Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She gained fame in the 1990s with roles in the blockbuster films The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary. Other notable film credits include Charlie's Angels, Vanilla Sky, Gangs of New York, and voicing Princess Fiona in the Shrek series. Diaz received Golden Globe nominations for her performances in There's Something About Mary, Being John Malkovich, Vanilla Sky, and Gangs of New York.Early life
Diaz was born in San Diego, California, the daughter of Billie (née Early), an import-export agent, and Emilio Diaz (1949–2008), who worked for the California oil company UNOCAL for more than 20 years as a field gauger. Her father, who was born in Los Angeles County, was a second-generation Cuban American, whose family came from Spain via Cuba (her paternal grandparents settled in Tampa's Ybor City) and her mother is of English, German, and Cherokee descent. She has two older siblings: Chimene and Michael. She attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School where she was in the theater program for one year.
Career
Modeling
At 15, she began her career as a fashion model. Diaz signed with top modeling agency Elite Model Management. For the next few years, her modeling took her around the world, working for contracts with major companies. She modeled for designers such as Calvin Klein and Levi's. When she was seventeen she was featured on the cover of the July 1990 issue of Seventeen magazine.
Acting
At 21, Diaz auditioned for The Mask, even though she had no previous acting experience, based on the recommendation of an agent for Elite who met the film's producers while they were searching for the female lead. After obtaining the lead female role, she immediately started acting lessons. The Mask became one of the top ten highest grossing films of 1994, and earned Diaz nominations for several awards.
Over the next 3 years, she took roles in low-budget independent films, such as The Last Supper (1995), Feeling Minnesota (1996), She's the One (1996), Keys to Tulsa (1996), and A Life Less Ordinary (1997), preferring to feel her way effectively into the business. She was scheduled to star in the film Mortal Kombat, but had to pull out after breaking her hand while training for the role.
She returned to mainstream films with the major box office successes My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) and There's Something About Mary (1998), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of Best Actress — Musical or Comedy. She received critical acclaim for her performance in Being John Malkovich (1999), which earned her Best Supporting Actress nominations at the Golden Globes, the BAFTA Awards, and the SAG Awards. During 1990–2000, Diaz starred in many films, such as Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, Very Bad Things, Any Given Sunday, and the hit adaptation of Charlie's Angels. In 2001, she won nominations for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards, the Critics' Choice Awards, and the AFI Awards for Vanilla Sky, and also voiced Princess Fiona in Shrek, for which she earned $10 million.
In 2003, Diaz received another Golden Globe nomination for Martin Scorsese's epic Gangs of New York, and became the third actress (after Wedding costar Julia Roberts) to earn $20 million for a role, receiving the sum for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Her next films were In Her Shoes (2005), and The Holiday (2006). She was set to team up again with The Mask co-star Jim Carrey in the film Fun with Dick and Jane, but dropped out to star in In Her Shoes. Diaz reportedly earned $50 million in the period of a year ending June 2008, for her roles in What Happens in Vegas opposite Ashton Kutcher, and the Shrek sequels. In 2009, she starred in My Sister's Keeper and The Box.
In 2010, Forbes Magazine ranked Cameron Diaz as the richest Hispanic female celebrity, ranking number 60 among the top 100. Also that year, Diaz again voiced Princess Fiona in Shrek Forever After, and reunited with her Vanilla Sky co-star Tom Cruise in the action/comedy Knight and Day.
Personal life
Diaz received "substantial" defamation damages from suing American Media Incorporated, after The National Enquirer had claimed she was cheating on then-boyfriend Timberlake.
In 1992, Diaz appeared in a soft-core S&M video entitled "She's No Angel" shot by photographer John Rutter. In 2003, she won an injunction against Rutter preventing him from distributing the video or accompanying photographs, but in 2004, the video was distributed online through a Russian website.
When Diaz was asked if she can speak Spanish she said:
“ I go, 'God, you know, it all sounds so familiar. I know what you're saying, I really do. I just cannot respond to you back in Spanish. I can barely speak English properly.' I didn't grow up in a Cuban community. I grew up in Southern California on the beach, basically. And I'm third generation. I'm of Cuban descent. ”
She was vocal in her support for Al Gore in 2000. Diaz went so far as sporting a t-shirt that read "I won't vote for a son of a Bush!" while making the publicity rounds for Charlie's Angels.
Diaz has also been involved with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the first and largest nonprofit for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, and has spoken as an advocate for military families.
Although she was quoted in a 1997 Time Magazine article saying she was germophobic, Diaz specifically denied this on the June 26, 2009 edition of Real Time with Bill Maher, saying that a small comment she made 12 years earlier regarding public bathroom doorknobs was blown out of proportion.
On April 15, 2008, her father, Emilio Diaz, died of pneumonia, aged 58.
Relationships
In 1995, she began a relationship with actor Matt Dillon, with whom she co-starred in There's Something About Mary and broke up with in 1998. She then had a relationship with singer/actor Jared Leto from 1999 to 2003. Diaz dated singer Justin Timberlake from 2003 to 2006. In October 2004, Diaz and Timberlake were in an altercation with a tabloid photographer outside a hotel. When the photographer and another man tried to photograph them, the couple snatched the camera. Pictures of the incident appeared in Us Weekly. Representatives for the pair claimed that they were acting out a scene on a set. As of July 2010, Diaz has been in a romantic relationship with New York Yankees baseball star Alex Rodriguez.
Filmography and awards
In 1996, Diaz received an award at the ShoWest Convention for "Female Star of Tomorrow." In 2006, she won a People's Choice Award for "Favorite Leading Lady." On June 22, 2009, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Mask | Tina Carlyle | Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Most Desirable Female Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Dance Sequence (shared with Jim Carrey) |
| 1995 | The Last Supper | Jude | |
| 1996 | She's the One | Heather | |
| 1996 | Feeling Minnesota | Freddie Clayton | |
| 1996 | Head Above Water | Nathalie | |
| 1996 | Keys to Tulsa | Trudy | |
| 1997 | My Best Friend's Wedding | Kimberly Wallace | ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film in a Crossover Role Blockbuster Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Comedy Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |
| 1997 | A Life Less Ordinary | Celine Naville | Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Dance Sequence (shared with Ewan McGregor) |
| 1998 | Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas | Blonde TV Reporter | |
| 1998 | There's Something About Mary | Mary Jensen | American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Blockbuster Award for Favorite Actress – Comedy Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Breakthrough Artist New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Teen Choice Award for Most Disgusting Scene MTV Movie Award for Best Performance - Female Virtuoso Award for Best Actress Nominated — ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film in a Crossover Role Nominated — Empire Award for Best Actress Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated — Imagen Foundation Award for Best Actress Nominated — Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Actress Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo Nominated — People's Choice Awards for Best Actress Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Film Actress |
| 1998 | Very Bad Things | Laura Garrety | |
| 1999 | Man Woman Film | Random Celebrity | cameo |
| 1999 | Being John Malkovich | Lotte Schwartz | Nominated — American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated — Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Nominated — Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Film Actress Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Film - Choice Hissy Fit |
| 1999 | Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her | Carol Faber | |
| 1999 | The Invisible Circus | Faith | |
| 1999 | Any Given Sunday | Christina Pagniacci | ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress - Drama Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Film Actress |
| 2000 | Charlie's Angels | Natalie Cook | Nominated — American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated — Blockbuster Award for Favorite Actress – Comedy Nominated — Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Actress In A Film Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo Nominated — MTV Movie Awards for Best Line Nominated — MTV Movie Awards for Best Dance Sequence Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Film Actress |
| 2001 | Shrek | Princess Fiona | Nominated — Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Voice |
| 2001 | Vanilla Sky | Julie Gianni | Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — AFI Award for Best Actress Nominated — ALMA Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role |
| 2002 | The Sweetest Thing | Christina Walters | Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Favorite Comedy Actress |
| 2002 | Gangs of New York | Jenny Everdeane | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Favorite Film Actress |
| 2003 | Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle | Natalie Cook | Imagen Foundation Award for Best Actress Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Actress Nominated — MTV Movie Awards for Best Dance Sequence |
| 2004 | Shrek 2 | Princess Fiona | voice |
| 2005 | In Her Shoes | Maggie Feller | Nominated — Imagen Foundation Award for Best Actress |
| 2006 | The Holiday | Amanda Woods | Nominated — ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress – Motion Picture MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss Teen Choice Awards for Hissy Fit NRJ Ciné Awards for Best Actress |
| 2007 | Shrek the Third | Princess Fiona | voice |
| 2008 | What Happens in Vegas | Joy McNally | Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Comedy Actress |
| 2009 | My Sister's Keeper | Sara Fitzgerald | ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress – Motion Picture Teen Choice Awards for Film Actress |
| 2009 | The Box | Norma Lewis | |
| 2010 | Shrek Forever After | Princess Fiona | voice |
| 2010 | Knight and Day | June Havens | |
| 2011 | The Green Hornet | Lenore Case | |
| 2011 | Bad Teacher | Elizabeth Halsey |
[edit] Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Trippin [28] | Herself | MTV - Travel Documentary |
| 2007 | Shrek the Halls | Princess Fiona | Made for television |
| 2008–2009 | Saturday Night Live | Kiki Deamore | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | Sesame Street | ||
| 2010 | Top Gear | Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car | Series 15, Episode 5 - appeared alongside Tom Cruise |
| 2010 | Scared Shrekless | Princess Fiona | Made for television |
