A tall, strikingly attractive blue-eyed bottle blonde, Cameron Diaz was born in 1972 in San Diego. She is the daughter of Billie (Anglo-German) and Emilio Diaz (Cuban-American). Self described as "adventurous, independent and a tough kid," Cameron left home at 16 and for the next 5 years lived in such varied locales as Japan, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, and Paris. Returning to California at the age of 21, she was working as a model when she auditioned for a part in The Mask (1994). To her amazement and despite having no previous acting experience, she was cast as the female lead in the film opposite Jim Carrey. Over the next 2 years, she honed her acting skills in low-budget independent films such as The Last Supper (1995), Feeling Minnesota (1996), Head Above Water (1996), and A Life Less Ordinary (1997); preferring to feel her way effectively into the industry instead of taking mainstream roles. She returned to the big screen in My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), another blockbuster in which she held her own against Julia Roberts. She earned full fledged star status for playing the title role in the box office smash There's Something About Mary (1998). With three of the biggest hits of the 1990s to her credit, her name near the top on virtually every list of Hollyood's sexiest actresses, and firmly established as one of filmdom's hottest properties and most sought after actresses, Cameron Diaz appears to possess everything necessary to become one of the super stars of the new century
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