'Family Has Always Come First For Me'

Actress and Entrepreneur Jessica Alba Talks About Running Her Billion-dollar Company, the Importance of Family, and Her Latest Role

In addition to a stellar TV and film career, Jessica Alba has also gone on to prove herself as a successful entrepreneur. She started her own business, The Honest Company in 2012, after her first daughter was born because she wanted to make non-toxic household products more accessible. Not only is the Honest Company now estimated to be worth $1 billion, but she also has a lead role in L.A’s Finest – a spin-off series of the Bad Boys film franchise – which has been renewed for a second season and is set to air in 2020. Jessica and her film-producer husband, Cash Warren, live in Los Angeles with their two daughters and a son. I was brought up to be independent and self-empowered.

Even as a little girl I used to tell everyone that I was never going to get married and that I would always take care of myself. I might be married now, but I never lost sight of wanting to achieve as much as possible as a woman. My mother was always a role model for that; she worked at least three jobs minimum to provide for the family. My parents worked day and night and they were both equal parts of the family unit: I grew up in an environment where equality was very present.

As a child, I was in and out of the hospital a couple times a month.