Once upon a time, Jessica Alba seemed poised for superstardom, tearing up both television
and movies with a series of hits that had fans screaming for more.
Beautiful, talented, popular — what didn't Alba seem to have going for her?
But instead of an unstoppable career, she suddenly dropped off the map.
Here's a look at why Hollywood won't cast Jessica Alba anymore.
The Invisible Woman
Alba's biggest claim to fame is probably her role in 2005's Sin City, where she shared
the screen with a huge ensemble cast that included mega-stars like Bruce Willis and
Clive Owen.
Sin City proved to be a massive hit, but her reign at the top was incredibly brief, because
just a couple months later, Fantastic Four came out.
Though it was a modest box office success, critics savaged the film, and the experience
of making it caused Alba to re-evaluate whether she even wanted to be an actress at all after
director Tim Story berated her for actually acting too well during a crying scene.
"God, really?!"
Instead, he wanted to actually add tears in post-production using CGI.
Alba told Elle, "It all got me thinking: Am I not good enough?
Are my instincts and my emotions not good enough?
Do people hate them so much that they don't want me to be a person?
Am I not allowed to be a person in my work?
And so I just said, 'F*** it.
I don't care about this business anymore.'"
That may explain why Alba hasn't made a memorable movie since.
Exotic
Hollywood hasn't always had the greatest track record when it comes to casting diversity,
so you may not be surprised to hear that Alba's choice of roles has been limited by her heritage.
She told PopSugar that she wasn't considered Caucasian enough to play white roles, or Hispanic
enough to play Latina roles.
"And then when I did start, you know, getting a lot of roles and auditioning, they couldn't
figure out my ethnicity.
So they would --- I would always go out for 'exotic.'"
So much for show business being color blind.
The bomb squad
It's safe to say that Alba's films don't always get good reviews.
Or often.
Or, like… ever.
In fact, of the 29 movies she's made that have enough reviews to qualify for a Rotten
Tomatoes score, only three of them have a fresh rating, which is kind of incredible.
Mathematically speaking, you'd expect random chance would give her at least a few decent
roles.
And over the years, Alba herself has been singled out for being particularly bad in
those films, landing Razzie nominations in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2011, when she finally
won for Worst Supporting Actress.
Which is understandable given even she seems a little confused at times just what role
she's supposed to be playing.
"We also both know that I'm just not anybody.
Am I Dumbledore?"
No, Jessica, this is Dumbledore.
Business before pleasure
After becoming disillusioned with the film industry, Alba turned her attention in other
directions, such as raising her two children.
In 2008, after using a popular detergent specifically for kids, one of her children developed a
painful rash.
The incident inspired Alba to found The Honest Company, which makes affordable, environmentally
friend, non-toxic household goods.
The Honest Company officially launched in 2011, and by 2015, was valued at nearly two
billion dollars.
It hasn't all been organic roses, though.
In 2016, the Wall Street Journal accused The Honest Company of false advertising, and the
company has faced multiple lawsuits.
Alba chalks it up to the downside of being a celebrity.
"If an organization wants to bring awareness to their cause, I'm an easy target and our
brand is an easy target..."
Don't call it a comeback
Despite everything, Alba has been keeping her foot in the door by appearing in smaller
film roles.
And she still has a large fan following.
So it's not a matter of whether she can make a comeback, it's just a question of whether
she wants too.
"you still haven't greenlit
my passion project!"
While she has said in the past that she's open to doing more movies in the future, it
seems like it'll take the perfect film to bring her out of semi-retirement.
In other words: don't call her, Hollywood, she'll call you.
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