7 Hot Modeling Days Pictures of Cameron Diaz

Cameron Michelle Diaz was born August 30, 1972 in San Diego, California to Billie (née Early), an import/export agent, and Emilio Diaz (d. 2008), a foreman of the California oil company Unocal. Diaz has an elder sister, Chimene.

Her father's family is Cuban, and Diaz's ancestors had originally moved from Spain to Cuba. Later they settled in Ybor City, Tampa, before moving to California, where her father was born. Her mother has predominantly English and German ancestry.

[gallery columns="1" link="none" size="full" ids="8433,8434,8437,8438,8439,8440,8442"]

While still attending high school, Diaz signed a modeling contract with Elite Model Management at age 16, and appeared in advertisements for Calvin Klein and Levi's. The following year, at age 17, she was featured on the cover of the July 1990 issue of Seventeen magazine. Diaz also modeled for 2 to 3 months in Australia and shot a commercial for Coca-Cola in Sydney in 1991.

At the age of 21, Diaz auditioned for The Mask playing the sultry jazz singer Tina Carlyle, based on the recommendation of an agent for Elite, who met the film's producers while they were searching for the lead actress. Having no previous acting experience, she started acting lessons after being cast. The Mask became one of the top ten highest-grossing films of 1994 and launched Cameron Diaz as a leading actress in Hollywood.