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What is Jessica Alba's ethnicity? 'Fantastic Four' star feels Marvel films are 'still quite Caucasian'

Jessica Alba noted that she has seen a push for diversity in recent years, but she believes the entertainment industry still has a long way to go

Jessica Alba, 41, opened up about her thoughts on the lack of representation she saw in Hollywood as a young actress. The 41-year-old actress, who has starred as Sue Storm in 'Fantastic Four' (2005) and 'Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer' (2007), noted that she has seen a push for diversity in recent years, but she believes the entertainment industry still has a long way to go.

In a recent interview with Glamour UK, Alba criticized Marvel movies, saying the franchise is still far too dominated by White actors. When Alba appeared in her two 'Fantastic Four' films, diversity in superhero films was almost non-existent. However, the genre has now become more inclusive in recent years, but Alba believes it is still "more of the same" these days. “Even if you look at the Marvel movies – that’s the biggest driver of fantasy and what’s happening right now in entertainment because it’s sort of the family thing – it’s still quite Caucasian,” Alba said. “I would say I was one of the few back in the day… And it was before Marvel was sold to Disney, but it’s still quite more of the same.”

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What is Jessica Alba's ethnicity?

Talking of the lack of diversity in Marvel movies as Alba describes the movies to be "still quite Caucasian'', let's have a look at Alba's ethnicity. Born in Pomona, California, Alba was raised in a traditional American family in Southern California. Her mother’s family has a French, Danish, Welsh, German, and English heritage, while her father is from Mexican-Indian and Spanish lineage while her paternal grandparents, who were born in California, were both the children of Mexican immigrants, Finding Your Roots reported.

Alba's father's Air Force career took the family to Biloxi, Mississippi, and Del Rio, Texas, before settling back in Claremont, California, when she was nine years old. Alba has often described her family as being a "very conservative family – a traditional, Catholic, Latin American family". In 2017, Jessica Alba shared her ethnic pride in an essay published on Popsugar. "Growing up in California in my grandmother’s house, surrounded by tías, tíos, and all my cousins, I always felt a deep connection to my Mexican-American roots. Every generation of my father’s family has had incredibly different experiences that reflect much about American history. It humbles me to think of how much change we have seen in such a short time", she wrote.

The actor has spoken out in the past about how being Mexican American limited her roles in Hollywood during the early 2000s. “They couldn’t figure out my ethnicity,” Alba told PopSugar in 2017.

Even though Alba criticizes Marvel for its lack of diversity in the films in terms of ethnicity, still there's no denial of the fact that Marvel has made efforts to include more diversity in its film projects. In 2018, the Oscar-winning blockbuster 'Black Panther' featured a nearly all-Black cast. With 'Ms Marvel', Marvel Universe featured its first on-screen Muslim superhero and unveiled its first Asian-American superhero in 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings', while the upcoming fourth 'Captain America' will see Anthony Mackie, a Black actor take over the title character.

Many Twitter users did not acknowledge Alba's remark on Marvel. "Hold on Jessica alba I love you but have you watched Black Panther have you seen Shang-Chi have you seen Eternals or Ms Marvel there is a lot of Diversity within the MCU, especially with this current phase I mean you can say it isn't but it very much has diversity", a user wrote. Another posted, "Nonsense and a loaded narrative. You have to appreciate just how diverse the casting is now. A thankless task trying right the wrongs of institutional racism with care. Marvel are doing there bit to make it happen. It's in a better place than ever in terms of diversification".