Jessica Alba is not one to be ignored  – she’s gone from cute as a button to Hollywood goddess over the years, and now has a $1 billion company riding next to her film credits. Also, boys, there is this music video from that movie where she wore the bikini a lot.

But let’s talk about that company of hers, The Honest Company, based in Santa Monica, CA. It boasts 120 products, from all-organic cotton and plant-based polymer tampons to organic beeswax sunscreen to vegan-leather diaper bags. Really, it’s got it all.

What inspired Alba to get started on the company? She needed to fill a gap.

In 2008 Alba was newly engaged to Internet entrepreneur Cash Warren and pregnant with their first child. At a baby shower thrown by family and friends, she remembers her mother advising her to use baby detergent to prewash the piles of onesies she’d received as gifts. She used a mainstream brand and immediately broke out into ugly red welts

Alba says she asked herself one question: “How can this be safe for babies if I’m having this type of reaction?”

She started doing major research on product ingredients, finding the likes of petrochemicals, formaldehydes and flame retardants in most products. Of course, trying to shop for products was hard, with many that were free of bad ingredients having ridiculously high price tags.

After brainstorming with a few people, Honest was born.

In 2012, its first year selling products, it hit $10 million in revenue. By last year it was $150 million, and industry insiders are predicting over $250 million this year. The company is focused on growth over profits, boasting a current valuation to match: $1 billion.

Alba owns between 15% and 20% of the company, so is “sitting on a fortune of $200 million”.

She’s on her way to earning a spot on FORBES’ new ranking of America’s Richest Self-Made Women, just $50 million shy of Beyoncé and Judge Judy.

Oprah and Madonna are also on the list, so I would say that Alba definitely has bragging rights.

Just goes to prove that age old theory: look for the gap in the market.

[Source: Forbes]