Taking it One Step at a Time
Jessica Marie Alba is one of the most sought after “A-listers” of today. With her beautiful curves and angelic face, she has caught the interest of audiences’ world wide. With a glimpse of her past however, we can see that this Hollywood vixen’s claim to fame didn’t simply come overnight. Evidently she has had her fair share of obstacles along the way.
As a child, Jessica was diagnosed with a number of physical maladies. She spent most of her days in and out of the hospital, and so never really had the chance to fit in with her fellow schoolmates. Reportedly, she came down with a case of pneumonia four to five times a year, had her lungs collapsed twice, suffered from a ruptured appendix, and developed a cyst in her tonsils. By the time she entered high school Jessica also started to show symptoms of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). It wasn’t until at sixteen, as she and her family moved to Southern California, when she made a complete recovery.
It’s said that Jessica had caught the acting bug when she was at the tender age of five. More than likely, due to her constant illnesses she was unable to pursue her acting dreams until later on in her life. When she turned twelve, however, Jessica was finally able to take her first acting lesson, and in just nine months she was cast in her first small role.
In 1993 Jessica was hired for two weeks as an extra for the feature film Camp Nowhere. It was only out of sheer luck, or maybe destiny, when one of the main actresses suddenly dropped out leaving Jessica fit for the role and thus extending her contract from two weeks to two months.
After Jessica finished with her first feature film she slowly but surely went up the acting ladder starting with television commercials. In 1994 she appeared in two nationwide commercials, both for Nintendo and J.C. Penny. A year later she decided to move up a notch and went into television shows. She starred in three episodes in the family series The Secret World of Alex Mack for Nickelodeon. In 1995 she played the role of Maya for the first two seasons of Flipper. It proved to be one of her most challenging roles at present since a great deal of physical activity was required. Luckily, being raised by a lifeguard mother, and being a certified PADI scuba diver, proved to be beneficial. Not only were Jessica’s early swimming lessons put to good use, playing Maya also gave Jessica a chance to show her skills in the water, a chance that she would also have later on while doing the movie Into the Blue. After Flipper Jessica got the chance to briefly appear on more mature television shows such as Chicago Hope and Beverly Hills 90210, both in 1998. She also made an appearance on an episode of Love Boat: The Next Wave prior to filming P.U.N.K.S. which was released on video in 1999.
By the time Jessica had earned her bones by committing to small roles on television she was more than ready to move into the Hollywood scene. 1999 proved to be a milestone for the young actress. She starred alongside Drew Barrymore in the romantic comedy Never Been Kissed, and a few months later got the main female part in the dark teenage comedy, Idle Hands.
She seemed to have turned a lot of heads after the two movies because in 2000 she was cast to star in her own television series, Dark Angel. Even though the show only lasted for two seasons Jessica’s looks and talent were already becoming well known. It wasn’t long after when movie projects started rolling in. And soon, Jessica found herself playing main roles in blockbuster hits such as both Fantastic Four movies and The Eye.
Seeing Jessica Alba’s rise to fame only goes to show that success comes with a little hard work. All we have to do is take it one step at a time.
