18 Shocking Facts About Cameron Diaz You Might Not Know
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Cameron Diaz is an undeniable star. From her very first role in The Mask, Diaz has brought warmth and charisma in spades to every project since then, even the (few and far between) stumbles. She has been featured in almost any genre you can name and done a great job, from surreal comedies like Being John Malkovich, to blockbusters like Charlie’s Angels, to her family-friendly role as Princess Fiona in the Shrek movies.
Diaz stepped away for a hiatus from acting after finishing 2014’s Annie, but her return is coming up in the upcoming action comedy Back in Action. If you consider yourself a Cameron Diaz super-fan, read on to see if you know all of these obscure facts about the superstar.
From Modeling to The Mask
Diaz’s rise to stardom was rapid after her appearance in the slapstick comedy The Mask, alongside Jim Carrey. Her role as the jazz singer Tina Carlyle was her very first acting role.
Diaz had been working as a model under contract with Elite Model management, who organized an audition with the film’s producers. Even though she was a total acting rookie, her natural charm and talent won out, and Diaz was cast at the age of 21.
The Mask Stars At Cannes
The Mask, based on the Dark Horse Comics series of the same name, was released in July 1994, and Diaz attended the Cannes Film Festival with Jim Carrey to do a gauntlet of promotion for the film. It was a box office smash and is still remembered fondly for its creative special effects and wild performances, but it reportedly could have been a horror movie when it was in the early stages of development.
Always a Fashion Icon
Diaz began her modeling journey at age 16 while still in high school and appeared in advertisements for brands like Levi’s and Calvin Klein. She continued modeling with Elite for a few years in the ’90s until Hollywood came knocking.
Diaz is a Whiz Behind the Wheel
Here’s a shot of the star competing in the Long Beach Grand Prix Toyota Pro/Celebrityhood Race in 1995. Clearly, Diaz has a bit of a daredevil streak. She has performed some of her own driving stunts in movies like Knight and Day and burns rubber in this sweet clip from the car show Top Gear in 2010.
Diaz Missed Out on Mortal Kombat
Cameron Diaz was first in line to play Sonya Blade in the 1995 film adaptation of the violent fighting game franchise Mortal Kombat. She began martial arts training for the role soon after finishing The Mask but had to drop out due to an injury. She has had plenty of other chances to prove her action star potential, thankfully.
The Last Supper
Diaz took time to do smaller-scale projects than The Mask after her huge debut. The indie dark comedy The Last Supper starred Diaz as one of a group of graduate students who plot to murder a group of ultra-conservatives at a dinner party. It didn’t make a big splash but secured a very good three-star rating from film critic Roger Ebert.
My Best Friend’s Wedding
Diaz was in one of the greatest rom-coms of all time with her role in My Best Friend’s Wedding. While star Julia Roberts received a ton of praise for her part, Diaz was just as excellent in her supporting role. The cast and director did a reunion for Entertainment Weekly in 2019, where they discussed the movie’s impact and recalled shooting great moments, like Diaz’s incredible karaoke scene.
Saturday Night Live
Diaz has hosted an impressive four episodes of Saturday Night Live, with her first appearance in 1998. She has done ridiculous monologues, amazing music videos, and some very silly characters for this comedic institution.
Being John Malkovich
Diaz’s part in Being John Malkovich from Spike Jonze is a perfectly peculiar romp if you haven’t seen it before. She reflected on having a different look for her character Lotte Schwartz in an interview for Cranky Critic. “I didn’t realize that people weren’t going to recognize me until I put the costume on and I stood around talking to people working the production. I just assumed they knew it was me, but they thought I was a stranger,” Diaz said.
Charlie’s Angels
Who could forget Diaz’s incredible turn in this spy action thriller with Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore by her side? While training for this part, Diaz wrote in her book that she got a pep talk from martial arts trainer Cheung-yan Yuen that was fit for a movie itself, ending with, “Your new best friend is pain.”
Gangs of New York at Cannes
Here’s Diaz back at Cannes for an extended preview of her movie with Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, the excellent Gangs of New York. Some fans critiqued her Irish accent, but she still held her own amongst other acting greats as the pickpocket Jenny Everdeane.
Charlie’s Angels Friendship Forever
Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, and Cameron Diaz formed a tight bond on the sets of Charlie’s Angels and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle that has endured years later. Barrymore hosted Diaz and Liu for a reunion for the debut of her show The Drew Barrymore Show, 20 years after the first Charlie’s Angels film came out.
She Produced the Reality Series Trippin
Cameron hosted and was an executive producer on the star-studded MTV reality series Trippin exploring the environment and wildlife of various regions around the world. Guest stars included Drew Barrymore, Jessica Alba, Eva Mendes, and Jimmy Fallon.
The Holiday
Diaz seemed born to play the California movie trailer producer Amanda Woods in this Nancy Meyers romantic comedy, and it turns out it was was actually written for her. Meyers herself admitted that the female leads were both written with their eventual stars, Diaz and Kate Winslet, in mind from the early stages.
Knight and Day Could Have Been Different
Because of a lengthy development process, Diaz might have never appeared in the action comedy Knight and Day. Before she was cast, the project had Chris Tucker and Eva Mendes attached, and an even earlier version of the script was set to star Adam Sandler before he decided it wasn’t the right fit.
Celeb Sisters-in-Law
It’s not by blood, but did you know that Diaz and Nicole Richie are sisters-in-law? Their husbands, Benji and Joel Madden respectively, are twin brothers. Diaz and Richie were close friends to begin with, and Richie introduced Diaz to Benji in the first place.
Related: Inside Lionel Richie’s Sprawling Family Tree
Guess Her Favorite Character
Do you think you know what Cameron Diaz’s favorite character she has played is? Well, this is from a 2010 New York Times interview so it’s not exactly current, but back then, she said, “of all the characters that I’ve done there’s only one that I really get, and that’s Fiona.” Shrek for the win.
Annie
Diaz was nervous to accept the role of Miss Hannigan in Annie because she didn’t have much singing experience. “I sang in My Best Friend’s Wedding. That was more true to my voice. But that’s my karaoke voice, you see,” she said on Ellen.
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