Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz has always been especially good at disrupting the image a movie builds around her. Born in San Diego on August 30, 1972, she began modeling as a teenager, signing with Elite Model Management at 16 and appearing in campaigns for Calvin Klein and Levi’s. Acting came later—and quickly. With no previous acting experience, she was cast as Tina Carlyle in 1994’s The Mask, took lessons after landing the role and emerged from the film as a major screen presence. Diaz could carry the bright machinery of a studio comedy, but her appeal was never limited to simply being charming. My Best Friend’s Wedding and There’s Something About Mary showed her willingness to surrender vanity for a joke, while Being John Malkovich sent that instinct somewhere stranger. As the pet-obsessed Lotte, she played against the glamorous persona attached to her early career and earned supporting-actress nominations from the Golden Globes, BAFTA and SAG Awards. Her filmography kept moving between broad comedy and sharper dramatic material. She played a football-team owner opposite Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday, brought volatility to Vanilla Sky and entered Martin Scorsese’s 19th-century New York as a pickpocket in Gangs of New York. At the same time, Charlie’s Angels made her part of a playful action trio with Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu. As the voice of Princess Fiona in Shrek and its sequels, Diaz also helped shape a fairy-tale heroine whose humor came from overturning expectations. Later roles ranged from the sisterly comedy-drama In Her Shoes and the romantic warmth of The Holiday to the unapologetically abrasive lead of Bad Teacher. After Annie in 2014, Diaz stepped away from acting, later writing books about health and aging. Her return came with the 2025 action-comedy Back in Action, reuniting her with Jamie Foxx. It was a fitting title for a performer whose best work has often depended on forward momentum, comic nerve and a readiness to take the polished surface somewhere messier.