Jessica Alba Explains Why She Left Acting When She Was At The 'Top Of Her Career’

In the early days of her career, Jessica Alba was one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood, successfully climbing her way up the ladder following a 1990s timeframe where she was mostly associated with American TV series like Flipper and Dark Angel.

But the Noughties won Alba fans on a whole new level thanks to roles in nostalgic classics like Honey (2003), action hero blockbusters like The Fantastic Four (2005) and Sin City (2005), and commercially successful comedies like Valentine's Day (2010) and Little Fockers (2010).

As the years went on, Alba changed focus and in 2011 established her health and wellness business, Honest Beauty – which launched in the UK just two years ago –, cementing the actor as one of the pioneering celebrity wellness gurus, along with Gwyneth Paltrow.

The mother-of-three recently opened up to Romper magazine about what motivated her decision to take a step back from acting, saying that becoming pregnant with her first child Honour in 2008 caused her to re-evaluate how much health was her priority, stemming from her own family experiences.

Jessica Alba at the Venice Film Festival in 2011

'My mother had cancer at a really young age, in her early twenties. I grew up with chronic illness. I had five surgeries before I was 11 years old,' she explained. 'I had chronic allergies, and I was hospitalised a lot as a child.

'I had this real moment of, I want to live, and thrive, and spend as much time with this little person that I'm bringing into the world as possible and stay. So, my health matters. I want this little person to be healthy. And it's really freaking hard to be happy when you don't have your health.'

Alba acknowledged in the interview that the change in focus came at a time when she was, after years of grafting, at the 'top' of her career, yet that didn't affect her decision.

Jessica Alba at the New York Times’ Deal B%k event in 2014

'That's [my health] really what motivated me. My motivation was not like, "Am I ever going to get hired again?" Frankly, I was at the top of my career. I couldn't go back to what I was doing before and be authentic. I just couldn't. I didn't care about it the same way. It was something bigger.

'I felt like if I was going to have this platform, then what can I do with it that could be meaningful and make a difference? That just felt so real when I became a mum for the first time.'

Despite Alba's step into the wellness industry, she has continued to work on several movies and roles, but on a much more infrequent scale, recently joining the cast of TV series L.A's Finest playing one half of an LAPD power duo opposite Gabrielle Union.

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Olivia Blair

Entertainment Editor (Luxury)

Olivia Blair is Entertainment Editor (Luxury) at Hearst UK, working across ELLE, Esquire and Harper's Bazaar. Olivia covers all things entertainment and has interviewed the likes of Margot Robbie, Emma Stone, Michaela Coel and Ryan Gosling over the years.