Photo: instagram
The savvy beauty, self-proclaimed feminist, and Honest Company owner has much to say.
By Laura Lifshitz — Written on Apr 12, 2019
Jessica Alba is more than the Dark Angel breakout role, more than her exotic dancer role in Sin City, more than Sue Storm from Fantastic Four, and more than the owner of the Honest Company. Beautiful and sexy, this business owner, advocate, mother and actress has done quite a bit in her 30-something years.
Whether it's advocating for voter rights or safer chemicals, acting or championing her beauty line and baby line, she leaves an impression wherever she goes, and is more than a sex kitten. But she also knows she has sexual prowess, and she's got a lot of strong statements that roll off her lips. She's not a wallflower.
Here are our top 30 favorite Jessica Alba quotes.
1. Own your body
“You have to be the best of whatever you are, but successful, cool actresses come in all shapes and sizes.”
2. Fake it until you make it
"My theory is that if you look confident you can pull off anything, even if you have no clue what you're doing."
3. Humility isn't her strong point
"I could have sexual chemistry with vinegar."
4. Accept yourself
"Being perfect is being flawed, accepting it, and never letting it make you feel less than your best."
5. Kids come first
"I wish there were two of me and 48-hour days so I could get everything done. But for me, I have to not try and think that everything has to be 100 percent perfect all the time and leave room for error. As long as my kids feel loved and a priority, everything really is secondary."
6. Solidarity with the ladies
"No matter how different women are, we all seem to share the guilt that we're not doing enough. If anything, I would say that as long as you're doing your best, it's more than enough."
7. Stay positive and leave the "salty" out
“It’s so much better to promote what you love than to bash what you hate.”
8. Act like a boss lady
"I never just did what people told me. I questioned everything. When I look back, it is really no surprise that I started working at 12."
9. Spicing things up since birth
"I thought it was my job to give all the boys their first kiss."
10. Get real with yourself
"You have to be brutally honest with yourself and understand your strengths and weaknesses.”
11. Find your passion
“Find your passion and do it totally. The more life experience you get, the better you’ll be at whatever you want to do.”
12. Searching for perfection is silly
"There's no such thing as a perfect guy. I think it would be strange if somebody was absolutely everything you always wanted, because then there'd be no challenge. Also, you'd feel inferior."
13. Having street smarts counts
“I wish I was more educated, but I make do with the tools I was given in life.”
14. Everyone doubts, sometimes
"I believed that there was a real opportunity for my idea, but I had to overcome a lot of self-doubt about establishing and running a business."
15. Growing pains happen to us all
"Every time I'd get a critique or some redirection, I'd always just take it very personally. Now I have no problem with it."
16. Start the day right
"I try my hardest every day, and I find when I go to bed early and wake up early, I feel the most productive."
17. Making the most of work
"The time I'm not spending with my kid has to be worth it, so when I sat down with my agents after I was ready to go back to work, I told them: It's all about the directors."
18. Stick to the bottom line
"It's all about your product and how it performs. Either it works, or it doesn't."
19. Putting stock in fame is bad
“I don’t put weight on fame, and having people around me just because I am famous makes me feel really bad about myself.”
20. Prove people wrong
“It’s hard for people to take anyone seriously who’s never done this before. But that just gave me fire to move forward.”
21. Work and love with the right people
“Having the right partners also means having people you like. They’re all people I wouldn’t mind getting stuck with at an airport for five hours.”
22. Inspiration comes from anywhere, even pregnancy
"I did research when I was pregnant with my first daughter and was horrified by the chemicals in products, even those meant for babies. I would have to go to 50 different places just to get my house and my kid clean."
23. Resting is only for the weary
“You have to be tenacious, you have to be focused, you have to have a real vision, and be extremely passionate about it.”
24. Missing out stinks for celebs, too
"I wish I could speak Spanish, because it would be a lot easier to play more interesting roles."
25. Failing isn't always bad
“Success takes communication, collaboration and, sometimes, failure.”
26. Abusing power is a no-no
"The secret to using power is not to use it. Just having it is enough."
27. Crossing off the to-do list
“I like to organize. I have an opinion. I like to get stuff done.”
28. Ignore the hype
"Everyone has an opinion of who you are and what your relationship is about, things that you've done or didn't do in your relationship. And it's just all crap, really. Things that are written about it are all crap."
29. Tears of a mom are so real
"Just being a mother is making me a big, weepy mess."
30. Push through the "no's"
“All the rejection that I’ve been through only made me stronger, and it’s part of being an entrepreneur. You kind of have to take the kid gloves off and let them feel it because it’s not going to be the first time that someone’s going to say 'no' or close a door in your face. You’re going to have to figure out how to burst through it.”
Laura Lifshitz will work for chocolate. The former MTV personality and Columbia University graduate is currently writing about divorce, sex, women’s issues, fitness, parenting, marriage and more for YourTango, New York Times, DivorceForce, Women’s Health, Working Mother, Pop Sugar, and more. Her own website is frommtvtomommy.com.