Jessica Alba
Alba in 2010
Birth Name: Jessica Marie Alba
Place of Birth: Pomona, Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of Birth: April 28, 1981
Ethnicity:
*father – Mexican [including Spanish, Indigenous Mexican/Mayan, distant Sephardi Jewish and African]
*mother – Danish, Welsh, English, Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, French
Jessica Alba is an American actress, model, and businessperson. Her roles include the films Camp Nowhere, Idle Hands, Honey, Frank Miller’s Sin City, Fantastic Four (2005), and their respective sequels; Good Luck Chuck, The Eye (2008), Meet Bill, Valentine’s Day, Machete, and its sequel; Little Fockers, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, and Mechanic: Resurrection, and the series The Secret World of Alex Mack, Dark Angel, and L.A.’s Finest. She has co-founded consumer goods company The Honest Company, which sells baby, personal, and household products. She has also been billed as Jessica Warren, her married name.
Jessica is the daughter of Catherine Louisa (Jensen) and Mark David Alba, who was in the Air Force. Her father, who was born in Los Angeles, is of Mexican descent, including Spanish, Indigenous Mexican/Mayan, and distant Sephardi Jewish and African, roots. Her mother, who was born in Virginia, has Danish, Welsh, English, Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, and French, ancestry. She was raised partly in Biloxi, Mississippi; Del Rio, Texas; and finally Claremont, California, traveling for her father’s career.
Her brother is actor Joshua Alba. Jessica is married to producer Cash Warren, with whom she has three children. Cash’s father is African-American and his mother is white. Jessica’s third cousin, once removed, is writer Gustavo Arellano.
Jessica has described her father as very dark and her mother as very fair. According to Jessica, her grandfather never spoke Spanish at home because he wanted the family to assimilate into the American mainstream. As a result, Jessica’s father did not learn to speak Spanish.
A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2014) stated that Jessica’s genetic ancestry is:
*72.7% European
*22.5% East Asian/Native American [Indigenous Mexican]
*2.4% No Match
*2.0% Sub-Saharan African
*0.3% Middle Eastern/North African
*0.1% South Asian
Jessica has stated that she identifies with her Mexican-American heritage. DNA tests on the show indicated that Jessica’s direct patrilineal ancestor was Indigenous. These DNA tests also displayed that Jessica’s father’s direct matrilineal ancestor, Maria Carmen Carrillo/Carillo, was of Sephardi Jewish descent. They also showed that Jessica’s father likely has at least 2.1% Sephardi Jewish ancestry in total. DNA matches listed him as 0.7% Ashkenazi; they also listed him as 0.6% Italian, 0.4% North African, and 0.4% Middle Eastern, all of which were or likely were Jewish in his case according to DNA matches.
Jessica’s 0.1% South Asian DNA is evidently from Jessica’s mother’s side.
Genetically, Jessica was found to have a common ancestor with attorney Alan Dershowitz.
Alba with husband Cash Warren in 2011, s_bukley / Shutterstock.com
Jessica’s paternal grandfather is José Sánchez Alba (the son of Catalino Morones Alba and Francisca/Frances Sánchez). José was born in San Bernardino, San Bernardo Co., California, to Mexican parents. Catalino was born in San Dimas, Durango, the son of Ambrocio/Ambrosio Alva/Alba and Maria Morones/Morence. Francisca was born in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, the daughter of José Hipólito/Polito Sánchez Hernandez and Refugio/Refugia Cisneroz/Rangel.
Jessica’s paternal grandmother is Ysabel/Isabel Martinez (the daughter of Daniel Fernandez Martinez and Guadalupe Nieves Miranda y Lares). Isabel was born in San Bernardino County, California, to Mexican parents. Daniel was born in Purépero de Echaíz, Michoacán, the son of Eugenio Martinez and Pascuala/Pasquala Fernandez. Guadalupe was born in García, Zacatecas, the daughter of Juan Miranda and Silveria Viramontes/Miramontes y Lares.
Jessica’s maternal grandfather was Harry Christian Jensen, Jr. (the son of Hans/Harry Christian Jensen and Sarah/Sara Evelyn Rhys). Jessica’s grandfather Harry was born in Rockford, Winnebago, Illinois, and served in WWII and the Korean War. Jessica’s great-grandfather Hans was born in Illinois, to Danish parents, Mads Hansen Jensen and Johanna Jensdatter. Sara was born in Minnesota, to a Welsh father, Samuel H. Rhys, and to a mother, Evaline/Evelyn/Eva Walbridge, who was born in Rochester, Monroe, New York.
Jessica’s maternal grandmother was Louisa Harrison Tebault (the daughter of Paul Miars/Myers Tebault and Catherine/Catharine Louisa Nichols). Jessica’s grandmother Louisa was born in Washington, D.C. Paul was the son of William Paul Tebault and Julia S. Catherine was the daughter of Albert Nichols and Loula Harrison Wharton.
Sources: Genealogies of Jessica Alba – https://www.geni.com
https://famouskin.com
Family histories of Jessica’s father – http://familyhistoryinsider.com
http://familyhistoryinsider.com
Jessica’s maternal grandfather, Harry Christian Jensen, Jr., on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Jessica’s maternal grandfather, Harry Christian Jensen, Jr. – https://www.legacy.com
Jessica’s maternal great-grandmother, Sarah/Sara Evelyn Rhys, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Sarah/Sara Evelyn Rhys on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Genealogy of Jessica’s maternal great-grandfather, Paul Miars/Myers Tebault (focusing on his father’s side) – http://www.findagrave.com
LOS ANGELES – APR 1: Jessica Alba at the Victoria Beckham For Target Launch Event at Private Residence on April 1, 2017 in Los Angeles, CA, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com
She is an American, but is part Hispanic and white.
It sucked when Dark Angel went off the air. I really loved that show.
Regardless of whether she LOOKS white or Mestizo. She IS mostly of European decent, she does NOT speak Spanish and she was NOT raised around Mexican culture. I can understand her frustration struggling as an actress being type cast. She probably feels like she would be a dishonest representation of a Latina woman since she, clearly, doesn’t consider herself to be one.
I don’t care about her, or what the supposed DNA test says. She is not white and she looks a typical mestiza.
The DNA test she took also told Larry David, an Ashkenazi Jew, that he was like 37% Native American.. I would not trust it.
Still, she looks 100% Mestiza: her Father is a Mexican Indio (native) and her mother is European (white), typical Hispanic/Latina girl like it or not.
Her results would probably differ depending on which DNA test she took. Not all tests look into your entire background. Some are only patrilineal, some only matrilineal. Some dna is not passed along. DNA tests are catching up though. Some would only give you a fuller (not complete) picture, if you were to take samples from other family members. There is a new one out, that you only have to swab yourself, no need to find family members who aren’t skeptical of spitting on a q-tip.
Okay so shes Mexican French and Danish. Mexican is a mixture of white people from Europe (not just Spanish, theres a lot of Italian German etc) and Native American and maybe she has a bit of black in her? Someone who is Mexican is not Spanish, Mexican is their own race so dont think that because someones Mexican theyre Spanish or Native American, they are Mexican! And then shes half European with her French and Danish in her too. And that DNA test on Lopez was probably false anyway, its TV!
No it wasn’t false. Why would it be false?? Seriously?? Just accept that she’s white….. ;)
White? That word is iffy. A lot of people are considered caucasian, that I wouldn’t call white. Since that word refers to a color, should we set a limit on skin tones that can call themselves white? Or are all caucasians who range in color from very pale almost white, to very dark, almost black to be considered white? I don’t know what kind of test she took. However, I am very doubtful that it gave a more complete picture of her background. I know there are lots of tan people in Europe. I explained it above why I think many tests could possibly give different results.
People it says she is of mexican mestizo descent. Last time I checked a mestizo is a person of white and american indian descent. Just because she has a little color does not mean shes black. Stop being so ignorant.
The average Mexican is 5% black, some more and some less. Mestizo means mixed, it does not mean European/Native. In countries that are predominately native and European, it simply refers to a mix between the two. Mexican president, Vicente Guerrero Saldana is identified as a mestizo. He was tri-racial.