Jessica Alba has posed in plenty of glamorous photo shoots, but the movie star has stunned fans by revealing that she felt "objectified" earlier in her career.

The 31-year-old U.S actress, who’s appeared in blockbusters such as Sin City and Fantastic Four, told Marie Claire: “I had a show [Fox’s Dark Angel] that premiered when I was 19. And right away, everyone formed a strong opinion about me because of the way I was marketed.

“I was supposed to be sexy, this tough action girl. That’s what people expected…I felt like I was being objectified, and it made me uncomfortable. I wanted to be chic and elegant!”

These days, she’s much more content to blend in.

She told the magazine: “I like to get positive attention. But if I have a choice between someone noticing in a negative way what I’m wearing and going, What was she thinking? or someone not noticing what I’m wearing, I would rather not make a statement at all and just have a good conversation instead.”

When Ms Alba does dress up, she explained that she does it for herself, not any male admirers.

She added: “Now that I’m older, I’ve learned how to own it, but I’m still not very overt. There are some women who dress for men. I dress for myself.

"It took me some time to get here. Being a mom and feeling grown-up have helped. Now if I’m going to wear something short, it has to have a high neck or a little sci-fi toughness to it, an edge.”

Jessica Alba appears on the cover of the June issue of Marie Claire, which hits newsstands on Tuesday, May 22nd.