The Mask (1994)
Cameron Diaz took a wholly unsubtle approach to launching her film career. Not content to start off with a couple of lines in some forgettable dross, the former model made one hell of an entrance in the Jim Carrey vehicle.
As Tina Carlyle, she strolled into Stanley Ipkiss's (Carrey) bank in a red, slit-to-the-thigh dress that ensured she caught everyone's attention.
The film was a massive hit, giving the former model a Hollywood calling card.
Blonde bombshell? Hell yes!
The Last Supper (1995)
Cameron could have continued to play the sexy damsel in distress in any number of Hollywood movies, but she chose smaller independent features to help her carve out her acting career.
The Last Supper sees her as one of five liberal grad students who get involved in murder as they repeatedly invite socially repugnant guests for dinner.
This jet-black comedy feels a little stagey, but is well worth a watch.
Blonde bombshell? Morally conflicted, but still very much explosively blonde.
She's the One (1996)
Cameron cranked up the attitude as a siren who comes between two brothers and their ailing marriages. Despite her previous employment as a hooker, the brothers can't help but fall for her bitchy charms.
Jennifer Aniston and Maxine Bahns are among the other ladies in this not-unpleasant-on-the-eye movie. It was written, produced and directed by Edward Burns, who also starred. Showoff.
Blonde bombshell? She was definitely the gentlemen's preference in this one, if you know what we're saying.
Feeling Minnesota (1996)
Still refusing to jump aboard the blockbuster train, Diaz got frisky with Keanu Reeves in this drama. Freddie (Diaz) has just married oafish loser Sam (Vincent D'Onofrio) to settle a bet, but before the wedding's even over she's running off with his more appealing brother Jjaks (Reeves).
Reeves and Diaz make a suitably cute coupling, but this grimey, grungey film feels like a patchwork of more original efforts. Kudos to Diaz though, for proving that she can do more than just drop dead gorgeous.
Blonde bombshell? Looking California...
Head Above Water (1996)
Diaz is good-time gal Nathalie, who has settled down and married (much) older judge, George (Harvey Keitel). Things descend into multiple-murdering, hide-the-body farce quickly, as George gets jealous when the smooth skinned, buff-bodied men from Nathalie's past show up.
Both Diaz and Keitel are decent enough, but this remake of 1993 Norwegian film Hodet over vannet has one twist too many and is bogged down with overly complex plotting.
Blonde bombshell? No one ever looked more at home at a beach house than a golden-haired Diaz.
Keys to Tulsa (1996)
Cameron took a teeny tiny role in this noiry thriller, which starred Eric Stoltz (remember him?) as Richter, one waster in a small Oklahoma town full of losers. He gets involved with drug dealer Ronnie (James Spader), in a story of strippers, blackmail and film reviewing.
Keys to Tulsa has a bit more humour than that grim setup might suggest, but it lacks the necessary edge to separate it from any number of Tarantino wannabes.
Blonde bombshell? Definitely, and the rising starlet nabbed far higher billing then the paltry role required.
My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
Cameron's character, Kimmy, could have easily been detestable as she's practically perfect. She's a rich (not to mention beautiful, natch) heiress, who is marrying Julia Roberts' best buddy. Credit to Diaz for making her so damn sweet and likeable.
Her performance helped to elevate this one above its cheesy rom-com foundations, making it difficult to know who to root for in what could have been an uncomplicated affair.
Blonde bombshell? Yeah, but her barnet is cut into an unflattering Carmella Soprano do.
A Life Less Ordinary (1997)
Danny Boyle followed up Trainspotting with this much lighter, but no less inventive, tale. Celine (Diaz) is the daughter of a rich businessman, and she's kidnapped by down-on-his-luck Robert (Ewan McGregor).
This ain't your standard rom-com, with angels, shoot-outs and game-show dream sequences abounding. The sparky dialogue between McGregor and Diaz makes this one though, with Diaz once again proving that she can play a spoilt bitch with 'tude, without skimping on the charm.
Blonde bombshell? Yes, but with another oddly 'mumsy' cut.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
You may have missed Cameron's part if you happened to blink at all throughout Terry Gilliam's fevered adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's gonzo novel.
She played 'Blonde TV Reporter' in Fear and Loathing , and the movie also featured small roles for Tobey Maguire and Christina Ricci alongside Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro as Raoul Duke and Dr Gonzo.
Blonde bombshell? It's in the character description...
There's Something About Mary (1998)
The film that definitively put Cam on the A-list was this Farrelly Brothers comedy. Mary (Diaz) has a magnetic effect on all the men she meets, from high school prom date Ben Stiller, to Matt Dillon's PI, to Lee Evans' pizza delivery boy.
Cameron showed that she could do funny with the gorgeous, standing her ground against the comedic cast, and the film became an enormous success at the box office.
Blonde bombshell? A certain styling product gave her fringe great lift...
Very Bad Things (1998)
Another comedy, though this time with a distinctly darker tone. Peter Berg's directorial debut followed a group of guys on a stag party, as things get terrifyingly out of hand after the death of a stripper.
Though this is a largely blokey affair, Diaz makes an impact as the bridezilla anxiously awaiting the guys' return.
Blonde bombshell? Blonde? Check! Explosive? Check!
Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (1999)
This collection of five interrelated tales sees Cam go blind as Carol. Thankfully her character isn't quite as wet as the rest of the gals in this soppy pic.
Other ladies include Glenn Close, Holly Hunter and a scarily-thin looking Calista Flockhart.
Blonde bombshell? Mousey brown here.
The Invisible Circus (1999)
Jordana Brewster travels Europe in the hope of discovering why her dead sis (Diaz) topped herself. Brewster meets her sister's shady ex (Christopher Eccleston) while trying to solve the mystery.
Cameron is still present throughout the film via flashbacks and such, but she'd have been better off giving this uninvolving thriller a miss.
Blonde bombshell? Verging on the brunette, with some seriously dodgy wig action augmenting the flashbacks.
Being John Malkovich (1999)
After appearing in random indie Man Woman Film , Diaz bagged one of the roles of her career in Spike Jonze's tour through the mind of John Malkovich. Virtually unrecognisable under a frizzy wig, Diaz is Lotte Schwarz, the wife of puppeteer Craig (John Cusack), discoverer of the portal into Malkovich's brain.
Lotte starts to realise her life's potential when she embarks on a relationship with Maxine (Catherine Keener) via the medium of Malkovich.
Blonde bombshell? Cam's hidden away under one of the worst hairstyles in cinema history.
Any Given Sunday (1999)
Cameron stands out again in very male-dominated affair. In Oliver Stone's American football drama, she plays Christina Pagniacci, owner of the Miami Sharks. This women is so feisty she can shout down screen lion Al Pacino, who's on roaring form as the team's head coach.
Dennis Quaid, James Woods, Jamie Foxx, Aaron Eckhart and John C. McGinley add to the testosterone quotient of the cast.
Blonde bombshell? The long blonde locks give her a butter-wouldn't-melt exterior that belies her fiery centre.
Charlie's Angels (2000)
When the TV show adaptation finally reached the big screen, it was something of a letdown. The casting of the titular triplet was certainly on the ball, with Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu bringing suitable amounts of sass to the crime-fighting foxes.
Sadly what could have been a fun romp (Bill Murray was Bosley for Chrissakes!) was made unbearable by a totally nonsensical plot, and a wildly uneven tone that just didn't know what to make of the source material.
Blonde bombshell? One saving grace of the film was that it knew how to make the gals look good...
Shrek (2001)
Cameron jumped aboard mega-franchise Shrek back in 2001. Part One in the series of the fairytale send-ups, this was the first animation to really give Pixar a run for their money in terms of storytelling and visuals.
This installment kept things simple, with the ogre on a mission to rescue Princess Fiona (Diaz) who's hiding a pretty big secret. Diaz couldn't really do a sappy sidekick, so thankfully Fiona has some spirit, and gets to kick a bit of ass.
Blonde bombshell? The animated princess is a redhead, in both her forms.
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Diaz took a supporting role in Cameron Crowe's remake of Spanish thriller Abre Los Ojos . She plays Tom Cruise's nutty fuckbuddy, who goes off the rails when he turns his attention to the beguiling Sofia (Penelope Cruz- reprising her role from the original).
This was a pretty straightforward remake, but it showed us a different side of Diaz: vunerable, insecure, desperate. The film also raised many philosophical questions about identity, love and who you would have gone for out of Cruz and Diaz.
Blonde bombshell? Yes, in stark constrast to Cruz's dark beauty.
The Sweetest Thing (2002)
Arguably the low point in Diaz's career, this gross-out chick flick sees Christina (Diaz) and her best pals on a cross-country trek to find the one that got away (Thomas Jane- who's never been so devoid of charisma before or since).
Diaz and Applegate do make the best of the poor material, but even their noble efforts can't salvage a movie that requires them to sing 'The Penis Song' .
Blonde bombshell? Blonde for sure, but rarely less appealing than in this calamity.
Gangs of New York (2002)
After a couple of cameo roles (in My Father's House and Minority Report ) Cameron Diaz reported for duty on Scorsese's epic. Cameron is street girl Jenny, who adds to the tension in the already fractious relationship between Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Bill Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis).
Diaz and DiCaprio struggle with Irish accents, but it doesn't matter, as everyone in the movie is totally eclipsed by Day-Lewis' towering performance as Bill the Butcher.
Blonde bombshell? This is Hollywood, so she had to go ginger to portray an Irish lass.
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
Nobody knows for who actually demanded a second outing for the Angels (although the inexplicably good box office receipts were probably to blame), but Full Throttle was even lamer than its predecessor.
McG was behind the megaphone again, and he showed even less restraint this time, bouncing back and forth from set piece to gratuitous butt wiggle without bothering to join these elements up with anything close to a plot.
Blonde bombshell? At least McG had the common decency to get beach babe Diaz into a bikini.
Shrek 2 (2004)
Shrek 2 confirmed that Dreamworks ugly, green grump was a force to be reckoned with, as it surpassed Finding Nemo to become the highest-grossing animated film ever. It still holds that top spot, though might Toy Story 3 claim the crown during summer 2010?
The movie is surprisingly funny, upping the ante (some new characters entered the fray, notably Antonio Banderas' Puss in Boots) while still retaining the charm and sly wit of the original.
Blonde bombshell? Giant ginger ogre mostly, with a brief return to her more conventionally-beautiful form.
In Her Shoes (2005)
In this Curtis Hanson-directed flick, Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette are sisters who have had a major falling out. Diaz is a fun-lovin', bed-hopping beauty, while Collette is the sensible, dowdy, lawyer one.
Despite the iffy-sounding premise, Hanson turns this into something much richer than you'd expect, as he draws layered, complex performances from both his leading ladies.
Blonde bombshell? Yeah, but like, it's ironic, innit? Skin deep and all that.
The Holiday (2006)
The Holiday sees losers in love Cameron D and Kate Winslet trade houses over Christmas (Cam gets a Blighty cottage, Kate stays in a luxury LA mansion). Both ladies find time for a spot of romance on their hols.
While this falls victim to every rom-com cliche in the book (well, both books if you consider the transatlantic double whammy), it does so with undeniable panache, and decent performances, especially from Jack Black unexpectedly, but welcomely, in romantic interest mode.
Blonde bombshell? The LA babe certainly stands out in the Surrey countryside.
Shrek the Third (2007)
This entry into the franchise sees things looking a bit stale. Shrek's mission teams him with a young King Arthur (Justin Timberlake- Diaz's then beau), in order to restore the kingdom's crown to its rightful owner (and save Shrek doing any work as a potential heir to the throne).
This one went through the motions without any of the pizzazz of the first two, and unforgivably relegated Donkey and Puss down the billing in favour of 'Artie', dull series-stalwart Prince Charming and a poorly-conceived Merlin.
Blonde bombshell? Ogre-ing it up once again.
What Happens in Vegas (2008)
Cameron Diaz pairs with Ashton Kutcher in this contrived mess, which sees the pair getting drunkenly married in Vegas, winning big on a slot machine, and having a judge force them to stay married for six months before they can split the $3 million dollar jackpot.
You'll have seen it all before, but rarely so cynically done, with such inherently dislikeable leads.
Blonde bombshell? Cameron's too bitter to bring some life to this pointless exercise.
My Sister's Keeper (2009)
This poorly received gloom-fest saw Cameron as the mother of two kids: Kate (Sofia Vassilieva), a leukemia sufferer, and Anna, a younger sibling genetically conceived to provide a suitable DNA match for her sister.
Cameron's Sara is pretty hard to warm to, as she's overprotective to the point of being a vicious battle-axe. Nick The Notebook Cassavetes directs this mawkish tale, which would feel more at home on the Hallmark Channel.
The Box (2009)
This one should have been a return to form for Richard Donnie Darko Kelly, but got a little crushed under the weight of its ambition. Diaz is Norma, and she takes delivery of the mystery box that could earn her and her husband a million cash dollars, at the cost of a random stranger's death.
Cam does a decent job in the role, which requires moral torment, a fair amount of fear and a Southern drawl.
Blonde bombshell? Cameron's performance is undeniably top-notch, despite whatever your feelings might be on the movie's last act.
Shrek Forever After (2010)
The fourth (and so we're promised) final part in the Shrek franchise, sees Shrek strike a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, only to end up in an alternate universe where he doesn't actually exist.
Shrek Forever After will be in multiplexes from Friday, and you can find out what Total Film thought of it right here .
As for Cameron, her star looks set to continue shining for some time yet: her upcoming roster includes Knight and Day , Bad Teacher and The Green Hornet .
