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Jessica Alba shares she had chronic illness as a child with 5 operations before age 11

Jessica Alba reveals she had chronic illness as a child with 5 operations before age 11: ‘It’s really freaking hard to be happy when you don’t have your health’

Movie star turned entrepreneur Jessica Alba was a very sick child.

And the 39-year-old Into The Blue star told Romper that she was often in hospitals.

‘I grew up with chronic illness. I had five surgeries before I was 11 years old. I had chronic allergies, and I was hospitalized a lot as a child,’ Jessica – who also has Haven, nine, and Hayes, three, with husband Cash Warren – explained. 

Hard start: Jessica Alba was a very sick child. And the 39-year-old Into The Blue star told Romper that she was often in hospitals even as her mother battled cancer in her 20. Seen in 2005

Hard start: Jessica Alba was a very sick child. And the 39-year-old Into The Blue star told Romper that she was often in hospitals even as her mother battled cancer in her 20. Seen in 2005

Being so sick as a child made the Honest Co founder want to be there for her own children.

So that is why she put her acting career on the back burner many years ago.    

She was ‘at the top’ of her career when she gave birth to her daughter Honor in 2008, and she admits it changed her entire outlook on life. 

Sickly: 'I grew up with chronic illness. I had five surgeries before I was 11 years old. I had chronic allergies, and I was hospitalized a lot as a child,' Jessica said; seen with her brother

Sickly: ‘I grew up with chronic illness. I had five surgeries before I was 11 years old. I had chronic allergies, and I was hospitalized a lot as a child,’ Jessica said; seen with her brother

She needs to feel good: 'So, my health matters. I want this little person to be healthy. And it's really freaking hard to be happy when you don't have your health,' she said

She needs to feel good: ‘So, my health matters. I want this little person to be healthy. And it’s really freaking hard to be happy when you don’t have your health,’ she said

‘I had this real moment of, I want to live, and thrive, and spend as much time with this little person that I’m bringing into the world as possible and stay. 

‘So, my health matters. I want this little person to be healthy. And it’s really freaking hard to be happy when you don’t have your health,’ she said.

And she did not worry about success. 

On top of the world: So that is why she put her acting career on the back burner many years ago. She was 'at the top' of her career when she gave birth to her daughter Honor in 2008, and she admits it changed her entire outlook on life.' Seen in 2007

On top of the world: So that is why she put her acting career on the back burner many years ago. She was ‘at the top’ of her career when she gave birth to her daughter Honor in 2008, and she admits it changed her entire outlook on life.’ Seen in 2007

The Sin City star shared: ‘My motivation was not like, “Am I ever going to get hired again?” Frankly, I was at the top of my career.

‘I couldn’t go back to what I was doing before and be authentic. I just couldn’t. I didn’t care about it the same way.’

In 2012, Jessica launched The Honest Company, a brand that specializes in eco-conscious products.

Her family: The movie star has Haven, nine, and Hayes, three, with husband Cash Warren

Her family: The movie star has Haven, nine, and Hayes, three, with husband Cash Warren

And the brunette beauty admitted it’s been a huge challenge to get her business off the ground.

She said: ‘Building a brand and building a business is f***** impossible. And to be good at it and for it to thrive and scale, it is really hard. If anything, I was like, ‘Do I really want to do this?’

‘It took me three-and-a-half years just to find partners to even join me, and I got lots of rejection. I had to learn how to build decks.

‘In every stage, I’m trying to get better and better as a business person, but it’s a totally different skill set than just taking your influence and fame and putting your name on a package and doing a press tour, picking out a couple designs.’

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