1980s

A Sickly Military Brat

Alba's father, Mark, serves in the Air Force. Before she turns 9, Alba lives in Biloxi, Miss.; California; and Del Rio, Texas. Her father and mother, Cathy, finally settle in Southern California. Her early life is also marked by physical maladies. She suffers a collapsed lung twice, pneumonia, a burst appendix, a cyst on her tonsils and asthma.

1992

Acting Up

Alba persuades her mother to take her to an acting competition in Beverly Hills where the grand prize is free acting classes. She wins the grand prize and takes her first acting lessons. An agent signs the 12-year-old nine months later.

1993

Right Place, Right Time

Alba lands a part in the feature film comedy Camp Nowhere. She was originally hired for two weeks, but her role turns into a two-month job when another actress drops out. Alba is picked as the replacement because her hair matches that of the original actress. She goes on to work in commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penny and lands a recurring role on the popular Nickelodeon comedy series The Secret World of Alex Mack.

1995

Heading Down Under

She had a role in the dark Oscar-winning drama Leaving Las Vegas, but when her scenes are shelved in the film's final cut, Alba moves to Australia to star in the remake of the short-lived TV series Flipper. She enjoys herself there, telling Entertainment Weekly 10 years later, "I learned how to scuba dive, and I swam with dolphins in the middle of the ocean."

1996

Religion & Work

By the time Alba turns 15, her strict religious devotion begins to wane. "I did this episode of Chicago Hope playing a girl who had gonorrhea in her throat," she tells Entertainment Weekly, "and my friends from church made me feel so bad about it. Like I wasn't a good Christian. It started making me bitter toward the church." In the next few years, Alba films the comedy P.U.N.K.S., and makes appearances in several TV shows, including Beverly Hills, 90210, The Love Boat: The Next Wave and the crime drama Brooklyn South.

1999

Into the Dark

Out of 1,200 hopefuls, director James Cameron (Titanic) casts Alba as Max Guevara, the lead role on his Fox sci-fi series Dark Angel. "I was a smart-ass," Alba told Entertainment Weekly. "[The producers] liked that I had a smart mouth." To prepare for the role, Alba adopts an intense training regimen, saying later that she suffered from anorexia, starving herself and becoming obsessed with exercise, at one point even dropping to 100 lbs. "A lot of girls have eating disorders, and I did too," Alba told Glamour. "I got obsessed with it. When I went from a girl's body to a woman's body with natural fat in places, I freaked out."

2001

On-Set Romance

Published reports begin to circulate that Alba, 19, is dating her Dark Angel costar Michael Weatherly, 32. That May, Alba becomes engaged to Weatherly. "People always have to make it sound so titillating," Weatherly says to TV Guide of the couple's age gap. "It's like people think my interest in Jessica could only be of a sexual nature, that it couldn't be emotional or intellectual. I find that really childish and mean-spirited." In August 2003, the pair splits. No reason is given, but the two remain friendly.

October

Tops the List

Alba's sex appeal reaches new heights as she takes over the No. 1 spot on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 list. "I have to go to certain lengths to use sexuality to my advantage, while guiding people to thinking the way I want them to," Alba says to Movieline's Hollywood Life magazine.

2003

November 24

Dancing with the Star

Alba shows her softer side in her first big-screen star vehicle, Honey, playing a hip-hop choreographer who teaches inner-city kids to dance. "I never danced a day in my life," Alba says. "But I figured if I could train to fight in Dark Angel, I could train to dance."

December 31

Boogie Nights

A newly-single Alba dates Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia, whom she met in Las Vegas in early October. The two go out a few times, but by New Year's Eve the actress is spotted getting cozy with actor Mark Wahlberg in Miami Beach. "They were looking into each other's eyes," one onlooker tells PEOPLE, but the romance doesn't last.

Photo Credits

2004

Strip Tease

Alba lands the role of a stripper in the Robert Rodriguez film Sin City. To research the part, Alba visits strip clubs in L.A., New York and Texas. She also learns to twirl a rope for the role. "I just spent every night in Texas in the Four Seasons [hotel] in my underwear, knocking over lamps trying to lasso things," Alba says in Interview. In the film, Alba strips only to a bikini, adhering to her no-nudity clause.

August

Fantastic Voyage

Alba lands the role of Sue Storm (Invisible Woman) in the big-screen comic-book adaptation Fantastic Four. While shooting the film, Alba meets director's assistant Cash Warren. The two start dating in January 2005. "He's amazing in every way, shape and form," Alba later tells PEOPLE.

2005

You're Beautiful, It's True

Alba is named one of PEOPLE magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People, adding to an already impressive catalogue of magazines that have placed her on similar lists (Maxim, FHM, Stuff and Star). She makes PEOPLE's 100 Most Beautiful in 2007 and is photographed without makeup for the issue. "Things I was made fun of for - thick lips and a curvy body - got better as I got older," Alba says of her beauty.

June 04

Flash Photography

Alba draws a lot of unwanted attention when she attends the MTV Movie Awards in a flowing green dress that becomes see-through with the camera's flash. "That was a nightmare," Alba says. "It was so traumatic, because I'm not a girl who likes to do that. I really haven't shown anything. That's not my style."

July 08

Blockbuster Blues

Alba stars in Fantastic Four, but the hopeful blockbuster is a box-office disappointment. "Comic book fans didn't think I was blonde enough for the part," Alba tells Entertainment Weekly. "But most of the blondes in Hollywood aren't really blonde either."

September 30

Bathing Beauty

Alba receives top billing in the deep-sea thriller Into the Blue. Though the film gets mediocre reviews, audiences give the bikini-clad Alba high marks. "It's not always so great to be objectified, but I don't feel I have much of a choice right now," Alba says to London's Observer. "I'm young in my career. I know I have to strike when the iron is hot. I look forward to the day when I can do a small movie and act and it's not about me wearing a bathing suit or chaps."

2006

March 01

Hopping Mad at Hef

Alba appears on the cover of Playboy wearing a bikini, although she never posed for the magazine. The magazine used a promotional shot from Into the Blue. She threatens to sue Playboy for using her picture without her permission. Hugh Hefner apologizes for the confusion and contributes on Alba's behalf to Keep a Child Alive and Until There's a Cure.

September 25

Stepping Out in Style

Alba makes PEOPLE's Best Dressed List at No. 3 for her "elegant take on the trends." Speaking of her fashion sense, Alba tells Elle magazine, "I never dress for men; I dress for women. I'm not the miniskirt-and-cleavage girl, ever."