She’s one of Hollywood’s hottest actresses with a legion admirers.But Jessica Alba has revealed she only finally came to terms with her feminine side when she entered her thirties because she was ‘aggressive and super-masculine’ throughout her younger years.
Posing in a plunging white playsuit on the cover of Cosmopolitan UK’s April issue, the 42-year-old mother-of-two admitted not understanding the ‘sensual’ side to her personality held her back for a long time in her life.
Jessica explained: ‘Most of my life, I identified more with my masculine side. I was aggressive and super-masculine in my twenties.
‘I got boobs when I was young, and was like, “What do I do?” Even when I did Dark Angel, I was like [cartoon character] Daria – moody, slouching. I didn’t feel comfortable and felt angry, like an imposter.
‘I learnt to be cool with the feminine later. When I turned 30, I thought, “Oh, I’m feminine, I’m this sensual person and it’s OK”.
‘I didn’t understand it for so long and felt it held me back. I had to shed all the negativity. I was a glass half-empty girl – now I’m a glass half-full.’
Jessica, who raises daughters Honor, seven, and Haven, four, with film producer Cash Warren, also weighed into the Hollywood gender pay gap, admitting it’s a ‘man’s world’ and ‘girls should have an equal seat at the table’.
She said: ‘Women don’t get equal pay. There are not as many women in government positions or business positions. It’s just not equal. And until there is equality, you’re going to feel that, in any industry. But I was like, girls should have an equal seat at the table.
‘Take Jennifer Lawrence. I mean, she’s opening films – she’s the box-office draw just as much as any guy, if not more. She should be compensated for that.
‘It’s a man’s world. From an early age I wanted to be stronger than the boys. It wasn’t enough that I was as good as the girls; I looked at the boys as standard. I was competitive with men. ‘I think it’s because men dominated in so many ways in my life. I wanted to be the person who dictated how things were going to be and not have to answer to the man.’
Jessica has now carved out a successful niche as an entrepreneur thanks to her eco-friendly commerce organisation, The Honest Company.
Valued at at $1.7 billion as of August 2015, The Honest Company offers a collection of toxin-free household goods, diapers, and body care products.
And while the Sin City star has seen her company go from strength-to-strength since its inception back in 2012, she has explained ‘no one in Hollywood’ would help her with her venture.
Jessica told Cosmopolitan: ‘No one would help me in Hollywood. The people I knew had no idea how to put together a business plan, execute day to day or manufacture from scratch.
‘I relied on my husband and his entrepreneurial spirit. He introduced me to my business partner, Christopher Gavigan, who built the business model on the idea. But it took a long time.
‘It’s about surrounding yourself with the right people, those who are smarter than you. You need executors, visionaries, experts, all of it.