Jessica was born in Pomona, California, April 28, 1981. As a young child, Jessica moved with her family to Biloxi, Mississippi. Three years later they moved to Del Rio, Texas, before finally settlling down in southern California when Jessica was nine. As early as five years old Jessica had always dreamed of becoming an actress. She took her first acting lessons at the age of 12 and just nine months later she was signed by an agent.

She made her feature film debut in 1993 in the Hollywood Pictures comedy 'Camp Nowhere'. She was originally hired for a short time but was lucky when one of the main actresses dropped out. It was her hair, which matched the original performer's. After 'Camp Nowhere' Jessica appeared in two commercials for Nintendo and J.C Penny. She branched out into television in 1994 with a recurring role in Nickelodeon's popular comedy series 'The Hidden World of Alex Mac'. Some time later she got the role of Maya for a pilot of 'Flipper'. In 1995 Jessica filmed the first season of 'Flipper' in Australia. After the success of the first season of 'Flipper' they filmed a second one in which Jessica also starred.

In 1996, Jessica played Young Eve in Venus Rising and acted as Maria in an episode of 'Chicago Hope'. Later in 1997, she appeared on the 'Dini Petty Show', a Canadian talk show, and talked about her role in Flipper and her acting career. In 1998, Jessica appeared in 'Brooklyn South', as Melissa and a few months later in two episodes of 'Beverly Hills 90210', as Leanne. She also played in an episode of 'Love Boat: The next Wave'. Later Jessica spent filming 'P.U.N.K.S'. The film was released on video in January, 1999.

As of 1999 Jessica Alba was getting more and more popular. She appeared in a huge number of magazines. She played a supporting role in the movie 'Never Been Kissed' which was released in spring. A month later she found herself with a lager role in Idle Hands, as Molly. After the release of those two movies, she landed the starring role in 'Paranoid'.

Jessica broke out in 2000 when James Cameron, the Academy Award winning producer of Titanic tapped her to star in Dark Angel, his FOX television series about a genetically enhanced human prototype who escaped her military handlers as a child who lives in a dreary, futuristic version of Seattle named Max Guevara. The series got off to a controversial start as FOX decided to run the season premiere opposite of the Presidential Debates, leading many too question the integrity of the network. The move certainly paid off for the show though, as it received huge ratings which have helped the series off to a much better start than the last FOX series to star a high profile female sex symbol, Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Was "Punk'd" (2003) on the Ashton Kutcher-hosted MTV show in 2003. Dax Shepard showed up fully nude at a clothing store Jessica was patronizing, following Miss Alba around the store and exposing his "business" to the blushing actress as she tried to shop for clothes. Jessica was a good sport after being informed it was all a practical joke, taped for the popular hidden- camera show.

Playboy magazine named her among its 25 Sexiest Celebrities, and the Sex Star of the Year in its March 2006 issue, on whose cover she appeared. Alba was involved in a litigation against Playboy for its use of her image (from a promotional shot for Into the Blue (2005)) without her consent, which she contends gave the appearance that she was featured in the issue in a "nude or semi-nude pictorial." However she later dropped the lawsuit after receiving a personal apology from Playboy owner Hugh M. Hefner, who also agreed to make donations to two charities that she has supported.