Cameron Diaz is an American actress, author and former fashion model who gained fame in the 1990s after appearing in several major Hollywood films. She has starred in some of the most memorable movies of all time such as “The Mask” (1994), “There’s Something About Mary” (1998) and “Charlie’s Angels” (2000).
Throughout her career she has earned four Golden Globe Award nominations, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and a New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. But what else do we know about this beloved star?
Born on August 30, 1972 to Billie Early and Emilio Diaz, Cameron grew up with two sisters named Chimene and Cassandra. At age 16 she was signed by Elite Model Management before pursuing acting when director Gregg Araki cast her as a drug-addicted teen in his 1994 film “The Mask”. From there came other roles that made people take notice including parts opposite Ben Stiller (“There is something about Mary”), Tom Cruise (“Vanilla Sky”) , Drew Barrymore & Lucy Liu (“Charlie’s Angels”) among others. It wasn’t until 2001 though that Cameron won critical acclaim for her performance as ‘the bad girl’ Elizabeth Halsey in “Bad Teacher” which landed her a nomination at the MTV Movie Awards followed by another Nomination from The People Choice Awards 2012.
In addition to acting, Cameron also authored two books; one being entitled “The Body Book: Feed Move Understand Your Amazing Design”, where she shares information about healthful eating habits along with fitness tips while encouraging readers to embrace their bodies whatever shape or size they may be. Her second book titled “Longevity: Live Longer Better” offers strategies for prolonging life through proper nutrition.
Diaz has starring roles in Charlie’s Angels (2000) and its sequel Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003), as well as voicing the character of Princess Fiona in the Shrek franchise (2001–10). Other notable films include Voiceless (2016), The Holiday (2006), Knight and Day (2010), The Green Hornet (2011), Bad Teacher (2011), What to Expect When You’re Expecting (2012), Annie (2014) and Sex Tape (2014).
Diaz was born in San Diego, California. Her mother, Billie (née Early; born August 11, 1950), was an import/export agent, and her father, Emilio (born December 23, 1949), worked for the California oil company UNOCAL as a foreman. Diaz has a younger sister, Chimene. Her parents have Cuban ancestry. Diaz was raised in Long Beach and attended Los Cerritos Elementary School, and then Long Beach Polytechnic High School.
After graduating from high school, she became interested in acting and worked as a videotape editor while seeking acting roles. Diaz currently ranks as one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood. As of 2019, the U.S. domestic box office grosses of Diaz’s films total over $3.1 billion, with worldwide grosses surpassing $7 billion, making her the fifth highest-grossing U.S. domestic box office actresses of all time. For her work as an actress, she has received Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations.
