Rise to Fame
Chosen from around 1,200 contenders for Dark Angel, she was 19 when the show launched in 2000, earning a Golden Globe nomination and a magazine-cover career before the second season wrapped. Fantastic Four followed, clearing $333M worldwide on mediocre reviews. The more revealing detail from that set: director Tim Story reportedly instructed her to cry 'prettily,' an experience she's described as nearly making her quit acting entirely. She didn't quit. She used the platform to build something else.
In the Spotlight
Co-founding The Honest Company in 2011 turned out to be her real career move. Launched after an allergic reaction to baby detergent while pregnant, it hit a $1.7B valuation by 2015 and went public in May 2021 at a peak implied market cap of $2.68B. Her stake was worth roughly $130M on opening day. By 2022, it had dropped to around $27M. She stepped down as Chief Creative Officer in April 2024, with the company quietly removing her name from some packaging. The acting comeback followed. So did the divorce, filed in early 2025, with no prenup.
Side Notes
The childhood health file is long: partially collapsed lungs, a ruptured appendix, asthma, a tonsillar cyst, OCD. Years in and out of hospitals made her fixation on non-toxic products feel less like brand positioning and more like a genuine preoccupation. The Dark Angel years also produced an engagement to co-star Michael Weatherly, which ended before the show did. Her father was Air Force, so she reportedly moved every few years growing up. Her eldest daughter Honor got into Yale early decision in 2024, which might be the flex she's most comfortable talking about right now.