American actress, producer, writer, and fashion model, named in 2013 as the highest-paid actress over 40 in Hollywood. As of 2018, the U.S. domestic box office grosses of Diaz’s films total over US$3 billion, with worldwide grosses surpassing US$7 billion, making her the fifth highest-grossing U.S. domestic box office actress. After appearing in Will Gluck’s 2014 film adaptation of Annie, Diaz confirmed she was formally retiring from acting.
Diaz rose to stardom in the 1990s with roles in The Mask (1994), My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) and There’s Something About Mary (1998), and is also known for voicing the character of Princess Fiona in the Shrek series (2001–2010). Other high-profile credits include Charlie’s Angels (2000) and its sequel Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003), The Holiday (2006), Knight and Day (2010), The Green Hornet (2011), Bad Teacher (2011), and The Other Woman (2014).
Diaz has received four Golden Globe Award nominations, for her performances in Being John Malkovich (1999), Vanilla Sky (2001), Gangs of New York (2002), and There’s Something About Mary (1998) for which she also won the New York Film Critics Best Lead Actress Award. One of Hollywood’s hottest properties by 2001, Diaz successfully made the transition from modeling to the silver screen, and was soon on her way to being one of the superstars of the 21st Century.
The daughter of a Cuban-American father and an Anglo-German mother, her nickname is ‘Cami.’ She was a half-time dancer during football games in high school, and graduated from the Long Beach Poly Class of 1990 in Long Beach, California. Diaz has an unusual exotic beauty, and it was this quality that led her into modeling for the Elite Agency when she was only 16. Describing herself as “adventurous, independent and a tough kid,” she spent several years living in locations such as Japan, Australia, Paris, Mexico and Morocco, but ultimately returned to California when she was 21, turning her focus toward acting.
Following her role in The Mask, she chose to take acting lessons and concentrated on honing her skills with roles in various independent films. The 1.74m (5 ft 8 1/2 in) blonde with striking blue eyes turned in a spectacular performance in There’s Something About Mary (1998), propelling the cheerfully bawdy film into one of the year’s biggest box-office successes, and earning herself full-fledged star status along with a Golden Globe nomination.
She was chosen by People magazine in 1998 as one of the “50 Most Beautiful People in the World.” On 20 December 1999, Diaz was nominated for the 57th Annual Golden Globe Award for her role in Being John Malkovich (1999); the same role garnered her a SAG nomination. Proving she could hold her own opposite some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, her salary has increased substantially in a few short years. Reportedly she commanded $12,000,000 for her role in Charlie’s Angels (2000). Diaz has a reputation for being late and is extremely superstitious. In December 1999 she reported her passport was missing, along with a large sum of cash; subsequently an airline security guard was charged with the theft.
At age 18, while in Australia, she got alcohol poisoning. Prior to filming Mortal Kombat in 1995, she broke her wrist, and was replaced in the role. In 2003, she began a significant relationship with Justin Timberlake. The couple split in early 2007.
Her father died on 15 April 2008 from pneumonia and MRSA infection. He was only 58.
Diaz is the author of two health books, The Body Book (2013), a New York Times bestseller, and The Longevity Book (2016).
She married musician Benji Madden at her home in Beverly Hills, California, on 5 January 2015, after a 17-day engagement, having been introduced seven months earlier by her close friend and now sister-in-law, Nicole Richie. The marriage came as a reversal for Diaz, who had previously referred to the custom as a “dying institution” that doesn’t “suit our world any longer”. The couple welcomed their daughter Raddix Madden at 1:58 PM on 30 December 2019 in Los Angeles.
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