Jessica Marie Alba (born April 28, 1981)^[1] is an American television and film actress and model. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 inCamp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994). Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel (2000–2002).^[2][3]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 Surferand Good Luck Chuck both in 2007.^[4][5]

Alba was born in Pomona, California,^[1] to Catherine (née Jensen) and Mark Alba. Her mother is of Danish and French Canadian descent and her father is of Mexican ancestry.^[12] She has a younger brother,Joshua. Her father's Air Force career took the family to Biloxi, Mississippi and Del Rio, Texas, before settling back in Claremont, California, when she was nine years old.^[3][12] Alba described her family as being a "very conservative family – a traditional, Catholic, Latin American family" and herself as very liberal; she says she had identified herself as a "feminist" as early as age five.^[13]

Alba expressed interest in acting since the age of five. In 1992, the 11-year-old Alba persuaded her mother to take her to an acting competition in Beverly Hills, whose grand prize was free acting classes. Alba won the grand prize, and took her first acting lessons. An agent signed Alba nine months later.^[3][18][19] 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 when one of the prominent actresses dropped out.^[2]