When asked how she manages to "have it all," Jessica Alba makes a funny face and rolls her eyes. It’s not as if she disagrees about being incredibly successful in her career and lucky in family, but as she explains below, it all sort of happened by accident — so the idea of asking her for life advice almost seems strange to the actress.
This, of course, is even stranger to us. Given that she's a Hollywood mainstay, a mother to two beautiful little girls, and the co-founder of a wildly successful start-up, it’s hard to think of Alba as just a normal person. But, we'll appease her modest side — if only for our interview.
Our sit-down with the actress last week came courtesy of Target, who is celebrating its one year anniversary with The Honest Company, Alba and partner Christopher Gavigan's three-year-old venture into green baby, personal-care, and cleaning products. What began with diapers is now expanding to beauty, vitamins, and infant formula, and currently stocking shelves at the mass retailer with over 200 products, all free of toxic chemicals. No small feat for an average person.
Read on for our Q&A with the actress and entrepreneur. Of course, we had to ask what's next for The Honest Company (we may have spoiled her news with our headline — sorry!), how she stays confident in an industry that practically demands perfection, and the dreaded question: Does she really make people cry at work?
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How have you maintained positive self-image in Hollywood?
“I didn’t always have it. Being a mom and surrounding myself with a good set of friends and good girls that made me feel good, and supported me, I think that definitely is important. Just surrounding yourself with the right people who aren’t going to drag you down and are actually going to encourage you and support you — I think that’s a big one.” You have a successful acting career, you’re an entrepreneur, and you have a happy family. You seem to have it all. Do you have any advice for women who think, "I want that"?
“I didn’t plan on having my family when it happened; it just happened. I didn’t know I was going to start a company; I just followed my heart and my gut. So, I think more than anything, if you’re true to yourself, and you’re authentic in everything you do, even when you make mistakes, pick yourself up by your bootstraps and keep on going, and learn from them. I think you’ll have a very fulfilled life. I don’t think there’s any cookie-cutter way to go about it. I think it’s different for everyone. You really are given the lessons you need to learn in life, I feel, to help you evolve. Sometimes they’re hard, and sometimes they’re easy, but everything falls into place.”
Do you ever feel like you have to shield your family from some of the parts of your life, like your career in Hollywood? How do you explain that to them?
“I definitely protect my girls from certain aspects of my life. I only deliver to them what I feel like they can understand. I don’t try to overcomplicate things, and I don’t try to explain too much to them that they just don’t have the capacity to really get.”
“I didn’t always have it. Being a mom and surrounding myself with a good set of friends and good girls that made me feel good, and supported me, I think that definitely is important. Just surrounding yourself with the right people who aren’t going to drag you down and are actually going to encourage you and support you — I think that’s a big one.” You have a successful acting career, you’re an entrepreneur, and you have a happy family. You seem to have it all. Do you have any advice for women who think, "I want that"?
“I didn’t plan on having my family when it happened; it just happened. I didn’t know I was going to start a company; I just followed my heart and my gut. So, I think more than anything, if you’re true to yourself, and you’re authentic in everything you do, even when you make mistakes, pick yourself up by your bootstraps and keep on going, and learn from them. I think you’ll have a very fulfilled life. I don’t think there’s any cookie-cutter way to go about it. I think it’s different for everyone. You really are given the lessons you need to learn in life, I feel, to help you evolve. Sometimes they’re hard, and sometimes they’re easy, but everything falls into place.”
Do you ever feel like you have to shield your family from some of the parts of your life, like your career in Hollywood? How do you explain that to them?
“I definitely protect my girls from certain aspects of my life. I only deliver to them what I feel like they can understand. I don’t try to overcomplicate things, and I don’t try to explain too much to them that they just don’t have the capacity to really get.”
You’ve been working on The Honest Company for over three years. Do you ever struggle with "being green"?
“I think being 'eco' or 'green' has a stigma. I feel like people think they need to be so completely yoga-ed out, making potions in their backyard, and being vegan. But, I think we gave them a pathway to live a healthier life without them being so extreme, and we have a very accessible way of doing that. We use plant-based technology in our ingredients. We use really safe and healthy ingredients. We also recycle, and the packaging is more responsible; it’s post-consumer recycled plastic. So, just taking those small steps."
What are your favorite products?
“I love our laundry products. I use them every day. And, also our dish products. I feel like I have the most face time with our laundry products and dish products...they’re just so reliable, and I know they’re safe, and I know they work. So, those two are my favorites.”
I heard you’re launching beauty soon! Can you talk about that yet?
“Well, we’re launching feminine care first, and then beauty. We’re doing organic feminine care products, an organic tampon, but using a bio-plastic applicator. And, the packaging is really cute. So, Refinery29 will all get care packages from me. I can’t wait for you guys to get them, because I worked really hard with design on that one.” A story went viral last week that you make people cry at work. I have to ask, is it true?
“Isn’t that really funny? It’s totally ridiculous. People put stuff in magazines to sell magazines, and it isn’t always the truth, so I think that’s what that is. No, I didn’t exactly say that, and it was totally taken out of context. If you read more of the article, you understand the context, but it’s not as interesting — right? — to understand it. But, I cried at work yesterday.”
“I think being 'eco' or 'green' has a stigma. I feel like people think they need to be so completely yoga-ed out, making potions in their backyard, and being vegan. But, I think we gave them a pathway to live a healthier life without them being so extreme, and we have a very accessible way of doing that. We use plant-based technology in our ingredients. We use really safe and healthy ingredients. We also recycle, and the packaging is more responsible; it’s post-consumer recycled plastic. So, just taking those small steps."
What are your favorite products?
“I love our laundry products. I use them every day. And, also our dish products. I feel like I have the most face time with our laundry products and dish products...they’re just so reliable, and I know they’re safe, and I know they work. So, those two are my favorites.”
I heard you’re launching beauty soon! Can you talk about that yet?
“Well, we’re launching feminine care first, and then beauty. We’re doing organic feminine care products, an organic tampon, but using a bio-plastic applicator. And, the packaging is really cute. So, Refinery29 will all get care packages from me. I can’t wait for you guys to get them, because I worked really hard with design on that one.” A story went viral last week that you make people cry at work. I have to ask, is it true?
“Isn’t that really funny? It’s totally ridiculous. People put stuff in magazines to sell magazines, and it isn’t always the truth, so I think that’s what that is. No, I didn’t exactly say that, and it was totally taken out of context. If you read more of the article, you understand the context, but it’s not as interesting — right? — to understand it. But, I cried at work yesterday.”