Jessica Alba outlines 'awkward' entry into sex symbol status

NEW YORK, June 3 (UPI) -- Jessica Alba recounted how her "tomboy" upbringing and Christian background made it tough for her to accept becoming a global sex symbol.

Talking with InStyle magazine for is cover story, the Honest Company CEO said early on, it was difficult for her to be sensual.

"My sexuality made me very uncomfortable," she said. "I remember my first Maxim shoot, they were telling me to pose a certain way, and I was like, 'Agh! I'm 19. I'm a virgin. I don't even know how to do that.' It was so awkward."

Alba said she went through a "life crisis" when she was 25, telling the magazine she told herself: "'This isn't what I set out to be. I'm so much more than this, but I don't know how not to be a sex symbol.'"

Soon after, she became pregnant by her now husband, Cash Warren, and the actress said things leveled out after that. "It was not planned, but I was like, OK, this is where my life is going. I always wanted to be a mom."

Impending motherhood prompted her to search for responsibly made products containing safe ingredients. "I did not want my kid to be in the hospital all the time like I was," she said, referring to her battle with asthma as a child. Her search led her to found The Honest Company, where she is now CEO.

Because of the success of the online and now in-store company, Alba last year became one of the country's richest self-made women.

Last August, The Honest Company received a reported $100 million in financing, shooting the brand's worth to $1.7 billion. Alba's worth at the time also shot up, to $340 million.

"I made a deal with the universe," Alba said to InStyle of her success. "If I was able to manifest my dreams, then I would try to do good in some way."