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Cameron Diaz

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Cameron Diaz
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  • Born: 30 August 1972
  • Birthplace: Long Beach, California
  • Best Known As: The title character in the movie Something About Mary

An athletic blonde with wide-set blue eyes, Cameron Diaz made a conspicuous movie debut opposite Jim Carrey in the wacky 1994 fantasy The Mask. Then she became a superstar by appearing in more than a dozen movies in just six years. In both independent and mainstream movies, Diaz played hot babes (She's the One, 1996), nice girls (There's Something About Mary, 1998), and even frumpy, neurotic types (Being John Malkovich, 1999). There's Something About Mary was a particular hit for Diaz, a raucous comedy featuring her as the beautiful and kindhearted object of desire for an eternally clumsy Ben Stiller. Her other films include Charlie's Angels (2000) and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003, both with Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu), Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis) and the CGI comedies Shrek and Shrek 2 (2001 and 2004, with Mike Myers). Diaz then took a break from the movies to appear on MTV in her own non-fiction adventure series, Trippin'. She returned to the big screen in the 2006 romantic comedy The Holiday, co-starring Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black.

Diaz's father is Cuban-American; her mother is a German, English, and native American mix... Diaz dates singer Justin Timberlake.

 
 
Actor:

Cameron Diaz

  • Born: Aug 30, 1972
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '90s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Fantasy
  • Career Highlights: Being John Malkovich, My Best Friend's Wedding, Charlie's Angels
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Mask (1994)

Biography

Model-turned-actress Cameron Diaz seemed to come out of nowhere when she made her 1994 screen debut opposite Jim Carrey in The Mask. However, her unusual beauty -- the result of her Cuban-American and Anglo-German-Native-American parentage -- helped to ensure that she would not be soon forgotten.

Born in San Diego, CA, on August 30, 1972, Diaz left school at 16 to become a model. For the next five years, she traveled the globe, working in Japan, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, and Paris. As a model for the Elite Agency, she did commercial work for such products as Coke, Nivea, and L.A. Gear. She returned to California at the age of 21 and was unknown in the film industry when cast in her breakthrough role as the target of Jim Carrey's hyper-animated lust in The Mask. Following the hoopla surrounding her performance -- or, more specifically, her physical appearance -- in the film, Diaz opted to take acting lessons and appear in a series of small, independent films, including The Last Supper (1995), She's the One (1996), and Feeling Minnesota (1996).

After starring opposite Ewan McGregor in Danny Boyle's A Life Less Ordinary (1997), Diaz further endeared herself to audiences and critics with her performance in My Best Friend's Wedding (1997). Proving herself an acceptable foil for the film's star, Julia Roberts, she went on to greater success in the Farrelly brothers' There's Something About Mary in 1998. Starring as the film's titular heroine, Diaz turned in an audience-pleasing performance in the cheerfully bawdy film, which proved to be one of the year's biggest box-office successes. The same year, Diaz cameoed in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and starred as Jon Favreau's unhinged fiancée in the black comedy Very Bad Things. Now fully established as one of Hollywood's hottest properties, she accepted leads in 1999's Being John Malkovich, in which she played puppeteer John Cusack's wife, and Any Given Sunday, in which she played the president and co-owner of a football team in Oliver Stone's paean to American football.

In 2000, Diaz joined Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu in Charlie's Angels, the much-hyped big-screen remake of the television classic. A comically self-aware and fairly faithful adaptation of the original series, Charlie's Angels served up Matrix-style action with retro-sensibilities, propelling the franchise into the new millennium. The following year found Diaz endearing herself to younger audiences as the voice of Princess Fiona in the animated box-office smash Shrek, as well as using her wide-eyed innocence to horrific effect in the Tom Cruise mindbender Vanilla Sky. Headlining the ill-fated comedy The Next Best Thing in 2002, Diaz would take a historical trip to the birthplace of America in director Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York before becoming the second (after Julia Roberts) actress to join the "20-Million-Dollar Club" with Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Like its predecessor, the film performed well at the box office, and Diaz further proved her box-office clout in 2004 when another sequel, Shrek 2, became the third-highest grossing film of all time.

Diaz switched gears altogether in 2005 when she headed to the small screen, hosting and producing the MTV reality show Trippin'. With its focus on ecology and conservation, the program found the actress and her celebrity pals traipsing the globe to explore various natural environments. Diaz also remained a strong presence in Hollywood during the Christmas season of 2005 in the well-received Curtis Hanson film In Her Shoes. In this picture -- adapted from the Jennifer Weiner novel by Susannah Grant -- Diaz plays the beautiful yet thoroughly harebrained and irresponsible Maggie, sister of the prim, proper, and conservative attorney Rose (Australian import Toni Collette), with whom she comes to blows during their ill-advised stint as roommates. As Maggie discovers a grandmother that she never knew existed (Shirley MacLaine) and travels to Florida to bond with the woman, Rose experiences a significant romantic breakup and decides to change careers. A long-buried and dormant secret from the past then comes to light that reunites the women and forges a path to reconciliation. In Her Shoes struck box-office gold and won the hearts of many critics. And though it surprised just about everyone who foresaw a dopey, lame-brained romantic comedy, assiduous devotees of Hanson's career were perhaps less shocked given the director's keen intelligence and marvelous track record.

Diaz maintained a relatively low profile throughout 2006, following up the Hanson film with yet another lightly comic dissection of contemporary relationships, Nancy Meyers' Holiday. In this romantic comedy, released in December 2006, Diaz plays Amanda, a City of Angels native who meets Briton Iris (Titanic star Kate Winslet) on an Internet website that encourages its users to take vacations by temporarily "swapping homes" with one another. Inevitably, Amanda falls for an Englishman (Jude Law) while Iris meets and falls for an American man (Jack Black).

Meanwhile, the actress signed on to voice Princess Fiona again for Dreamworks' tertiary installment of the Shrek franchise, Shrek the Third, which finds Prince Fiona and Shrek the Ogre married but not planning to inherit the throne. When King Harold (the voice of John Cleese) falls ill, Shrek, Puss in Boots, and Donkey foresee the need for a scion, and set out to find Fiona's rebellious cousin, Artie, the "rightful" heir to the kingdom. Pop idol Justin Timberlake, Diaz's longtime boyfriend and suitor, provided the voice for Artie.

Prior to her long-standing romantic relationship with Timberlake (a constant source of tabloid fodder and speculation), Diaz was alternately linked, offscreen, with actor Matt Dillon, actor Jared Leto (to whom she was engaged for a time), and video producer Carlos De La Torre. She has never married, and according to some sources, never has any intention of marrying. In August 2004, however, she caused an enormous media stir when she turned up alongside Timberlake at Disney's Magic Kingdom in Orlando -- wearing what appeared to be a massive gold band with a diamond on her left hand; the couple denied that it was an engagement ring. The very same situation recurred in January 2005, when Diaz (sporting the same jewelry) and Timberlake popped up at the Los Angeles restaurant Angelini Osteria. ~ Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide

 
Wikipedia: Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz
In_her_shoes.jpg
Cameron Diaz on the cover of the DVD of In Her Shoes.
Birth name Cameron Michelle Diaz
Born August 30 1972 (1972--) (age 35)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Occupation fashion model (1988-1993)
actor (1993-present)

Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress and former fashion model. She is perhaps best known for her roles in blockbuster movies such as The Mask, There's Something About Mary, My Best Friend's Wedding, Charlie's Angels, Shrek, and Gangs of New York. Diaz was the second of three actresses to join the coveted "$20 Million Club" after receiving this salary for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle[citation needed].

Biography

Early life

Diaz was born in San Diego, California to Emilio Diaz and Billie (née Early).[1] Diaz's father is a second-generation Cuban-American[2] and her mother has German, English And Native American descent, .[3][4][5] Diaz attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School at the same time as rapper Snoop Dogg. During her school days, she was nicknamed Skeletor by her classmates because she was so thin. [citation needed]

Career

At 16 she began her career as a fashion model. Diaz signed with top modeling agency Elite Model Management. After graduating from high school, she went to work in Japan and met video director Carlo de la Torre. On her return to America, she moved in with him. For the next few years, her modeling took her around the world, working for contracts with major companies. She modelled for designers such as Calvin Klein and Levi's. She also graced the cover of the July 1990 issue of Seventeen magazine. During this period she also made a brief but now notorious soft pornographic film. [6]

At 21, Diaz auditioned for the Jim Carrey film The Mask. Even though she had no previous acting experience,[7] she was cast as the female lead. She signed up for acting lessons right after getting the part. Over the next three years, she won roles in low-budget, independent films, such as The Last Supper, Feeling Minnesota, and She's The One. She then regained mainstream success with her roles in My Best Friend's Wedding and There's Something About Mary. She won critical acclaim for her performance in Being John Malkovich, which earned her Best Supporting Actress nominations at the Golden Globes, the BAFTA Awards and the SAG Awards.

During the 1999-2000 period, Diaz starred in many films, such as Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, A Life Less Ordinary, 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 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 second actress (after Wedding costar Julia Roberts) to earn $20 million for a role, receiving the sum for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. After Full Throttle, Diaz only appeared in three films, Shrek 2, In Her Shoes and The Holiday . During 2004 and early 2005, Diaz explored some of the planet's environmentally unique locations while discovering ways to help preserve them for the 10-episode MTV series Trippin' which featured numerous celebrities and friends of Diaz, such as Jessica Alba, Drew Barrymore, Mark Hoppus, Eva Mendes and Justin Timberlake.

Future work for Diaz includes a role in Shrek the Third in 2007, where she co-stars with former boyfriend Justin Timberlake. She was set to team up again with The Mask co-star Jim Carrey in the film Fun with Dick and Jane, but she dropped out to star in In Her Shoes. She will also appear in Shrek 4. She will also star in The Box, a horror thriller which is due to start filming in November 2007. [8]

July 7, 2007, Diaz participated at Live Earth in New York by introducing The Police. In 2007, People magazine has ranked her as the Best Dressed Female Celebrity.[9]

Relationships

Diaz dated actor Matt Dillon from 1995 to 1998. She is also the ex-fiancée of actor, musician, and guitarist Jared Leto. They had a low-profile relationship from 1998 to 2002. There had been reports that Leto had broken up with Diaz because he was jealous of her increasing acting popularity. Other reports have said that they broke up because Diaz was concentrating more on her acting as Leto was more concerned about his band.

Most recently, Diaz dated former *NSYNC member Justin Timberlake, whom she met at the Kids' Choice Awards in 2003. The pair issued a joint statement on January 11, 2007, announcing they had broken up, following weeks of breakup rumors.[10]

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 "ambushed" and acting out of self-defense.[11]

Diaz and Timberlake were involved in another incident while walking out of a friend's house. A photographer jumped out of bushes and photographed them. He then entered his car and allegedly drove it towards Diaz, who had to jump out of the way. Diaz pressed charges against the photographer, whose agency supported his actions as legal and safe[citation needed].

Personal life

Diaz has publicly admitted she is deeply germophobic and habitually rubs doorknobs so hard before opening doors to clean them that the original paint fades afterwards[citation needed]. Along with her floors, she says, she washes her hands "many times" each day and uses her elbows to push open doors.[12] Diaz has perhaps modified her fears somewhat, saying on May 10, 2007, "I think I've made my peace with it."[13]

Diaz received "substantial" libel damages from suing American Media Incoporated, after The National Enquirer had claimed she was cheating on then-boyfriend Timberlake.[14] Diaz also sued successfully to stop the publication of bondage-themed nude photos taken of her before she became famous. Photographer John Rutter was eventually convicted and sentenced to a jail term for actions related to trying to extract money from Diaz in return for keeping the pictures from becoming public.

Diaz has been vocal in her opposition to U.S. President George W. Bush[15]. Before 2000's election (on October 26 to be exact), Diaz (along with her Charlie's Angels co-stars, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu) wore a shirt that said "I WON'T VOTE FOR A SON OF A BUSH!" while promoting Charlie's Angels on MTV's Total Request Live.[citation needed] During an Oprah appearance before 2004's election, Diaz said

Women have so much to lose... I mean, we could lose the right to our bodies. If you think rape should be legal then don't vote. But if you think you have a right to your body and you have a right to say what happens to you and fight off that danger of losing that, then you should vote. [16]

When Diaz was asked if she can speak Spanish she said

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 or Latin community. I grew up in Southern California on the beach, basically. And I'm third generation. I'm of Cuban descent, but I'm American. [17]

Diaz is currently represented by Creative Artists Agency. [8]

Dancing

Cameron Diaz's films often include scenes of her dancing, something she obviously has a talent for. Examples of this are Charlie's Angels, Charlie's Angels Full Throttle, The Mask and The Sweetest Thing. The dancing scenes in Charlie's Angels and Charlie's Angels Full Throttle have a focus on Cameron shaking her hips, particularly in Charlie's Angels where there is a scene of her shaking her hips to Baby Got Back. This lead to her even being asked why there are so many scenes of her shaking her bottom in her films by Will Ferell in Saturday Night Live. Will then for fun challenged Cameron to a "butt-off", which she won. In the director's commentary for Charlie's Angels Full Throttle, it is mentioned that Cameron wanted to do a musical number early in the film. This is granted, as there is a scene of her shaking her hips to MC Hammer's Can't Touch This.

Award nominations

Filmography

Year Title Role
1994 The Mask Tina Carlyle
1995 The Last Supper Jude
1996 She's the One Heather
Feeling Minnesota Freddie Clayton
Head Above Water Nathalie
1997 Keys to Tulsa Trudy
My Best Friend's Wedding Kimberly Wallace
A Life Less Ordinary Celine Naville
1998 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Blonde TV Reporter
There's Something About Mary Mary Jensen
Very Bad Things Laura Garrety
1999 Being John Malkovich Lotte Schwartz
Any Given Sunday Christina Pagniacci
2000 Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her Carol Faber
Charlie's Angels Natalie Cook
2001 The Invisible Circus Faith
Shrek Princess Fiona (voice)
Vanilla Sky Julianna 'Julie' Gianni
2002 The Sweetest Thing Christina Walters
My Father's House The Girl
Minority Report Woman on Metro
Gangs of New York Jenny Everdeane
2003 Shrek 4-D Princess Fiona (voice)
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Natalie Cook
2004 Shrek 2 Princess Fiona (voice)
2005 In Her Shoes Maggie Feller
2006 The Holiday Amanda Wood
2007 Shrek the Third Princess Fiona (voice)
Shrek the Halls (TV) Princess Fiona (voice)
The Box Norma Lewis
2008 My Sister's Keeper Sara Fitzgerald
What Happens In Vegas...
2010 Shrek 4 Princess Fiona (voice)


Awards
Preceded by
Julie Christie
for Afterglow
NYFCC Award for Best Actress
1998
for There's Something About Mary
Succeeded by
Hilary Swank
for Boys Don't Cry

References

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AllPosters.com  Posters. Copyright © 1998-2003 AllPosters.com, Inc. All rights reserved. 
Who2 Biography. Copyright © 1998-2008 by Who2, LLC. All rights reserved. See the Cameron Diaz biography from Who2.  Read more
Actor. Copyright © 2006 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cameron Diaz" Read more

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