Jessica Alba’s parents, Catherine Jensen and Mark Alba, played a vital role in creating a strong desire for success in the actress‘s life. This is evident from Alba’s billion-dollar brand as an A-list actress and The Honest Company.

Key takeaways

• Jessica Alba’s parents, Mark and Catherine Jensen Alba, raised her in a struggling military household.
• Mark and Catherine have one other child, Joshua Alba, who is an actor known for his roles in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The Dead Undead, among others.
• Mark David Alba is a Mexican-American Air Force veteran who later founded a real estate company, The Alba Group.
• Catherine Jensen Alba has worked alongside her daughter at The Honest Company, serving as a senior educator.

Profile summary

Meet Jessica Alba’s parents: Family behind the fame

Raised in a military family, Jessica Alba and her brother, Joshua Alba, spent their early years on Air Force bases across the U.S. before settling in Pomona, California.

The Alba family lived from pay cheque to pay cheque, a situation that did not deter Mark and Catherine from doing their best for their children. She told Net-A-Porter,

Both of my parents were juggling up to three jobs each. I was lucky that my grandparents were super involved in helping raise us whenever my parents needed extra hands or financial help when times got tough.

Mark Alba

Mark David Alba was born on 8 September 1960 to José Alba and Isabel Martinez in Claremont, California, USA. His father, José Alba, was a traditional Mexican dance practitioner and a classical guitarist. As she celebrates her heritage, Jessica hails her paternal grandparents as giants who sacrificed for her to be in her current position.

Like her ancestors, Jessica Alba is an avid activist and philanthropist with interests in education. In the early 20th century, Mark Alba’s grandfather joined forces with Arbo Verde community members in Claremont to establish the East Barrio School for Latinos. This was a collective reaction to the segregation the family faced as Mexican Americans living in America at the time.

Mark joined the army at age 18, where he served in the United States Air Force. He left the service in 1990 when Jessica was nine years old. He later started a real estate company, The Alba Group.

In 2021, Jessica Alba shared an Instagram video of herself dancing with her father. The video’s caption informed her fans of her father’s thyroid cancer diagnosis and treatment journey.

Catherine Jensen

Born in October 1979, Catherine Louisa Jensen Alba is 45 years old as of September 2025. She grew up in Ocala, Florida, USA, and currently resides in Claremont, California.

As per her LinkedIn profile, Cathy has served as a senior brand and product educator at her daughter’s The Honest Company since April 2014.

In her early 20s, Cathy was diagnosed with cancer. However, she has not publicly acknowledged the type of cancer she was diagnosed with or her health status since then.

Jessica Alba’s only sibling

Mark and Catherine Alba have had two children, Jessica and Joshua Alba. Joshua Lauren Alba was born on 8 July 1982 in Biloxi, Mississippi, United States. He is 43 years old as of 2025, and his zodiac sign is Cancer.

On 26 July 2003, Joshua married his high school sweetheart, Nikki Leigh Alba. The couple have two children, Carter Joshua and Brooklyn Alba. Carter Alba is a former Bonita High School baseball and football player who now studies at and plays baseball for Texas Christian University (TCU).

Like his sister, Joshua attended Bonita High School in La Verne, California, USA, where he graduated in 2000. At 18, he got his first acting gig, playing an escaped super soldier on Dark Angels alongside his sister. Have a look at some of his acting work since then, as per his IMDb profile.

FAQs

1. What ethnicity are Jessica Alba’s parents? Her father is of Mexican (Spanish and Native American) descent, while her mother is of Danish and French Canadian descent.
2. What do Jessica Alba’s parents do for a living? Mark Alba is an American realtor, while Cathy is an educator for The Honest Company’s products.
3. Are Jessica Alba’s parents still married? Mark and Catherine Alba were still married at the time of this writing.
4. What nationality is Mark Alba? He is Mexican-American.
5. Where did Jessica Alba’s dad grow up? He was raised in Claremont, California, in the United States.
6. Who are Jessica Alba’s Mexican grandparents? Her grandparents are José Alba and Isabela Martinez.
7. How many brothers does Jessica Alba have? She has one brother, Joshua Alba.
8. Who is Jessica Alba’s brother? Joshua is a seasoned actor known for his roles in Dark Angel, L.A.’s Finest, and Synapse.

Jessica Alba’s parents, Mark and Catherine Jensen Alba, worked tirelessly to foster their children’s success in the entertainment and business industries. Mark is a U.S.A. Air Force veteran turned real estate agent, while Catherine is a senior educator at The Honest Company.

Legit.ng has recently published an article detailing Jessica Alba and Cash Warren’s relationship timeline. The former couple began dating in 2004 after meeting on the set of Fantastic Four.

More than 20 years and three children later, the marriage was finally dissolved in July 2025. Read on for all the details about the former it-couple, and their courtship, marriage, highs and lows.

Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng