Jessica Alba Covers Elle Magazine March 2009

Lovely Mommy, Jessica Alba graces the March 2009 cover of Elle.

ELLE: You agreed to the concept for our shoot without ever seeing any of the designers’ clothes before. That’s pretty brave.

JA: I’m all about supporting anyone whose art is also the way they make their living. I was always a slave to the commerce end of [acting]—I needed to survive, make a living, get some grounding in the business. These guys probably aren’t making any money now, but at least they won’t be 50 and say, “Dammit, my dream was to be a designer.” They’re making it happen at 22.

ELLE: And they’re cute.

JA: So cute! I was telling my friend last night, You must have to be beautiful, very, very thin, ultracool, and very young to be a new designer these days.

ELLE: Sounds like being an actress.

JA: Not really, no.

ELLE: You don’t think being beautiful and thin has helped you?

JA: You have to be the best of whatever you are, but successful, cool actresses come in all shapes and sizes.

ELLE: True, but it’s hard to name an A-lister who’s not sample-size.

JA: It’s interesting that A-list also means commercially viable, versus being Frances McDormand, who’s amazing and A-list to me but doesn’t sell as many tickets.

ELLE: And doesn’t headline movies.

JA: She’ll probably have a more fulfilling career and a more fulfilling life, and maybe doesn’t need to make $20 million to be okay.

ELLE: Still, you snapped back into shape pretty fast after giving birth.

JA: I did it for the Campari job. [The workouts] were horrible. I cried. And I haven’t worked out since.

ELLE: Did you have to do anything besides exercise?

JA: I wore a girdle. Eight weeks after my girlfriend had her baby, you could see her six-pack. She told me to put an elastic band around my waist—any kind of band or girdle works. She was like, “I slept in it.” I didn’t recover as fast as she did. I don’t have a sixpack—that’s just not my body at all.

ELLE: Please. I’ve seen Sin City. Twice.

JA: I’m not completely back to where I was. It’s not the same, but it’s not that serious. I’d rather spend an evening with my baby and give her a bath and read her stories and watch her roll around than go work out in a gym.

ELLE: Are you having separation anxiety?

JA: This is the first time I’ve been away from her. It’s been six days. It sucks; it’s the worst thing ever. But we Skype, so I can see her on video. The worst is when you can see her little chubby hands grab the screen, and I’m not there. [She pauses, her eyes welling up, then laughs as she wipes the tears away.] That’s a new thing—I never cried before. Just being a mother is making me a big, weepy mess.

ELLE: Honor is a great name.

JA: It’s weird; your name can really shape who you are. When I was born, my name was supposed to be Farrah Dawn. My mother looked like Farrah Fawcett, so she thought her daughter would, too. When I came out dark, my father had to scratch it off the birth certificate.

ELLE: The first of many surprises.

JA: I come from a very conservative family—a traditional, Catholic, Latin American family. I was always very, very liberal, which weirded everyone out. I’m on tape at age five calling myself a feminist. We were in line at Disneyland, and I had a thick southern accent because we lived in Mississippi and Texas, so I’m like [adopts a Dollywood twang], “I’m a feminist! Women’ll rule the world! I’m never gonna rely on no man!”

ELLE: And seven years later, you were working.
JA: We moved around a lot. At schools, I never really fit in. I was always hanging out with, like, the school nurse or my teachers—if that. On my first set, I was like, “Oh, I belong somewhere.” Movies, on every level, are like a circus of misfits. It’s a very bizarre life; it’s intense, and everyone has to be good at what they do or you won’t survive—you’ll just get crushed.

ELLE: What’s so different about An Invisible Sign of My Own?
JA: It feels like I’m starting to come into my own in terms of where I want to go artistically, toward more complicated, interesting characters. I always thought bigger movies could be a more enriching experience, and that was really stupid of me. When the budget is over a certain amount, it has to be a certain kind of movie. I always gave 100 percent, 200 percent, but it always fell short.

Source: Elle Magazine