These days, people are becoming parents at a later age, with many starting families in their 30s. But for Alba’s parents, however, the pair had married as teenagers and had two children by the time they were 20 and 21! Alba, too, was well aware that her family unit operated a little differently from that of her peers.
She even commented about it to “Rolling Stone” Magazine saying it felt as though they all grew up together. It seems it clicked for Alba that she was destined for the limelight as young as five years old when she told her parents she wanted to act. While every five-year-old has some whimsical idea of what they’ll be when they grow up, Alba’s turned out to be true!
A Modest Upbringing
Like many big names in Hollywood, Jessica Alba didn’t exactly come from money. She was born to parents who were perhaps a little too young to welcome a baby daughter into the world, her father is Mexican-American and her mother has Danish and French roots. Definitely an interesting combination!
With her parents changing careers a number of times, it’s clear that the pair weren't born with a silver spoon. Despite their rather difficult start to life together, Alba claims she never felt that she belonged to that lifestyle. She has admitted to always having a sense of entitlement, feeling like she was a royal born into the wrong family, and that nobody knew it but her.
She Should’ve Joined the Breakfast Club
It seems that Alba would've fit right in with the misfits in the 80s classic film "The Breakfast Club". Her need for praise and respect from her peers translated into a rebellious attitude from a young age. One particular incident marked the beginning of this rebellion against authority when she was just a little girl.
After her teacher found her writing with her left hand (something this teacher apparently had a problem with), he forced Alba to write with her right hand. To Alba, it made no sense – and since then, Alba confesses she has had a big problem with authority.
Never Really Fitting In
Alba's background is part Danish, French, and Mexican. But despite her exotic looks, Alba struggled with the fact she was of diverse ancestry – she felt as though she never could really fit in or identify with a single culture. Did you know she felt shunned from the Latin community for not being Latin enough?
It was this feeling of not belonging that spurred Alba into action, and she had a deep burning ambition to make something of herself and prove that she was so much more than where she came from. She really wanted to show that she doesn't need to fit in — that she was born to stand out.
In the Name of the Father
Alba had a rather strict Christian upbringing, which meant that she lived by a certain set of rules that limited her “freedom.” We’re talking about curfews and fulfilling certain obligations, like praying. Not to mention the modesty part: no physical intimacy before marriage is an extremely important tenet in Christian families, Alba’s included.
She realized that she was being looked at differently to the other girls, and wasn’t particularly fond of all the attention – so much so that she confided in her youth pastor. Unfortunately, the pastor only commented on how Alba should dress less provocatively, causing her self-esteem to drop even more.