Fox's Dark Angel seems to have sparked a trend in TV drama this season: the empowered young female action hero, evidenced in ABC's upcoming Alias and Thieves and three other new series featuring ensemble casts. But Angel, which made a star of Jessica Alba, is fine-tuning its mission as the show moves to Friday, installs a new executive producer and adjusts to the off-screen wedding plans of Alba and co-star Michael Weatherly. "We're focusing a little bit more on the sci-fi and futuristic aspect of the show rather than politics" of Alba's resistance fighter, says new executive producer Rene Echevarria. Angel, co-created by James Cameron (Titanic) concerns a genetically enhanced human, conceived by the evil Manticore conglomerate, who escapes from her handlers and teams with cyberjournalist Logan Cale (Weatherly) to battle corruption.

In the first season's finale, Max (Alba) was recaptured and presumed dead by Logan. But before she escapes anew, she discovers hers wasn't the only experiment: A new race of "transgenics," melding human and animal DNA, is discovered, as well as specially purposed soldiers. "We were looking to add some additional sci-fi elements to the show and sort of beef up the peril for Max with some of the characters conceived at Manticore with her," says Fox Entertainment president Gail Berman. "We felt it would continue to grow the concept and keep it fresh, rather than having her battle the bad guy of the week."

New recurring characters include Asha (Ashley Scott), who becomes a potential love interest for Logan; Joshua (Kevin Durand), a half-man/half-beast; and Alec (Jensen Ackles), a sexy but arrogant guy assigned to a reluctant Max as her "breeding partner." Angel's biggest challenge this season, which begins Sept. 21, may be its new time slot, Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT, where Fox has struggled to find its young audience.

But Echevarria points to a history of successful sci-fi series on Fridays, from the first Star Trek to The X-Files. As for the impending Alba-Weatherly nuptials, "Mike and Jessica are really committed to the show and each other," Echevarria says.

He concedes that "off-screen romances can hurt on-screen romances," but in this case "I don't detect it. If they were playing husband and wife, explicit boyfriend and girlfriend, you might see changes." But producers have deliberately opted to stop short of making them an item on the show: "You never want to consummate completely and kill the romantic tension in this kind of storytelling."

Jessica Marie Alba was born in Pomona, California, on April 28, 1981. Jessica’s family moved to Biloxi, Mississippi while Jessica was very young. Her father, who was in the Air Force, moved the family to Del Rio, Texas, later. Eventually, the family settled in southern California when Jessica was nine. Jessica had always wanted to be an actress from the age of five. She took her first acting class at the age of 12. Shortly later, Jessica was signed by an agency.

In 1993, Jessica made her movie debut in Camp Nowhere. She was originally hired for a short time but got lucky when one of the main actresses dropped out. Jessica, who had the same color hair as the actress, eagerly took over the spot. After her first movie, Jessica appeared in two commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penny and a few independent films. In 1994, she landed a reoccurring role in "The Secret World of Alex Mac." She played a snob who made life hard for the main character with magical powers. Also in 1994, she landed the role of Maya for a pilot of "Flipper." Jessica spent 1995 filming the first season of "Flipper" in Australia. Jessica is a PADI-certified diver and the "Flipper" show allowed her to have fun and play with the dolphins. The success of the first season of "Flipper" lead to the filming of the second season, which Jessica also starred in. Jessica involvement in "Flipper" lasted from 1995-1997. Since "Flipper" Jessica has appeared in a number of television shows and movies.
In 1996, Jessica appeared in Venus Rising as Young Eve. Also in 1996, she appeared in an episode of "Chicago Hope", as Maria. In 1997, Jessica appeared on the "Dini Petty Show", a Canadian talk show, and talked about her role in Flipper and her general acting career. She began working on P.U.N.K.S., featuring Randy Quaid, in 1998. P.U.N.K.S. was just recently released on video in early January, 1999.
In 1998, Jessica appeared in several TV shows for an episode or two. In early 1998, she appeared in "Brooklyn South", as Melissa. A few months later, she appeared in two episodes of "Beverly Hills 90210", as Leanne. And finally, she appeared in an episode of "Love Boat: The Next Wave."

In 1999 she appeared a huge number of magazines. She had a small role in Never Been Kissed which was released in the Spring. A month later she could be found with a larger role in Idle Hands. Her two performances in those movies started a buzz in the entertainment industry. Many more magazines would come knocking on her door. Shortly after the release of those two movies, she landed the starring role in Paranoia. She finished filming Paranoia in June. The movie is in post-production now.
Shortly later she started working on what will potentially be her biggest work ever. She auditioned for the leading role in Dark Angel. She caught the eye of James Cameron and will now star in the post anticipated TV show of 2000, Dark Angel. With the huge success of Dark Angel and its legion of fans, Jessica will no longer be a rising star, she will be among the hollywood elite, a star.