She started her career as a model and went on to become the highest
paid actress in Hollywood - but what happened in between all that? Stay tuned to see all of
Cameron Diaz's transformation.
Cameron Diaz was born in August 1972 in San Diego, California, to a Cuban-American dad
and an Anglo-German mother. At the age of 16, Diaz signed on to become a professional model with the
Elite Agency. She quickly began picking up work for designers such as Calvin Klein and Levi's.
Diaz has spoken openly about being proud of her father's Cuban ancestry, telling RTVE in 2014
that her relationship with her Cuban family is a big part of her life. Despite that connection,
Diaz also admitted she doesn't speak Spanish - or any language besides English at all.
In 1994, Cameron Diaz was working as a model when a casting director named Fern Champion
inquired at her agency about any women who might be available for a role in an upcoming Jim Carrey
film. At the time, Carrey's first movie "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" had just been released,
and Champion was part of the crew for his next film, "The Mask."
Director Chuck Russell later told Variety that he had a good feeling about Diaz
from the start, saying -
"I saw Cameron's 8×10 on the casting desk and asked, 'What about her?' I was told she was
submitted but had not acted in anything else yet. I said to bring her in and let's see."
Diaz was a perfect fit as Tina, which Russell said was clear right away. After
working through a few callbacks and improv sessions with Carrey, Diaz landed the role.
In 1998, Cameron Diaz joined the cast of "There's Something About Mary," a film
written and directed by brothers Peter and Bobby Farrelly, with Diaz playing the title character,
As Bobby Farrelly told the Los Angeles Times, at the time of its release, the movie was the first
comedy to be rated R in several years. The goal of the brothers was to make a truly adult movie,
and by all appearances, they succeeded, especially with the infamous hair gel scene.
"Is that hair gel?"
"...Yeah."
"Great! I could use some."
"No no no you don't have to — you don't — you don't."
Diaz told Variety she was nervous about the scene on the day of shooting, saying -
"I trusted Bobby and Peter, obviously, because they are so hilarious,
but when we came up with the visual to the joke, it made me realize how right they were."
The Farrelly brothers had Diaz in mind for the role,
and were thrilled when she accepted. Diaz ended up winning a New York Film
Critics Circle award for her part and quickly picked up a series of parts in more movies.
Diaz and 'There's Something About Mary" co-star Matt Dillon
fell head over heels in 1995, a few years before filming the movie together.
Sadly, things didn't work out, and the couple broke up soon after the release of the movie.
Following that, Diaz was in relationships with a few high-profile men. In 2003,
Diaz made things official with singer Justin Timberlake
after they met at that year's Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. The pair weathered quite
a few reports that they each cheated, and they eventually split up in 2007.
In 2010, Diaz was linked to former New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez. The two began dating that year,
but didn't make it too long — they reportedly called it quits in September 2011.
In 2000, Cameron Diaz teamed up with Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore for the massively
successful cinematic version of the TV show "Charlie's Angels."
The three actresses quickly became very close friends,
and that relationship has lasted throughout the decades that have passed since the film's release.
In fact, when Barrymore celebrated her 46th birthday in February 2021, producers on her
talk show had Diaz show up as a surprise guest. Diaz admitted that the stars typically hang out
in person, something they weren't able to do in 2021 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In April 2008, Cameron Diaz was left reeling after her father unexpectedly died from pneumonia at the
age of 58. Her father was reportedly in excellent health, which made the news of his passing all the
more troubling and surprising for his family members. Cameron later issued a statement
about her father's death, saying - "My dad was loved by so many people
and his humor and spirit will always live on in our hearts."
Cameron spoke again about her father's passing a year later while speaking to Vogue, noting,
"You know, that's what the heart does. Things are given and things are taken away.
And I think the heart becomes stronger, more capable."
While 2008 was a challenging year for Cameron Diaz, it was also an incredible
time for her professionally. Diaz was crowned the highest-paid actress in Hollywood that year,
earning approximately $50 million, largely due to her role as Fiona in the "Shrek" film series.
Being cast in "Shrek" was a huge moment for Diaz, and the series went on to spawn
several installments. While being interviewed by Collider,
alongside her illustrious co-star Julie Andrews ahead of the third film's release,
Diaz explained what she loved the most about the story in the first place.
Diaz says that her character offers a wonderful lesson to young children, which is to not
"[...] just sit around and wait to be rescued, go out and take care of it — if you want this,
go and get it. You can't wait for somebody to do it for you."
When Diaz and Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden met at a party hosted by Benji's twin
brother, Diaz was immediately attracted to him. As she later told Andy Cohen,
that attraction ran deep, saying -
"It was one of those things where everyone tells you, 'You just know when you know.' I was like,
'What does that mean?' Oh, I get it. You just know when you know. Like you're my husband."
The pair were engaged not even a year later, and they got married in January 2015 in their living
room. While that might lead one to believe the pair's wedding was on the small side,
it turns out the opposite is true. Their wedding party included Diaz's close friend
Drew Barrymore, and The Knot revealed that the guest list included several celebrities,
such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon and Lionel Richie.
Cameron Diaz made another major move in 2014: after completing the 2014 remake of "Annie,"
Diaz decided to take a break from Hollywood. While the move surprised many, Diaz later
told Kevin Hart that it was necessary so that she could focus on other parts of her life.
"Um, I was realizing that, you know,
it's kind of like that one part of me that functioned at a high level wasn't enough."
Diaz also explained to Gwyneth Paltrow that as an actor,
she felt that too much of her life was taken care of by other people, and retiring from acting
allowed her to learn to take care of herself. This was hugely important to her, as she explained -
"I really needed to know that I could take care of myself […] that I knew how
to navigate the world of the complexity of being an adult and having responsibility and
putting all the pieces of my life together the way I wanted it to be put together."
In December 2019, Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden welcomed their daughter,
Raddix, to the family. The pair announced Raddix's surprising arrival in January 2020
in a joint statement that was posted to each of their Instagram accounts.
Diaz had previously stated that she had never been especially interested in becoming a mother,
but this changed when she met her husband. Following the birth of Raddix,
a friend close to the family told People that the timing just made more sense. The friend said -
"Cameron is so much more settled, stable, and happy. It was natural to want a baby."
In February 2021, Diaz admitted that now that her daughter is in the picture,
her retirement from acting feels even more cemented. As she told People -
"Maybe, never say never, but I couldn't imagine being a mom [...] on a movie set
that takes 14 hours, 16 hours of my day away from my child."
Diaz went on to add that welcoming a child later in life has allowed her
to be a type of mother that is so different from who she would have
been at any other point. While chatting with Naomi Campbell,
Diaz opened up about what it's been like to become a first-time parent in her 40s, explaining -
"When you're my age and you decide to do it,
it's a real choice. You really have to work hard for it."
Cameron Diaz hasn't stopped working completely - in 2020, she announced the launch of clean
wine label Avaline, which she founded alongside Katherine Power. While speaking to Yahoo! Finance,
Diaz pointed out that she hasn't spent a lot of her career endorsing products or brands.
But this time around, things were different because she was part of
the process of launching Avaline from the start.
[Credit: Yahoo Finance) diaz speaking about the business
"It felt right for me to be putting my name and energy behind
a product that I was co-founding with Katherine." https://youtu.be/IqOhN9Qfj3I?t=251]
The company immediately did well, selling more than 120,000 bottles of wine in the
first two months of operation, and it seems that things are only improving.
Diaz told Yahoo! Finance that the goal has been for the brand to stand on its own,
separate from her acting career, and so far things look like they are moving in that direction.
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