About
Cameron Diaz is an American actor, producer, entrepreneur, and author who first lit up the screen with her 1994 debut in The Mask opposite Jim Carrey. A string of box-office hits followed—There’s Something About Mary, Charlie’s Angels, Shrek, Gangs of New York, and many more—earning her four Golden Globe nominations and a place among the highest-paid actors of the 2000s. After stepping away from acting in 2014 to focus on her personal life, she returned in 2025 for the Netflix action-comedy Back in Action, co-starring Jamie Foxx. Outside film, she co-founded Avaline, an organically farmed, transparently labeled wine brand that has scaled rapidly since its 2020 launch.
Before Fame
Growing up in Long Beach, California, Diaz was an athletic kid who loved to surf and play sports, but a different path opened when Elite Model Management offered a contract shortly before her 17th birthday. Modeling whisked her to Japan, Australia, and Paris, where she shot ads for major fashion and soft-drink brands. At 21, with zero acting lessons on her résumé, she auditioned for a new Jim Carrey project called The Mask. Her natural charm landed her the role of Tina Carlyle after a months-long casting process—jump-starting a film career she hadn’t planned for.
Trivia
- Record-breaking laughs: There’s Something About Mary (1998) grossed over $369 million worldwide and cemented Diaz as a comedy star.
- Voice royalty: She voiced Princess Fiona in the entire Shrek franchise, a series that has earned more than $3.5 billion globally.
- Literary lane: Diaz is a New York Times best-selling author—the wellness-focused The Body Book (2013) and The Longevity Book (2016) both landed on the list.
- Business brain: Avaline passed 500,000 cases shipped within its first four years and recently partnered with Southern Glazer’s, the largest wine distributor in the U.S.
- Comeback energy: Although she once described herself as “actually retired,” Diaz says she takes on limited projects that fit around family life—Back in Action shot mainly in London so her children could stay with her.
Family Life
Diaz was born on August 30 1972 to Emilio Diaz, an oil-company foreman of Cuban heritage, and import-export agent Billie Early, whose roots trace to Germany and England. She has one older sister, Chimene. In January 2015 the actor married Benji Madden, guitarist for pop-punk band Good Charlotte; they were introduced by Nicole Richie, who is married to Madden’s twin brother Joel. Their first child, daughter Raddix Chloe Wildflower Madden, arrived in December 2019. In March 2024 they announced the birth of their son, Cardinal, describing the moment as a “blessed and grateful” addition. Both children were born via surrogacy, and the couple have chosen to keep their faces offline to protect their privacy. Diaz credits motherhood with reshaping her priorities, from career choices to nutrition, and often jokes that she now values a full night’s sleep as highly as any award.
Associated With
Diaz’s three-decade career is dotted with long-time collaborators and influential friendships. She has shared the screen with Jim Carrey (The Mask), Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels), Tom Cruise (Vanilla Sky and Knight and Day), Leonardo DiCaprio (Gangs of New York), and Jamie Foxx (both Any Given Sunday and Back in Action). Off screen, she teams up with entrepreneur Katherine Power on Avaline, swaps parenting tips with Gwyneth Paltrow, and brainstorms music-film crossovers with her brothers-in-law Joel and Josh Madden. Each partnership highlights a different facet of her life—whether it’s creativity, wellness, or family—and underscores why Diaz remains a resonant cultural figure years after her first breakout moment.
