prominence with the television series Dark Angel (2000–2002), then expanding her résumé to film, predominantly within the confines of action and comedy.[5][6] Alba later appeared in various films including Honey (2003), Sin City (2005), Fantastic Four (2005), Into the Blue (2005), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) and Good Luck Chuck of the same year.[7][8]

Alba appears frequently on the "Hot 100" section of Maxim and was voted AskMen.com's number one on their list of "99 Most Desirable Women" in 2006, as well as "Sexiest Woman in the World" by FHM in 2007.[1][2][3] She also appeared on the cover of Playboy, which was followed by a lawsuit that was later dropped.[9] Alba has won various awards for her acting, including the Choice Actress Teen Choice Award and Saturn Award for Best Actress (TV) for her acting in the series Dark Angel.[10]

Contents

Early life

Alba was born in Pomona, California to Catherine (née Jensen) and Mark Alba. Her mother is of Danish and French Canadian descent, and her father is Mexican American (though both his parents were born in California).[11][12] She has a younger brother Joshua. Alba was raised in an Air Force family, and her father's air force career took the family to Biloxi, Mississippi, and Del Rio, Texas before settling back in California when she was nine years old.[6][12]

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 she was in the hospital so often that no one knew her well enough to befriend her.[13] She has also acknowledged suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder during childhood.[14][15] Her health improved, however, when her family moved to California. She graduated from high school at age 16,[16] and subsequently attended the Atlantic Theater Company.[17]

Career

Alba had expressed interest in acting since the age of five. She took her first acting class at age twelve. An acting agent signed her nine months later.[18][6]

In Edmonton during the filming of Good Luck Chuck, August 2006
In Edmonton during the filming of Good Luck Chuck, August 2006

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 in a leading role when one of the prominent actresses dropped out.[5]

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.[6] She then performed the role of Maya in the first two seasons of the television series Flipper.[5][6] 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.[19][6]

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..[5] After Alba graduated from high school, she 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.[17][20]

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.[8]

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.[21][8]

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 lb 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.[22]

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, of which movie critic Mick LaSalle said that her performance while talking for long periods of time was on "shaky ground". She then appeared in its sequel, in Into the Blue later that year, and Good Luck Chuck a few years later.[23][7][24] 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.[25]

In 2008, Alba appeared in her first horror-film role in The Eye, a remake of the Hong Kong original.[12] In February, she hosted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences's Science and Technical Awards.[26] Later in the year, she will be starring in The Love Guru.[7]

Alba has been represented by talent agent, Patrick Whitesell.[27]

Public image

Cover of the March 2006 issue of Playboy magazine. Alba objected to being on the cover of the magazine and filed suit, but later dropped the action.
Cover of the March 2006 issue of Playboy magazine. Alba objected to being on the cover of the magazine and filed suit, but later dropped the action.

In 2006, readers of Askmen.com voted Alba No. 1 on 99 Most Desirable Women,[2] while in 2007, Maxim Magazine placed Alba on the number 2 spot of their "Top 100", after Lindsay Lohan.[3] Both GQ and In Style had Alba on their June covers,[28][29] and in May, after eight million votes, FHM (UK and USA editions) named Alba the winner as "2007’s Sexiest Woman in the World".[1] Alba continues to be regarded as one of the world's most attractive women, being named to Maxim's Hot 100 in 2008.

Alba has received successful public reception in popular culture. She received the Teen Choice Award for Choice Actress and Saturn Award for Best Actress (TV) for her role in Dark Angel.She has frequently appeared on Maxim's Hot 100 list. In 2006, Alba received an MTV Movie Award for "Sexiest Performance" for Sin City.[3][30][10]

Her acting has also drawn criticism however, as she was nominated for a 2007 Razzie Award for Worst Actress for her perfomances in Awake, Good Luck Chuck, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.[31]

On the cover of the March 2006 issue, Playboy magazine named Alba among its 25 Sexiest Celebrities, and the Sex Star of the Year. Alba was involved in litigation against Playboy for its use of her image (from a promotional shot for Into the Blue) without her consent, which she contends gave the appearance that she was featured in the issue in a "nude pictorial". However, she later dropped the lawsuit after receiving a personal apology from Playboy owner Hugh Hefner, who agreed to make donations to two charities that Alba has supported.[9]

Alba fears being typecast as a sex kitten based on the bulk of parts offered to her. "Somehow, I don't think this is happening to Natalie Portman," laments Alba. In the interview, Alba says she wants to be taken seriously as an actress but believes she needs to do movies that she would otherwise not be interested in to build her career, stating that eventually she hopes to be more selective in her film projects.[32]

Personal life

Alba was raised as a Roman Catholic and still considers herself "spiritual".[33] In her adolescence, she became a born-again Christian,[34] but left the church after four years because she felt she was being judged for her appearance, explaining:

“ 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. ”

Alba also had objections to the church's condemnations of premarital sex and homosexuality, and the lack of strong female role models in the Bible, explaining "I thought it was a nice guide, but it certainly wasn't how I was going to live my life."[35] However, has stated that she still holds her belief in God despite leaving the church.[36]

As the daughter of religiously conservative parents, Alba, whose grandparents did not allow her to wear a bathing suit around the house, maintains a no-nudity clause in her contract, though she has claimed she had been open to the possibility of appearing nude in Sin City. She remarked of a GQ shoot in which she was scantily clad, "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."[37]

Alba was given the option to appear nude by the film's directors, Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, but declined the offer saying, "I don't do nudity. I just don't. Maybe that makes me a bad actress. Maybe I won't get hired in some things. But I have too much anxiety".[35]

Alba receiving an award at the Spike TV Awards
Alba receiving an award at the Spike TV Awards

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.[38] He proposed to her on her twentieth birthday.[12] 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."[39]

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."[40] 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".[41]

Alba married Cash Warren (son of actor Michael Warren) on Monday, May 19, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.[42][43] Alba met Warren while making Fantastic Four in 2004.[44][45] They are expecting their first child in early spring or summer of 2008.[46] Alba, who never learned Spanish as a child,[11] reportedly began mastering the language during her pregnancy with the intention of speaking only Spanish to her child once he or she is born.[47] Despite reports to the contrary, she is not expecting twins.[48]

Alba's charity work includes participation with 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.[49] Alba supports Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama in the 2008 U.S. elections.[50]

On May 14, 2008 Jessica Alba posted an entry in an ibeatyou.com competition "The Stare: No Blinking" (started by pro basketballer Baron Davis) after being challenged by renowned Youtube and ibeatyou user Kevjumba. The video, featuring Alba's stare into the camera, was later uploaded to Youtube where it received over 2 million views in less than 3 days.[51]

On June 7, 2008 Alba gave birth to a baby girl, Honor Marie Warren,[52] at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.[53]

Filmography

Films

Year Film Role Other notes
1994 Camp Nowhere Gail
1995 Venus Rising Young Eve
1999 P.U.N.K.S. Samantha Swoboda
Never Been Kissed Kirsten Liosis
Idle Hands Molly
2000 Paranoid Chloe
2003 The Sleeping Dictionary Selima DVD Exclusive Award – Best Actress in a DVD Premiere Movie
Honey Honey Daniels Teen Choice Award Nominations – Choice Movie Liplock (Shared with Mekhi Phifer), Choice Movie Chemistry (Shared with Mekhi Phifer), Choice Movie Actress - Drama/Action Adventure, Choice Breakout Movie Star - Female
2005 Sin City Nancy Callahan Teen Choice Award Nomination – Choice Movie Actress: Action/Adventure/Thriller
Saturn Award Nomination – Best Supporting Actress
MTV Movie Award – Sexiest Performance
Fantastic Four Sue Storm / Invisible Woman Teen Choice Award Nomination – Movies - Choice Actress: Drama/Action Adventure
Razzie Award – Worst Actress
Imagen Foundation Award Nomination – Best Actress
MTV Movie Award Nomination – Best Hero
Into the Blue Sam Razzie Award – Worst Actress
2007 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Sue Richards / Invisible Woman Teen Choice Award Nominations – Choice Movie: Hissy Fit, Choice Movie Actress: Action Adventure
Good Luck Chuck Cam Wexler
The Ten Liz Anne Blazer
Awake Sam Lockwood
2008 Meet Bill Lucy
The Eye Sydney Wells
The Love Guru Jane Bullard Awaiting release
2009 Sin City 2 Nancy Callahan Pre-production

Television

Year TV Series Role Episodes Other notes
1994 The Secret World of Alex Mack Jessica Three
1995-1997 Flipper Maya Graham 10 YoungStar Award Nomination – Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Daytime TV Program
1996 ABC After School Specials Christy One
Chicago Hope Florie Hernandez One
1998 Brooklyn South Melissa Hauer One
Beverly Hills, 90210 Leanne Two
The Love Boat: The Next Wave Layla One
2000–2002 Dark Angel Max Guevara/X5-452 42 Teen Choice Award – TV - Choice Actress
Teen Choice Award Nomination – TV - Choice Actress, Drama
ALMA Award Nominations – Outstanding Actress in a New Television Series, Outstanding Actress in a Television Series
Saturn Award – Best Actress on Television
Saturn Award Nomination – Best Actress in a Television Series
Golden Globe Award Nomination – Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Drama
Young Artist Award – Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Leading Young
TV Guide Award – Breakout Star of the Year
TV Guide Award Nomination – Actress of the Year in a New Series
2003 Mad TV Jessica Simpson One
2004 Entourage Herself One

Awards and nominations

ALMA Awards

  • Won: Breakthrough Actress of the Year (2001)

TV Land Awards

  • Nominated: Little Screen/Big Screen Star (Women) (2007)

Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards

  • Won: Hottest Jessica (2007)

Young Hollywood Awards

  • Won: Superstar of Tomorrow (2005)

References

  1. ^ a b c 100 Sexiest 2007 Winner. FHM. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  2. ^ a b c Jessica Alba (profile). AskMen.com (2006). Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  3. ^ a b c d Maxim Top 100 for 2007. Maxim (2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  4. ^ Past Saturn Award for Best Actress Awards. Saturn Awards. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  5. ^ a b c d Jessica Alba Goes To 'Sin City'. CBS (March 28, 2005). Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Jessica Alba: Biography. People. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  7. ^ a b c Jessica Alba. IMDb. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  8. ^ a b c Look at me. The Age (June 22, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  9. ^ a b Silverman, Stephen M. Playboy Apologizes to Jessica Alba. People. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  10. ^ a b Awards for Jessica Alba. IMDb. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  11. ^ a b Jessica Alba: Don't Call Me A Latina!!. MediaTakeout.com (2007-06-17). Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
  12. ^ a b c d Mottram, James. Jessica Alba: She wooed Hollywood with her sultry looks – but now she's getting serious. The Independent. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  13. ^ "" (2005-10-03). OK! magazine: pp.34-39. 
  14. ^ Cullen, Denise (2007-08-19). My obsession (Reprint from Sunday Telegraph). News.au.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
  15. ^ Interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; September 26, 2005
  16. ^ Jessica Alba graduated from high school at 16. Netglimse.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-02.
  17. ^ a b Jessica Alba. People. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  18. ^ Hollywood Life magazine; September/October 2005 pp. 44 – 49; 106.
  19. ^ Water babe Jess in big screen splash (Registration requires payment). Daily Star (October 16, 2005). Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  20. ^ Lawson, Terry. Atlantic Theater Company History. Atlantic Theater Company. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  21. ^ Lawson, Terry (December 8, 2003). Look at me. Knight Ridder Newspapers. The Seattle Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  22. ^ Jessica Alba's anorexic hell. AskMen.com (July 27, 2005). Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  23. ^ Fantatic Four Movie Review. The San Francisco Chronicle (2005-07-08). Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
  24. ^ Jessica Alba flows like 'Honey'. USA Today (November 30, 2003). Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  25. ^ 2006 MTV Movie Awards. MTV. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  26. ^ Jessica Alba dazzles self-professed nerds as academy hands out science and tech Oscars. Associated Press. Kesq.com (February 10, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  27. ^ http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117794355.html?categoryid=18&cs=1
  28. ^ GQ: The Jessica Alba Video. Style.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  29. ^ In Style June 2007. InStyle. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  30. ^ Jessica Alba profile. AskMen.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  31. ^ http://www.razzies.com/history/07nomActr.asp
  32. ^ Alba Fears Whore Typecast. WEEN. Moono (November 9, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  33. ^ Lipworth, Elaine (2007-06-09). Jessica Alba and her ambitious quest to be the next Tom Cruise. Daily Mail. Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
  34. ^ Gardetta, Dave (April 2005). The Sinner. GQ. Style.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  35. ^ a b Itzkoff, Dave. Jessica Alba - ELLE. Elle.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
  36. ^ Glamour Magazine (2008). Glamour's October Cover Girl — Dark Angel Jessica Alba Reveals Her Obsessions, Love, and God — p.256; October issue on newsstands Sept. 11, 2001. Glamour Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
  37. ^ Gardetta, Dave (March 23, 2005). Alba Turns Her Back on Christian Pals Who Made Her Feel Ashamed. GQ. Contactmusic.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  38. ^ Dark Angel Lovers Defend Relationship Accessed 2007-12-29.
  39. ^ Jessica Alba's Parental Relationship Was Strained By Engagement. Starpulse (July 11, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  40. ^ Jessica Alba: Older men are ideal partners. Femalefirst.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  41. ^ Alba: 'I want to have lots of kids'. Contactmusic.com (March 20, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  42. ^ "Jessica Alba Marries Cash Warren", A Socialite's Life, 2008-05-20. 
  43. ^ Jessica Alba Gets Married to Cash Warren!. People Magazine (2008-05-20).
  44. ^ Jordan, Julie (December 27, 2007). Jessica Alba Engaged!. People. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  45. ^ Finn, Natalie (December 27, 2007). Jessica Alba Engaged!. E! Online. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  46. ^ Sarah Hall. "Jessica Alba's a Mama-to-Be", E! Online, 2007-12-12. Retrieved on 2007-12-12. 
  47. ^ Alba will only speak Spanish to baby. Ireland On-Line (February 8, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  48. ^ Friedman, Roger; "Jessica Alba: Single Baby"; foxnews.com; [[February 29, 2008]
  49. ^ Jessica Alba's Charity Work. Celebrity Charity. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  50. ^ Jessica Alba, Ryan Phillippe support Obama in new will.i.am video. Top News Light Reading (March 1, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
  51. ^ Alba staring video on YouTube
  52. ^ [1]
  53. ^ Jessica Alba Welcomes a Baby Girl

External links

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Persondata
NAME Alba, Jessica
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Alba, Jessica Marie
SHORT DESCRIPTION actress
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH Pomona, California, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH