Jessica Marie Alba (born April 28, 1981) is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994). Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel (2000–2002). Alba later appeared in various films including Honey (2003), Sin City (2005), Fantastic Four (2005), Into the Blue (2005), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Good Luck Chuck both in 2007.
Alba appears frequently on the "Hot 100" section of Maxim and was voted AskMen.com's number one on their list of "99 Most Desirable Women" in 2006, as well as "Sexiest Woman in the World" by FHM in 2007. The use of her image on the cover of the March 2006 Playboy sparked a lawsuit by her, which was later dropped. Alba has won various awards for her acting, including the Choice Actress Teen Choice Award and Saturn Award for Best Actress (TV) for her acting in the series Dark Angel, though her acting has also been criticized, as she has been nominated for numerous Razzie Awards as well.
Alba's charity work includes participation with Clothes Off Our Back, Habitat for Humanity, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Project HOME, RADD, Revlon Run/Walk for Women, SOS Children Villages, Soles4Souls, and Step up. Alba endorsed Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama during the 2008 primary season.
Alba posed for a bondage-themed print advertising campaign by Declare Yourself, a campaign encouraging voter registration among youth for the 2008 United States presidential election. The ads by photographer Mark Liddell, which feature Alba wrapped in and gagged with black tape, drew national media attention. Alba said of the advertisements, "It didn't freak me out at all."
In 2008, Alba appeared in her first horror-film role in The Eye, a remake of the Hong Kong original. In February, she hosted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences's Science and Technical Awards. Later in the year, she starred in The Love Guru. She has signed on to star in An Invisible Sign of My Own to be released in 2009.
