Jessica Alba has been listed as the world’s most beautiful woman by multiple magazines like Vanity Fair and Men’s Health. Despite her beauty, the Fantastic Four actress, who gained prominence through her most iconic cinematic role as Invisible Woman, was asked to look pretty while crying during the filming of the $289 million box office bomb. She even decided to quit acting after this experience.

Fantastic Four Director Made Jessica Alba Question Her Instincts

Marvel’s Fantastic Four movies have remained beloved to date despite several ups and downs. For Jessica Alba, on the other hand, her role as Susan/Invisible Woman might have been rewarding for her profession, but ironically, it’s the same role that made her question her acting career.

During an interview with Elle Magazine, the actress shared a harrowing experience with the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) director, Tim Story, who continued to ask her to look pretty while crying.
Jessica Alba as Susan fatally impaled Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
The Eye actress recalled:
“I remember when I was dying in Silver Surfer. The director was like, ‘It looks too real. It looks too painful. Can you be prettier when you cry? Cry pretty, Jessica’”.

“It all got me thinking: Am I not good enough? Are my instincts and my emotions not good enough?… And so I just said, ‘F**k it. I don’t care about this business anymore’”. 
Jessica Alba was so affected that the dressed decided to quit her profession altogether. She said: “I wanted to stop acting. I hated it. I really hated it”. As for the 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer earned less than its predecessor, which grossed $333.5 million worldwide.

Jessica Alba’s Career Slowed Down

After the sequel’s failure amid Jessica Alba’s conflict with the director, and the producers having trouble finding a new director for a spin-off, the franchise ended in a “development hell”. After another failed reboot in 2015 (Kate Mara taking up Susan’s role), Marvel Studios eventually claimed the film rights along with X-Men and Deadpool.

While that is a different story altogether, it was Jessica Alba who was affected the most after her traumatic experience on the set of the 2007 sequel. It is fair to suggest that Alba may not have given up acting, but her career surely slowed down.
Jessica Alba as Susan/Invisible Woman
Despite a prominent profile, the actress was hit by consistent box-office failures with movies like The Love Guru, An Invisible Sign, and Good Luck Chuck. Jessica Alba’s 2014 film, Sin City: Dame to Kill For also became a box office bomb, grossing only $39.4 million against its $65 million.

Alba often criticized Hollywood for judging her and making her feel unworthy. But again, as she stepped into the wellness industry, establishing Honest Beauty, her success as a businesswoman kept her going.

Marvel’s box-office success Fantastic Four (2005) is available for streaming on Disney+

Source: Looper