Born on August 30, 1972, in Long Beach, California, Cameron Diaz grew up in the typical fashion of any all-American girl -- except, of course, for the fact that she was an exceptional beauty.

Cameron's dad, Emilio, a Cuban-American, was a foreman at a California oil company. Her mom, Billie, who's German, English and Native American, was an import-export broker. Cameron was raised in Long Beach with her sister Chimene.

cameron diaz becomes a model

As she was growing up, Cameron was, like most girls, listening to modern music and acting wild. And by her mid-teens, Cameron began attending Hollywood parties and staying out until the wee hours of the morning. It was during this party phase of her life that Cameron ended up meeting a well-connected man who would change her whole life.

Jeff Dunas spotted Cameron while she was out one night and told her that he could sign her up with the Elite modeling agency. Although Cameron initially thought his proposition was somewhat fishy, she took his card and discussed it with her family and friends.

After leaving Long Beach and traveling around the world as a model, and appearing in magazines like Mademoiselle and Seventeen, Cameron returned to California at 21, with thoughts of acting on her mind.

cameron diaz in the mask

In 1994, she decided to audition for a small bit part in the movie The Mask, starring Jim Carrey. Although she didn't have any acting experience, Cameron was cast as the female lead in the film.

After receiving rave reviews for her performance in The Mask, Cameron set out to perfect her acting skills by steering clear of potential blockbuster hits and focusing on low-budget films such as The Last Supper (1999), Feeling Minnesota (1996), which costarred Keanu Reeves, and Head Above Water (1996), in which she played Harvey Keitel's wife.

cameron diaz in my best friend's wedding

Once Cameron felt that she reached her acting acme, she returned to big-budget films like My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), in which she starred opposite Julia Roberts. It was at this time that The National Association of Theatre Owners acknowledged her string of movie triumphs by naming her the ShoWest Female Star of Tomorrow.

That same year, she hit the silver screen once again in A Life Less Ordinary, starring opposite Ewan McGregor.

But the film that really turned Cameron into a household name was her iconic role in There's Something About Mary (1998), which costarred Ben Stiller and Matt Dillon. The film not only catapulted her stardom, but it also gave Cameron her first publicized relationship as she began dating Dillon; the relationship lasted for nearly three years.

cameron stars in charlie's angels

In 1999, Cameron starred opposite Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday, and opposite John Cusack in Being John Malkovich, which earned her nominations for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globes, the BAFTA Awards and the SAG Awards.

2000 marked the year Cameron debuted as an action star in Charlie's Angels with fellow beauties Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu.

2001 was also a big year for this starlet: She lent her voice to the ever-popular animated film, Shrek, and she starred alongside Tom Cruise is the critically acclaimed Vanilla Sky. Her appearance in the film earned her Best Actress nominations at the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards and the AFI Awards.

cameron diaz in gangs of new york

Cameron spent the next few years starring in Gangs of New York (2002), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) -- for which her $20 million salary made her the second actress after Julia Roberts to earn that much for a role -- and Shrek 2 (2004).

In 2004, Maxim ranked this rising beauty as No. 22 in their annual hot 100; she ranked No. 11 in 2005. Finally, in 2006, she was ranked in the top 10 at No. 7.

cameron diaz and justin timberlake

During this time, Cameron was in another high-profile relationship; this time with former band-boy member, Justin Timberlake, whom she met at the Kids' Choice Awards in 2003. The two enjoyed a four-year relationship until calling it quits in 2007.

2007 also marked the year that Cameron appeared in Shrek The Third as the voice of the lovable Fiona.