Jessica Alba: ‘I Was Never the Girl Who They Marketed’
Jessica Alba for the March 2016 issue of Cosmopolitan. (Photo: Tesh/Cosmopolitan)
Honest Company founder Jessica Alba is worth more than Beyoncé or Jennifer Lawrence last year, as estimated by Forbes — but the beauty mogul, mother, and actress told Cosmopolitan in the March 2016 issue that becoming a household name tycoon didn’t happen automatically. The actress started out as an action star cult favorite, nominated for a Golden Globe for her lead role on Fox’s cyberpunk television series Dark Angel. “I always wanted to be a big action star, to be as relevant as men. I was very aggressive with the vision and manifesting it,” she told Cosmopolitan. Alba, to be fair, aside from her Golden Globe nomination, has never won any major acting awards and has won several Golden Raspberry Awards, the annual awards for the worst in film. And yet, unlike fellow her critically-acclaimed fellow moguls Beyoncé and Gwyneth Paltrow, Alba didn’t need performing accolades to jumpstart her business career at Honest Company, which has an overall valuation of $1 billion.
Jessica Alba talks success in the March 2016 issue of Cosmopolitan. (Photo: Tesh/Cosmopolitan)
“I’m in a man’s world in business. But I know what women want — [men] don’t…” she said. “Whenever [male colleagues] question me in meetings, I’m like, ‘Go home and ask your wife. This is a pointless conversation. Go home and talk to her.’” She mentioned an incident involving package designs with her male colleagues: “I was like, ‘Are you really giving me notes on packaging for feminine care? I literally can’t with you,’” she said.
Jessica Alba on the cover of March 2016 Cosmopolitan. (Photo: Tesh/Cosmopolitan)
Alba also mentioned that the fight for gender equality isn’t just in business, pointing out that Jennifer Lawrence is a box office draw who should be compensated as much as any of her leading male counterparts: "There are not as many women in government titles, business titles. It’s just not equal,” she said. “And until there is equality, you’re going to feel that no matter what industry you’re in. But from day one, I was like, girls should have an equal seat at the table.” In 2015, Lawrence wrote in Lena Dunham’s newsletter Lenny Letter: “A few weeks ago at work, I spoke my mind and gave my opinion in a clear and no-bullshit way; no aggression, just blunt. The man I was working with (actually, he was working for me) said, ‘Whoa! We’re all on the same team here!’” She was shocked because she didn’t say anything “personal, offensive” or “wrong,” for that matter. “I’m over trying to find the ‘adorable’ way to state my opinion and still be likable!” Lawrence declared.
Alba has been working as a screen actress since age 13 and claims to have identified as a feminist since age five — but she told Cosmopolitan that she also always felt more more masculine in her 20s, feeling like an “imposter” for pretending to be feminine. “I was never the girl who they marketed,” she told Cosmopolitan. It’s no surprise that she’s calling the shots now.
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