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  • Once upon a time, Jessica Alba seemed poised for superstardom, tearing up both television

  • and movies with a series of hits that had fans screaming for more.

  • Beautiful, talented, popularwhat didn't Alba seem to have going for her?

  • But instead of an unstoppable career, she suddenly dropped off the map.

  • Here's a look at why Hollywood won't cast Jessica Alba anymore.

  • The Invisible Woman

  • Alba's biggest claim to fame is probably her role in 2005's Sin City, where she shared

  • the screen with a huge ensemble cast that included mega-stars like Bruce Willis and

  • Clive Owen.

  • Sin City proved to be a massive hit, but her reign at the top was incredibly brief, because

  • just a couple months later, Fantastic Four came out.

  • Though it was a modest box office success, critics savaged the film, and the experience

  • of making it caused Alba to re-evaluate whether she even wanted to be an actress at all after

  • director Tim Story berated her for actually acting too well during a crying scene.

  • "God, really?!"

  • Instead, he wanted to actually add tears in post-production using CGI.

  • Alba told Elle, "It all got me thinking: Am I not good enough?

  • Are my instincts and my emotions not good enough?

  • Do people hate them so much that they don't want me to be a person?

  • Am I not allowed to be a person in my work?

  • And so I just said, 'F*** it.

  • I don't care about this business anymore.'"

  • That may explain why Alba hasn't made a memorable movie since.

  • Exotic

  • Hollywood hasn't always had the greatest track record when it comes to casting diversity,

  • so you may not be surprised to hear that Alba's choice of roles has been limited by her heritage.

  • She told PopSugar that she wasn't considered Caucasian enough to play white roles, or Hispanic

  • enough to play Latina roles.

  • "And then when I did start, you know, getting a lot of roles and auditioning, they couldn't

  • figure out my ethnicity.

  • So they would --- I would always go out for 'exotic.'"

  • So much for show business being color blind.

  • The bomb squad

  • It's safe to say that Alba's films don't always get good reviews.

  • Or often.

  • Or, likeever.

  • In fact, of the 29 movies she's made that have enough reviews to qualify for a Rotten

  • Tomatoes score, only three of them have a fresh rating, which is kind of incredible.

  • Mathematically speaking, you'd expect random chance would give her at least a few decent

  • roles.

  • And over the years, Alba herself has been singled out for being particularly bad in

  • those films, landing Razzie nominations in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2011, when she finally

  • won for Worst Supporting Actress.

  • Which is understandable given even she seems a little confused at times just what role

  • she's supposed to be playing.

  • "We also both know that I'm just not anybody.

  • Am I Dumbledore?"

  • No, Jessica, this is Dumbledore.

  • Business before pleasure

  • After becoming disillusioned with the film industry, Alba turned her attention in other

  • directions, such as raising her two children.

  • In 2008, after using a popular detergent specifically for kids, one of her children developed a

  • painful rash.

  • The incident inspired Alba to found The Honest Company, which makes affordable, environmentally

  • friend, non-toxic household goods.

  • The Honest Company officially launched in 2011, and by 2015, was valued at nearly two

  • billion dollars.

  • It hasn't all been organic roses, though.

  • In 2016, the Wall Street Journal accused The Honest Company of false advertising, and the

  • company has faced multiple lawsuits.

  • Alba chalks it up to the downside of being a celebrity.

  • "If an organization wants to bring awareness to their cause, I'm an easy target and our

  • brand is an easy target..."

  • Don't call it a comeback

  • Despite everything, Alba has been keeping her foot in the door by appearing in smaller

  • film roles.

  • And she still has a large fan following.

  • So it's not a matter of whether she can make a comeback, it's just a question of whether

  • she wants too.

  • "you still haven't greenlit

  • my passion project!"

  • While she has said in the past that she's open to doing more movies in the future, it

  • seems like it'll take the perfect film to bring her out of semi-retirement.

  • In other words: don't call her, Hollywood, she'll call you.

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Once upon a time, Jessica Alba seemed poised for superstardom, tearing up both television

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