Jessica Alba

Jessica and her brother were raised in an Air Force family. Her father's postings took them to Biloxi Mississippi, and Del Rio, Texas. As a young child Jessica suffered from episodes of ill-health. When the family eventually returned to California, Jessica's health recovered.

Jessica wanted to be an actress from a very early age, and started acting lessons when 12. Just a year later, an agent signed her up. After a couple of smaller parts, she came to the public's attention in 1995 for her role in the TV series Flipper, filmed in Australia.

She successfully made the transition from child-star to adult roles with two movie parts in Idle Hands (1999) and Never Been Kissed (1999). Next came the biggest hit of her short career, playing a genetically-engineered teen in the FOX sci-fi series Dark Angel.

After a couple of quieter years, Jessica rebounded to the screen as the stripper Nancy Callahan in the dark and moody Sin City. More roles in big budget movies followed, with parts in Into the Blue and Fantastic Four.