Because Jessica Alba’s father was in the Air Force, the Alba family did their fair share of moving. Jessica Alba was born in Pomona, California but soon relocated to Biloxi, Mississippi. Later, the Alba family packed their bags for Del Rio, Texas. It wasn’t until Jessica Marie Alba was nine that she and her family finally settled in southern California.

She always enjoyed acting while growing up.  She took her first acting class when she was 12, and was signed by an agent by the time she was 13.

Her movie debut came in 1993 in Camp Nowhere. She was hired for a minor part, but because one of the lead actresses dropped out, she took her place.  She got the role because she had the same hair as the other actress.

Over the next few years, she appeared in commercials, other small movie parts (e.g., Venus Rising (1994)) and television (e.g., episodes of The Secret World of Alex Mack, Chicago Hope, etc.).

In 1995, she received her first “big break” in television, when she a lead role in the television series Flipper, which lasted through 1997. She was nominated for the YoungStar Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Daytime TV Program for her role in flipper.

She appeared in various television shows and several movies over the next few years. Then in 2000, she had her next big break, once again in television, when she received the role of Max Guevara in the television series Dark Angel and instantly became a cult heroin, although the show was cancelled in early 2002.  She has received a few awards for her role, including: 2001 TV Guide Award for Breakout Star of the Year, 2001 Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television and the 2001 ALMA Special Achievement Award for Breakthrough Actress of the Year.  Some of the award nominations also include: 2001 Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Leading Young Actress, 2001 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Drama, 2001 ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a New Television Series, 2002 Saturn Award for Best Actress in a Television Series, 2002 ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Series

In 2005 she appeared in  few movies.  She played a sexy dancer in the comic book adaptation of Sin City. Then she was in another comic adaptation, the summer blockbuster movie, Fantastic Four where she played the part of Susan (Storm) Richards - The Invisible Woman.