Born on August 30, 1972 in Long Beach, California, Cameron Diaz grew up in the typical fashion of any all-American girl. Except of course, she was an exceptional beauty. Cameron's dad, Emilio, a Cuban American, was a foreman at a California Oil Company. Her mom, Billie, who's German, English, and Native American, was an import-export broker. Cameron was raised in Long Beach alongside her sister Chimene. article continued below...

• In Her Shoes (2005) (completed) .... Maggie Feller
• Shrek 2 (2004) (voice) .... Princess Fiona
• Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) .... Natalie Cook
• Shrek 4-D (2003) (voice) .... Princess Fiona
  ... aka Shrek 3-D (USA: DVD title)
• Gangs of New York (2002) .... Jenny Everdeane

As she was growing up, Cameron was like most girls, listening to lots of modern music and acting wild. But by her mid-teens, Cameron began attending Hollywood parties and staying out until the wee hours of the morning.

It was during this party phase of her life that Cameron ended up meeting a well connected man who would change her whole life. Jeff Dunas spotted Cameron while she was out one night and told her that he could sign her up with the Elite modeling agency. Although Cameron initially thought his proposition was somewhat fishy, she took his card and discussed it with her family and friends. After having left Long Beach and having traveled around the world due to her modeling contracts, and having appeared in such magazines as Mademoiselle and Seventeen, Cameron returned to California at age 21, and although she continued to model, she knew that she wanted more. In 1994, she decided to audition for a small bit part in the movie, The Mask starring the elastic faced Jim Carrey. Although she didn't have any acting experience whatsoever, Cameron was cast as the female lead in the film. Although Cameron was supposed to star in Mortal Kombat, for which she was required to learn martial arts, she ended up injuring her wrist and ultimately had to back out of the film.

But after having received such rave reviews upon The Mask's release, Cameron set out to perfect her acting skills by steering clear of potential blockbuster hits and focused on low budget films such as The Last Supper, Feeling Minnesota which co-starred Keanu Reeves, and Head Above Water, in which she played Harvey Keitel's wife. Once Cameron felt that she had reached her acting acme, she returned to the big screen, starring in My Best Friends Wedding starring opposite Julia Roberts. It was at this time that The National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) acknowledged her string of movie triumphs by naming her the ShoWest Female Star of Tomorrow.

A little while after that, she hit the silver screen once again with A Life Less Ordinary starring opposite Ewan McGregor. Unfortunately, however, the movie was not well received by critics. The film that really turned Cameron into a household name was her now iconic role in There's Something About Mary, which co-starred comedian Ben Stiller and Matt Dillon. Although Cameron was dating Dillon for nearly three years, whom she met on the set of the film, the couple has recently split. More recently, Cameron starred opposite Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday, with John Cusack in Being John Malkovich (in which she's hardly recognizable), and most recently, she starring in Charlie's Angels with fellow beauties Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu.

• Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#13). [1995]
• Chosen by People Magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. [1998]
• Started working as a model when was 16.
• Was voted 13th in the Empire (UK) magazine's poll of the world 100 most sexy people. [August 1995]
• Has a reputation for being late.
• Auditioned for the film Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995) but lost the role to Gabrielle Anwar.
• Was set to play Sonya Blade in Mortal Kombat (1995) but broke her wrist prior to filming and was replaced by Bridgette Wilson.
• Got alcohol poisoning in Australia at age 18.
• Very superstitious.
• Father, Emilio Diaz, had a small role in There's Something About Mary (1998) as a 'Jailbird'.
• Graduated High School from Long Beach Poly Class of 1990 in Long Beach California
• Was a half-time dancer at football games in high school.
• Police caught an airline security guard at Los Angeles International Airport stealing items from Diaz. Diaz reported her passport and a large sum of cash missing. [December 1999]
• Engaged to actor Jared Leto. [November 2000]
• Auditioned for the film Waking the Dead (2000/I) but lost the role to Jennifer Connelly.
• Cameron's parents allowed the then - 16-year old to spend five years traveling the world to pursue her modeling career beginning in Japan, where she was accompanied only by a 15 year old fellow model.
• Was discovered by a photographer at a Hollywood party who, within a week, helped her land a contract with the Elite Modeling Agency.
• Lived with video producer Carlos De La Torre for five years.
• Her father is Cuban.
• Will ONLY wash her face in Evian spring water!
• Became only the second actress to join the coveted $20 Million Club (after Julia Roberts), when she signed for that amount to do Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) in January 2002.
• Was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People by People Magazine in 2002.
• Has an older sister named Chimene.
• Her mother, Billie, is of Native American, Italian and German descent.
• Voted the 11th Sexist Female Movie Star in the Australian Empire Magazine September 2002.
• Measurements: 34B-23-36 (on set of "The Mask") (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
• Broke off her engagment to Jared Leto.
• 30 August 2003 - Broke her nose in a surfing accident in Hawaii on her birthday.
• 20 Novemeber 2003 - Photographer John Rutter was ordered to stand trial for attempted extortion, attempted grand theft, perjury, and forgery after trying to blackmail her with topless shots he had of her from a 1992 shoot.
• Voted as #8 on the Top 100 Sexiest Women 2004 in FHM [DK]
• Hosted the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards '04 (2004) (TV) with co-host Mike Myers.
• Ranked #3 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World" (2002).