From Birth To Stardom

Born in Pomona, CA on April 28, 1981, Jessica and her family moved to Biloxi, Mississippi when she was an infant. Three years later, her Air Force father brought the family back to CA, then to Del Rio, Texas, before finally settling in southern CA when Jessica was nine. In love with the idea of becoming an actress from the age of five, Jessica was 12 before she took her first acting class. Nine months later, she was signed by an agent. A gifted young actress, Jessica has already played a variety of roles ranging from light comedy to gritty drama since beginning her career 3 and a half years ago. Jessica made her feature film debut in 1993 in Hollywood Pictures comedy "Camp Nowhere".

She has been on a diet since the age of 12. The slender TV star admits she comes from a fat family and it's taken years of self-control to get her body in trim. Alba says, "Everyone in my family is overweight. I wanted to be healthier, so I started cooking for myself when I was 12." And Alba has even dropped a few hints for anyone wanting to follow her example. She adds, "I don't eat desserts or red meat. I stick to egg-white omelets, poultry, fish, vegetables, salads and fruit."

Originally hired for two weeks, she got her break when an actress in a principal role suddenly dropped out. Jessica cheerfully admits it wasn't her prodigious talent or charm that inspired the director to tap her to take over the part. It was her hair, which matched the original performer's. The two week job stretched to two months, and Jessica ended the film with an impressive first credit.

Two National TV commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penny quickly followed before Jessica was featured in several independent films. She branched out into TV in 1994 with recurring role in Nickelodeon's popular comedy series "The Secret World of Alex Mack". She played an insufferable young snob, devoted to making life miserable for the the title character, played by Larisa Oleynick. That same year, she won the role of Maya in "Flipper" and filmed the pilot for the series. Jessica spent 1995 shooting the first season's episodes in Australia. An avid swimmer and PADI-certified scuba diver, Jessica was delighted to be doing a show which allows her to play with dolphins. The success of the first season of "Flipper" lead to the filming of the second season, which Jessica also starred in. Jessica involvement in "Flipper" lasted from 1995-1997.

Since "Flipper" Jessica has appeared in a number of television shows and movies. In 1996, Jessica appeared in Venus Rising as Young Eve. In 1997, Jessica appeared on the "Dini Petty Show", a Canadian talk show, and talked about her role in Flipper and her general acting career. She began working on P.U.N.K.S., featuring Randy Quaid, in 1998. P.U.N.K.S. was just recently released on video in early January, 1999. In 1998, Jessica appeared in several TV shows for an episode or two. In early 1998, she appeared in "Brooklyn South", as Melissa. A few months later, she appeared in two episodes of "Beverly Hills 90210", as Leanne. And finally, she appeared in two episodes of "Love Boat: The Next Wave." She appeared in "Teen Magazine" in 1995 and various European magazines in the past several years. More importantly, she was just featured in the February, 1999, issue of "Vanity Fair". She also had major roles in two movies in the spring of 1999. Never Been Kissed released on April 9 and Idle Hands on April 23. In 2000, she played in Paranoia and Dark Angel. Her hit series Dark Angel is still going where Jessica Alba stars as Max, a genetically "enhanced" superhuman living in post-apocalyptic Seattle, WA.

In May 2001 she got Engaged to "Dark Angel" costar Michael Weatherly even though her parents were not amused when she first got engaged to 33-year-old Weatherly in 2001. She explains, "I'm like their baby girl. I mean, my dad was the man in my life, you know? And now he's not." The couple has had to fight age stereotypes from the media and public, as they found many disapproved of their 13 year age difference. Weatherly says, "People always have to make it sound so titillating. 'She's a minor!' No? Well, she's almost a minor. It's like people think my interest in Jessica could only be of a sexual nature, that it couldn't be emotional or intellectual. I find that really childish and mean-spirited."

She was Voted #4 in the Top 10 Sci-Fi Babes in 2002 for her role as Max in Dark Angel

"My first kiss was when I was 7, and it was scandalous because he was 10! I only did it so he would pick me on our neighborhood baseball team. And at the time, I thought it was great, but then it sucked because he didn't even pick me!"