Jessica Alba: ‘I know that my looks were my path into Hollywood’


Jessica Alba has a new extensive interview and photo spread of her home in Hello! Magazine. She comes across well, as she has for some time now. It seems like Alba’s insufferable days are well behind her, and she’s settled into a nice routine as a mom and business owner. In the piece, Alba is promoting The Honest Company and her book, The Honest Life. She talks about eco-friendly home products, which are her bread and butter, and about being a wife and mother, which is also her bread and butter. Alba is a brand now, and she’s selling us her environmentally conscious lifestyle. She’s worked to make it affordable for people, and that’s really saying something when it comes to a celebrity product.

On her family
We’re a happy family. When I first met Cash, I felt like I’d known him my whole life. And my parents are a pretty good example of showing me it could work. They got together when they were 16 and 17 years old and are still happily married.

On her husband
Cash is great. He’s the best father ever. He loves preparing meals for Honor and taking her out to play if I’m with the baby, or just feeling a bit tired at the end of the day. He’ll sit and watch children’s movies with Honor and teach her different things – it’s really beautiful to watch them together.

On how she’s the disciplinarian in their house
From my own experience, I know it’s important for me to make sure Honor grows up knowing what is proper behavior and good manners. I don’t want to see her growing up into a younger version of myself!

On her career
Before I started my family, acting was my total focus in life. I know that my looks were my path into Hollywood, but I never really enjoyed the kind of attention that comes with the [sex symbol] image. I was very hungry to have a serious career and now I’m able to do both family films and darker kinds of movies. It’s the best of both worlds for me.

I’m finally comfortable in my own skin – I can embrace the idea of being a sexy and self-confident woman.

I also have different priorities as a mother. I’m not afraid to turn down film roles now if I feel I need to spend more time with my children.

[From Hello! Magazine, print edition, July 29, 2013]

Alba’s career has definitely been on the wane lately, and that’s not exactly because she’s busy with her family. She sounds a little like Goop here when she talks about her career, although more well rounded and realistic. Alba built her career as the “sexy” castmember, and those type of roles tend to get replaced with younger women. She sounds both grateful for that recognition and wary of it. This isn’t new from her. It was smart of her to start her own business, and I like that Alba doesn’t try to dictate to the masses how to live. She has her way of doing things and she wants to share it, not make it into some way of life we’re supposed to aspire to.

Jessica Alba is shown at a book signing on 7-9-13. She’s also shown out with her family on 7-21-13. Credit: WENN.com, FameFlynet and PCNPhotos

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80 Responses to “Jessica Alba: ‘I know that my looks were my path into Hollywood’”

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  1. Lflips says:

    Yeah, and when they fade they will be your path out.

    • Jules says:

      Well her acting talent won’t keep here there!

      • Memory30 says:

        Agree. She’s a horrible actress.

      • Kcaia says:

        I think the only movie I ever liked her in was Idle Hands, which was a funny, pothead movie. Nobody knew who she was then and I thought she was one of the prettiest actresses I’d seen. It actually made me resent her when she got huge, bc she wasn’t the pretty unknown anymore.

      • apsutter says:

        Yea, she’s a terrible actress. She’s had years of practice now and she’s still just as bad.

  2. ADD says:

    “I’m not afraid to turn down film roles now…” Hahahahahahahahahahahah (breath) hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

  3. GoldenState says:

    Ya know….I actually really like her Honest company line. As a single girl with sensitive skin, her body wash isn’t too drying for my face, and I love the scent. (Even Johnson& Johnson Baby wash is too drying for me!) I wasn’t a huge fan of Alba, but I like her a little more for this company.

  4. Lilly says:

    What awful thing Alba ever do? I dont recall any horrible behavior. I think she just had the type of hotness that allienates/threatens a certain type of woman. As she ages she becomes less of a threat and therefore more relatable. Ditto ScarJo and company. But yeah, I never had an issue with her.

    • Buckwild says:

      +1

    • Mia 4S says:

      Well beyond the whole pasting a shark poster over a United Way billboard (which just showed she was a moron more than anything else) Vancouver is full of stories of her being a massive bitch during the filming of her TV show (and even after its cancellation) I buy that she’s been somewhat humbled as her acting career has turned into nothing but she burned A LOT of bridges.

      • Samtha says:

        Yep–there were TONS of horror stories from the Dark Angel era. She could have grown up since then, though.

      • Xera says:

        Her company tied to shut down the hilarious “Honest todler” blog a few weeks ago, as they seem to think that they have trademarked the adjective…even though the blog predates them. I’d say her attitude hasn’t really improved on issue that matter

    • Elle says:

      Go to Lainey and then go through the Jessica Alba thread.

    • Leah says:

      Yeah i dont get why one would be offended by her. She would actually be on the side of bland and inoffensive if anything. I think people or women perhaps were threatened by her perfect looks, but she never struck me as the sort of girl who was full of herself. Like Megan Fox at the height of her fame. Actually when you read this post she seems pretty realistic about why she succeeded in hollywood in the first place.

    • TG says:

      No her beauty didn’t alienate me her arrogance did. She can not acknowledge that she sucks as an actor and the more intelligent she tries to sound theory obvious it is that she is dumb. I think she is absolutely gorgeous but she belongs on print not movies. As a general rule I refuse to buy products of celebrities.

      • Joblow says:

        Every second celebrity is now a “fashion designer” Katie Holmes, Nicole Ritchie, Jessica Simpson, posh Beckham. It seems to be a goto career for the talentless. If i were a talented fashion designer i would be pissed of these celebrites making a mockary of my art

    • Tapioca says:

      Good actors never use the script unless it’s amazing writing. All the good actors I’ve worked with, they all say whatever they want to say.”

      “Alba does, however, offer one clinical reason as to why [her movies] bombed. She whispers it: “First-time directors.””

      Just two of the reasons she’s no longer first choice for “hot girlfriend” and her career tanked. Which is not to say she’s a horrible person – just a stupid and rather delusional one!

      • Leah says:

        Out of all the stupid and delusional people in hollywood i just dont see why she would elicit such a response. By the evidence you are listing her offences are rather minor. She is hardly the first beautiful young thing who thinks she is more of an actress than she is and wants a serious acting career. Its a rites of passage in hollywood that pretty young things think they act and get above their station. And to be fair those interviews are made when she was much younger. She appears to have wised up now, i dont give a rats ass about her acting career, but i appreciate her green business ideas.

      • Bridget says:

        Don’t forget ”don’t call me Latina” – a lot of people were actually really offended.

      • Tapioca says:

        @Leah:

        “It’s a rites of passage in Hollywood that pretty young things think they act and get above their station.”

        And how many of them can you name who are still working? Jessica probably gets a negative reponse because she’s been lucky enough to have found her “yummy mummy” niche and been able to spin a new career out of it, therefore she’s still around to provide a target.

        I personally have nothing against her, but the mind boggles at her naivety. She was 29 when she made those comments – easily old enough to know not to bite the hand that feeds!

    • Bridget says:

      I forgot, we women don’t like anyone prettier than ourselves.

      Jessica Alba had a great shot at a big acting career and it didn’t take because she’s not a very good actress. It’s kind of harsh, but very true, amd of course she never helped matters by having a terrible attitude. Either way, I still won’t forgive anyone for Good Luck Chuck.

      • Lilly says:

        Read the comments carefully. CERTAIN TYPES of women hate other women merely for being hot. Deeply insecure women. Fact.

      • QQ says:

        Oh Yeah Bridget that whole dont call me a latina and Mexicans are always having a million babies But then Pandering in the cover of Latina magazine, Trust me, we havent gotten over Miseralba

      • TheOriginalKitten says:

        She’s a beautiful girl and I think if we’re all being honest, we can admit that, but she’s a shitty actress. Sorry if that doesn’t gel with your narrative, Lilly, but it’s the truth.

        That being said, I respect and applaud her for starting a company that creates eco-friendly products. My advice to her is to work on that and leave her acting career in the far, far past.

      • Raquel says:

        *rolls eyes*. I’m sorry, I know you didn’t mean it like that, but I find it obnoxious how, whenever women criticize a female celebrity, someone always has to attribute at least a little of it to the ‘jealousy factor.’ It has a very chauvinistic edge to it.

        There are plenty of gorgeous celebrities that don’t generate criticism from the bulk of women, but when one does, everyone just talks as if women were incapable of disliking someone on the basis of something other than petty cattiness. Frankly, even if you are a fan of Alba, there was plenty of substantial things she did in her youth that were valid reasons not to like her–the self-hating Mexican thing not the least.

        Men get so much more leeway when it comes to criticizing male celebs they don’t like. Why can’t we just assume that grown women, who are fans of plenty of celebs who are far more beautiful than them, can not like a beautiful woman for valid reasons?

      • GByeGirl says:

        I’m with Raquel. We can dislike beautiful or unattractive women without it being about jealousy. We are more than our appearances.

        Personally, I’m neutral on Alba. I like and dislike people for a variety of reasons…their looks only come into play if that person is a potential or current sex partner.

    • Whatwhatnot says:

      I used to like her during her earlier career, when she was on the new Flipper and thought she was gorgeous. Then I stated reading her interviews where somehow her ethnicity would come into question and she would seem to try to distance herself from her Mexican roots. Then she started outright making disparaging comments and coming off as ashamed of her Mexican half. That turned off many of us in the Latino community. I was over her. Sometime after marrying Cash and having her first, she was hanging out with Eva Longoria and seeing how Eva, JLo, Michelle Rodriguez and other Latinas were being accepted in Hollywood, she kind of changed her tune. I think Eva had a positive influence on her and her thought process on her heritage. She even told a magazine that she was having Honor learn Spanish to get in touch with her roots and was doing interviews with Latina Magazine. I think time and motherhood has toned her down and made her more down to earth. I kind of like her again. She still isn’t the greatest actress though.

      • cs says:

        I do remember that “she didn’t look at herself as a Latina”. I kept thinking this girl is delusional considering she has an olive complexion. She certainly didn’t look like Cameron Diaz who’s half Cuban.

        Her Husband is half Black (Actor Michael Warren’s son). I kept wondering what she would say to her daughters if they were born her father-in-laws complexion.

        She still doesn’t irk me like GOOP.

    • Hubbahun says:

      Agreed – and she’s gorgeous!

    • Raquel says:

      When she was in her prime, she was quite the spoilt Hollywood brat. The kind you could tolerate if she had the talent and professionalism to back it up–but, as she herself pointed out, her career ran on looks and a resume of sultry characters alone. No one likes a talentless hack with a puffed-up ego, no matter how pretty the packaging.

      Of course, now, she is more grounded. I’ve noticed that parenthood does that to a lot of insufferable celebrities (Angelina, most notably), though certainly not all (Goopy, brunette Goopy). Who knows? Personally, I don’t think she has the chops to carry a career past the sex symbol stage…definitely not to the A-lists. She was ok in her ‘serious role’ in ‘Awake’, but merely ‘ok’–not nearly good enough to make me think she could pull off complex characters in hardcore movies on a regular basis. But, she might make a decent supporting-cast actress in dramas. Grounded celebs are hard to come by (though, not as hard as they used to be), so that might make the public like her more.

      • Just So says:

        I feel dumb: who is “brunette Goopy”?

        Re her ability to take on more complex characters, I thought she was pretty good in The Killer Inside Me opposite Casey Affleck.

      • Raquel says:

        Oh, you’re not dumb. “Brunette Goopy” is my epithet for Natalie Portman. Except, of the two, Portman is probably the more insufferable twit, so perhaps Paltrow should be “the blonde Amidala.”

        I’ve never seen the KIM–It’s IMDB profile looks good. I should have a movie night; maybe it will change my mind about Alba’s acting.

  5. Micki says:

    …”I know that my looks were my path into Hollywood, “….

    Shhh…quiet!
    The good looks completely spoiled Jennifer Biel’s career! Don’t say it again

    • Hautie says:

      “Shhh…quiet! …. The good looks completely spoiled Jennifer Biel’s career! Don’t say it again”
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Hahahaha!

    • bluhare says:

      Oh Micki . . . . “Jennifer’s” going to be so mad at you for that. 😀

  6. Harriet says:

    Lol. Darker more serious roles?! She needs to chill out and forget about acting. Like Victoria Beckham finally realising she isn’t a singer, and then just working on her brand!

    I don’t like her. Her more ‘ non aspirational’ approach rattles me more than goop because it’s more studied and artificial than someone who just speaks their mind.

    • apsutter says:

      I think Victoria always knew that she wasn’t a singer. She got her start and put out some solo stuff but she’s never seemed confident with her voice and that line of work. I think she’s given some interviews where she admits as much. Anyways, her line is her niche and more power to her because there are some gorgeous clothes coming out from her.

  7. Neelyo says:

    I’m all for her hawking crap if it keeps her from ‘acting’.

  8. cs says:

    I don’t believe she and Cash Warren were together since teenagers. I recall her being engaged to her co-star on that TV series she starred in. I can’t remember the Actor’s name. But she was around 20 when they were together, Cash came later. But they’ve been together much longer than people predicted.
    They seem like a Happy Family.

  9. GeeMoney says:

    Good for her… I’ve always liked her since she was on Dark Angel. She may not be the best actress on the planet, but she’s always come off as very likable.

    And those neon shoes are cute, even if they don’t really match her outfit.

    • Betty says:

      I thought she did a great job on “Dark Angel” too. Perhaps she could do more film roles where she mostly kick ass and doesn’t have to get too deep with her acting. If Zoe Saldana could do it in a film like “Colombiana,” I think Jessica is capable also.

  10. NeNe says:

    Good thing she’s pretty, because personally, I think she couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag!!!

  11. Barrett says:

    Her daughter, Honor, looks so much like Cash. The younger one is A cutey. Well at least Jessica can leverage something. They have to hustle to keep the lifestyle when the tv shows and movies disappear.

  12. coe says:

    Not that they are comparable, but I will take GOOP any day over Alba. At least she is genuine in her ridiculousness, not trying to pass off as someone else. Plus, where Alba’s acting abilities are not even worth the time to critique, GOOP actually has some acting capabilities.

  13. Lucy2 says:

    She says that like she still being offered film roles but I don’t think that’s the case.
    Either way, I agree it was smart of her to branch out into other businesses and create a new career for herself.

  14. Samtha says:

    That child has no eyebrows. Sorry, it’s all I can see.

  15. RHONYC says:

    her newest baby is ADORBZ!!!

    she’s like a lil’ redhead version on Jessica. like Pebbles from ‘The Flintstones’! loves it!

    cute young fam. good for them. 😉

  16. nana lu says:

    Yea your looks Jessica, because it definitely wasn’t your acting!! Because you are sooo beautiful.. and soooo perfect and soooo BLAH!!!!!!!!!!. UGH..give me a break. Talk about being Pretentious!!!

    Jessica your acting is laughable and so is everything that comes out of your mouth.

    Jessica isthe MOST ANNOYING .. . some Latina you are!

  17. Jennifer12 says:

    She’s pretty, but not beautiful in the way Angelina Jolie is. And she was constantly posing or in films in skimpy clothing, bikinis, or underwear. Seems like a choice.

  18. Lisa says:

    Damn, ladies. She’s just being honest. Hollywood places a high premium on beauty. and most people rely on their looks to at least get them in the door.

  19. Happy21 says:

    I guess I’m the only one here who just doesn’t find her that pretty. Maybe I’d have to see her in person to fully appreciate the outer beauty she has because I just don’t really see it. She’s not ugly by any stretch of the imagination but I just don’t see her being all that.

    • A says:

      She was prettier before she had kids.
      I probably shouldn’t say this but a lot of times women’s faces change after they have babies, for the worse. Sunken in cheeks and eyes and loss of youthful fat and glow in the faces.
      it obviously doesn’t help if you lose too much weight either but generally women’s faces (and bodies) change for the worse after kids.
      Obviously this is not true for all but it’s just something I’ve noticed.

      • Joblow says:

        I dont think your look change when you have kids, they seem but be no biological evidence for your theory, but celebrities tend to have children in the late 20s and thats the time scientist believe looks start to fade as fertility begins to drop. Not for all women but for some. Thats what i read. Dont know if i agree.

  20. Jenna says:

    I have never really cared one way or another about Alba, but once I had kids I started getting a lot of info from Healthy Child Healthy World and became a fan of Chris Gavigan. Since she started her company with him, I decided to give it a try. I figure that guy would never put his name on something that was just a piece of crap being schilled by a celeb. I’m glad I did, I actually love the products.

  21. MaryBeth says:

    I can’t stand her and it is mainly because she is an absolutely HORRIBLE ACTRESS; if you can even call her that. And looks fade. Ugh………!!!!

  22. Meaghan says:

    I love that outfit with the orange top and green shoes. I normally hate those colours but I want both.

  23. TOPgirl says:

    Even though her acting sucks…at least she’s a responsible mother.

  24. Mia says:

    I like this interview. She knows and acknowledges that she got where she was based on her looks. She seems humble and well acquainted with reality and she’s still pretty. I like that her Honest Company products aren’t ridiculously priced.

  25. Mitch Buchanan Rocks! says:

    Cash’s pa Michael Warren was on Hill Street Blues – very good looking fella – can see where Cash gets his hotness from.

  26. Nubiahbella says:

    Funny, I don’t find her to be special lookwise. they are more beautiful actresses who have made a name for themselves in Hollyweird.

    Her so called path to hollyweird is manly due to a good PR team who managed to elevate her to that statue and people just ate that up. She came at that right time, when latina beauties were in high demand. The trend more or less faded and without talent or good movies, she just faded away too.

  27. K-Rock says:

    Other than her looks she is quite boring. I’m not throwing shade, I’m just saying there’s really not much substance there.

  28. Norman says:

    Though she admits that she will never be seen as a great actor which is a truism she has an act other than acting. She is one of the few actors who has maintained a business that has not failed like so many others have. Jessica Alba is the hottest girl in Hollywood, 32 and she still takes the others to school.

  29. Relli says:

    IS this why she is doing LegalZoom commercials now?

  30. lisa says:

    other terrible actresses find work. a lot of parts arent exactly lady macbeth and she’s beautiful. either she doesnt like what she is offered or she has a reputation for being difficult.

  31. VioletCrumble says:

    No shit, Jessica?

  32. umyeah says:

    Her products don’t work. Speaking from experience. They mold, discolor, separate. Yuck. I would be embarrassed to be hawking this stuff. I am all for natural organic stuff, but her honest line is awful.

  33. Bogz says:

    Yes Raquel!!! I never dislike anyone for being good looking! I just don’t like assholes and that is what she used to act like.