Jessica Alba
An actress switches to the beauty business
Today Jessica Alba is one thing above all else – a successful beauty entrepreneur.
© Birdie Thompson / AdMedia / ImageCollect
Jessica Alba celebrates 40th birthday. You can’t see the number visually. No wonder, because she is a full professional in the beauty sector.
Whether as a dancer, stripper, superhero or agent: Jessica Alba (40) has stood in front of the cameras of well-known directors for years and slipped into a wide variety of roles. There is no question that acting helped her gain international fame early on. However, she was never able to achieve great success in the film world. Today the American earns her living primarily in the beauty business, is a full-time mom with three children and a real Instagram favorite. Has she completely turned her back on Hollywood?
Isn’t acting the real thing?
Jessica Alba, born in Pomona, California, has been interested in acting since she was a child. The first acting competition followed at the age of only eleven, appearances in commercials and small roles in independent films were not long in coming. Her big breakthrough came as genetically manipulated super soldier Max Guevara in the science fiction series “Dark Angel” produced by James Cameron (66). Alba played the main role in 42 episodes from 2000 to 2002, and even learned to ride a motorcycle. Her commitment was rewarded in 2001 with the People’s Choice Award and the Teen Choice Award.
In 2003, Alba landed her first box office hit with the dance film “Honey”. Then the actress was seen in 2005 as a superhero in “Fantastic Four”. In the same year she was in front of the camera with Paul Walker (1973-2013) for “Into the Blue”. However, Alba could not really convince the critics. In 2006 she was nominated for the award no movie star would want to find in his trophy collection: the Golden Raspberry, also known as the Anti-Oscar. Not Alba’s only nomination …
In both 2008 and 2009 she was again listed in the “Worst Actress” category, including for the films “Awake” (2007), “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” (2007), “The Lucky Charm” (2007), “The Eye” (2008) and “The Love Guru” (2008). In 2011 Alba had to accept the negative award for better or worse, this time as “Worst Supporting Actress” in four films: “The Killer Inside Me” (2010), “My Wife, Our Children and Me” (2010), “Machete” (2010 ) and “Valentine’s Day” (2010). By then, at the latest, Alba also realized: Acting didn’t want to work out right. It was initially quiet around the American.
Everyday life as a mother of three
However, Alba’s film projects cannot be described as completely unsuccessful. In addition to her growing popularity, she also met the love of her life on the film set of “Fantastic Four”: the producer Cash Warren (42). The two tied the knot in May 2008 and have been inseparable ever since. Their three children Honor (* 2008), Haven (* 2011) and Hayes (* 2017) made the family perfect.
Whether the mouth of son Hayes smeared with the blueberry smoothie or Dance videos with her two daughters: Alba has been sharing her everyday life as a full-time mom with her followers on Instagram for several years. Their fan base grew steadily. Almost 19 million people follow the actress’s life there.
Arrived as an entrepreneur in the beauty business
Above all, Alba uses social media to live out her passion for cosmetics. In 2012, she and her business partner Chris Gavigan founded The Honest Company, which sells household, personal care and beauty items. The special thing about it: the products are ecological and free from toxins. How did Alba come up with the idea?
“When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I suddenly asked myself: What am I actually treating my body with? What do I eat? How do I design my home? And how could this affect the health of the child that is growing inside me ? And that’s when I started to research, “Alba explained in 2019 Interview with the “Handelsblatt”.
Today Alba invests around 60 to 70 percent of her working time in her own beauty empire. This always benefits The Honest Beauty. The company now generates three-digit million sales annually and has developed into a successful brand. At first, she didn’t necessarily believe that Alba would one day be so successful in this business. “As an actress, you put yourself in the shoes of another person and immerse yourself in their world. Being an entrepreneur is more like running a household: you make money, you have living expenses, you have to pay bills. to make provisions for bad days. ”
At the same time, the 40-year-old wants to be a role model for many women. “Men are told their whole life that they could become anything,” she told the “Handelsblatt” on. Women, on the other hand, would grow up differently. “They learn that everything has to be perfect before they even show someone their plans. (…) But: You only learn when you start. That’s why you shouldn’t wait until perfection. It always feels better, to have achieved anything at all but to be left with nothing. ”