Cameron Diaz was born in 1972 in San Diego, California, to Billie Joann (Early), an import-export agent, and Emilio Diaz, who worked for an oil company. Her mother has English, Scots-Irish, and German ancestry, and her father was from a Cuban family (of Spanish origin). 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 her agency secured her an audition for the female lead in The Mask (1994) opposite rising comedian Jim Carrey. Despite having no previous acting experience, she got the role and was launched into stardom virtually overnight as the film became one of 1994's biggest hits. Preferring to feel her way effectively into the industry, she turned down subsequent high-profile roles and spent the next 3 years honing her acting skills in such character-driven independent films as L'ultime souper (1995); Feeling Minnesota (1996); and Petits meurtres entre nous (1996). She returned to main stream films in Le mariage de mon meilleur ami (1997), where she held her own against Julia Roberts. By 1998, she'd earned full fledged star status for her performance in the box office smash Mary à tout prix (1998). With her name near the top on virtually every list of Hollywood'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.
