Jessica Alba is getting honest about her past.
In a new interview, the actress and founder of The Honest Company spoke candidly about her childhood, saying that growing up with few resources made her want to have a successful career and life.
"I grew up in survival mode," she told Glamour UK. "It was almost sort of what I was born into. My parents didn't have a safety net, they were living paycheck to paycheck. And so the mentality of 'tomorrow's not guaranteed'... For me, I was like, 'I got to do everything I can to keep my head above water.'"
Alba turned to acting when she was just 11 years old, noting that it was a way for her to fit into the world and "be somebody else."
"I think because no one had any expectations that I would be successful, how could you fail? I wasn't set up—no one was like, 'Oh my God, you're going to be…' They were just like, 'Here's your life.' And I was like, 'This is some bullshit. I want a better life than that. I don't want to be in survival mode all the time,'" she said.
Over her long career in Hollywood, she has been awarded numerous awards, including an MTV Movie Award, and dubbed one of the queens of the romantic comedy genre. Now 41, she is also a mother of three and an entrepreneur.
The actress founded The Honest Company—a brand offering clean baby and beauty products, as well as cleaning supplies—after developing an allergic reaction to several haircare and styling products, she told The Cut.
Of starting her business, Alba told Glamour, "I approached it the way I approached Hollywood, which was that I just did it. You have to be relentless."
Melody Leibner is the Digital Editorial Intern for BAZAAR.com, where she covers e-commerce and shopping, fashion and celebrity news, and all things pop culture.
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