Jessica Alba says she was told to become “the face of a perfume” instead of founding The Honest Company

Jessica Alba is open about how she forged her own career path — even when other people told her to go in a different direction.

The 41-year-old founder of The Honest Company appeared at the MAKERS 2022 conference with Yahoo’s CEO Jim Lanzone, where she shared her passion for developing baby products without potentially harmful ingredients. Alba, who suffered from severe childhood asthma and allergies, first became interested in making these products when she was a new mom and the detergent she was using caused a skin reaction. (Alba is a Yahoo board member.)

“I had flashbacks to my childhood on the ventilators and in hospitals and isolated and lonely and also just the fear of my throat closing up and choking,” Alba recalled of that frightening moment. “When I had this allergic reaction to this laundry detergent that’s marketed for people with babies, I was like, ‘What if my little baby has this allergic reaction?'”

Despite this passion, Alba — who was then best known as an actress, thanks to shows like Dark Angel and movies like Treasure – she was told to think smaller.

“I went up to people in Hollywood, who were the only people I honestly knew in the business, and they said, ‘How about a perfume?’ I thought: ‘What?’ And they say, ‘You should be the face of a perfume if you want to do something different,'” she shared. “I thought, ‘No, no, no. As if people get sick. There’s kind of a hockey stick parallel, like illness, like cancer and learning disabilities and obesity and all these hormonal issues – all my friends are doing IVF and they’re in their 20s. Something is wrong and we need to address it.’”

She also faced a lot of resentment — and sexism — from Silicon Valley when pitching Honest, and she described interactions with male venture capitalists who said, “We’re going to ask our wives if that’s a good idea.” And I was like, ‘Cool, I’ll be right.'”

The story goes on

Alba’s dedication paid off when the company went public shortly after Alba’s 40th birthday in 2021. Ultimately, she said, by starting her own business she avoided some of the pitfalls that come with getting older in Hollywood.

“For every yes someone saw in a role, movie or TV show, I had thousands of nos,” she shared. “It’s hard to deal with that rejection when you’re a kid and then an adult. Hollywood is interesting because there is no success in Hollywood that really gives you something. As you get older, you’re more likely to be told, “You’re lucky to be here and your time is up,” whereas in any other career, seniority counts. So it’s this really interesting thing – the more you invest in it, the more comfortable you become with it, the more it takes away from you. It really messes with your brain and soul.”

Looking back, Alba said it was her early “midlife crisis” at age 26 — when she began reassessing her place in the entertainment industry — that changed the course of her future.

“I accidentally got pregnant, and that’s how the midlife crisis happened,” Alba said upon finding out she was pregnant with their first child, daughter Honor. “I have this incredible human being and her beautiful soul that really put everything in perspective and really made me look at the world differently and honestly not prioritize anything other than their well-being. And that started the next chapter of my life.”

Today, as Alba balances multiple careers and her personal life, she credits her support system — but makes it clear she doesn’t do everything and doesn’t do everything well. “I’m really open about my mistakes and it makes me vulnerable and sad and it’s hard to express those emotions with my kids. But I think it’s really important that they see it. … And I think it’s important for them to see that it’s okay to make mistakes and not have it all together.”

That message extends to social media, where Alba lifts the veil for her daughters. “I’m really, really honest with my daughters about social media being fake. It’s not real. And they’re like, ‘Well mom, why are you doing it then? And I’m like, ‘Because it’s good for business next.’ Let’s just use it. Let’s just call it what it is. We don’t have to pretend this is someone’s real life.”

Editor’s note: Jessica Alba is a member of the board of directors of Yahoo.

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