Jessica Alba Reveals Childhood Pain In New Book

February 29, 2008

Tags:Oscars, Jessica Alba, Young Hollywood, Pregnancies

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Jessica Alba and Cash Warren beam from the Oscar red carpet
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Jessica Alba
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A pregnant Jessica Alba opted for a grape gown at the 2008 Oscars
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Jessica Alba

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Jessica Alba and Cash Warren beam from the Oscar red carpet
Associated Press
Jessica Alba
AP
A pregnant Jessica Alba opted for a grape gown at the 2008 Oscars
Associated Press
Jessica Alba

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE: February 29, 2008 20:01 PM

LOS ANGELES, Calif. --

While Jessica Alba may be living a charmed life as a successful Hollywood beauty, things weren’t always so easy for the star, as she revealed in a new book called “If I’d Known Then.”

In the book, which is comprised of a collection of essays and letters from notable women in their 20s and 30s to their younger selves, Alba reveals she was branded a "slut" as a child by a school administrator.

In Alba’s candid and emotional passage, the actress explains how an elementary school principal and few “self-righteous” PTA moms used the derogatory term against her at a very young age.

The actress recounted the ordeal in a letter written from Jessica to her younger self.

"The accusation still ricochets… They think I'm a slut???" she wrote to an adolescent Jessica. “This is only the latest injustice… They’re all ignorant. The kids think something is wrong with you because you’re developing early. The teachers don’t encourage their students to think or question anything. And parents, especially the rich parents of white, soccer-playing kids, are the worst. They constantly criticize you and tear you apart."

Jessica talked about what it was like growing up with her mixed racial background, as her father is Mexican and her mother is white.

“When you’re not racially defined, they don’t accept you in either culture,” she explained.

The now-pregnant star claims she first smooched a boy when she was 7, "so he would pick me for our neighborhood baseball team.”

In closing, Jessica offered some final words of wisdom to her younger self on the topic of the opposite sex.

"Boys are awful. They are made of nothing but hormones until they’re about 20 or 21," she reportedly wrote. "You can’t take relationships too seriously until you’re older… It’s fun to have a crush, but don’t think it’s forever. You have the rest of your life to do that.”

She signed the letter, “Keep questioning and challenging. – Jessica.”

Other stars with essays in the collection include singer Natasha Bedingfield, skating champ Sasha Cohen and former "Wonder Years" star Danica McKellar.

The book will be published this May by Da Capo.