Jessica Alba is on the March 2008 issue of Marie Claire magazine.

In this issue she discusses how she was unpopular in school:

“When I was a little girl, I always wanted someone to look up to. I think identity was a big deal to me because I didn’t fit in with one certain race. I always wanted someone who looked like me, who was a positive role model.”

“I had a lot of haters. They’d unzip my backpack so my books would fall out. They’d tie my shoes together. They’d ‘accidentally’ spill lunches on me.”

Alba also talks about her involvement in the Step Up Women’s Network, a national women’s and girl’s empowerment organization, which she volunteers regularly for.

 ”I think these girls can relate to me, to the fact I didn’t have rich parents or any nepotism working in my favor.” Her father was in the military, moving the family from Mississippi to Texas before settling them in Laverne, CA. Alba is Mexican on her father’s side, and Danish and French on her mother’s. “I don’t fit in with one race,” she says.

And although Alba admits that her life is not exactly were she would like to be she knows her problems can’t begin to compare with those of the girls from low-income, high-density neighborhoods, the girls who sometimes have babies to cure their loneliness.

“They aren’t ready to be mothers,” Alba says. “There’s no more ‘you’ after having a kid, but they’re too young to understand that. They see the world in their 10-minute reality. They don’t see the big picture because you can’t have that kind of perspective when you’re that young.”

 A week from now, Alba will announce her own pregnancy.

Alba discusses what she likes least about her job:

“There’s a lot of pressure on women to fulfill certain fantasies. They expect you to be a little bit of a tart, to flirt with all the men. A lot of women do it. But I’m not doing that. I talk with these guys about their wives and kids right away. When they say inappropriate things, I let them, because boys will be boys, but I’m not looking to participate in their conversations.”

To read more about the Step Up program and Alba check out the March issue of Marie Claire.