Cameron Diaz turns 48 years old on Aug. 30, and she has quite a lot to celebrate this year. The actress and her husband, Benji Madden, welcomed their first child, a daughter named Raddix, at the end of 2019, so Cameron will have her little one by her side on this special day. Now that she’s retired from acting, her focus is fully on her family, and she’s cleraly come a long way from her early days in the industry.
Cameron actually began her career as a model when she was just 16 years old. It wasn’t until she was 21 that she landed her first film role. She starred alongside Jim Carrey in The Mask, which came out in 1994. The photo below is from a press event for The Mask. Although Cameron is totally ageless and still pretty much looks exactly the same as she did when the photo was taken, there’s definitely a youthfulness to her in the smiley shoot.
After The Mask, more roles began pouring in for Cameron. She became a staple in romantic comedies, with roles in films like There’s Something About Mary and My Best Friend’s Wedding in the late 90s. In 2000, she landed her iconic role in the film version of Charlie’s Angels alongside Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu. This allowed her to show her sexier side, and she reprised her role in the 2003 sequel, as well.
Cameron spent several years starring in dramas, but returned to comedies and rom-coms in 2005. Her final acting role was in the 2014 movie, Annie, where she played Miss Hannigan. After the movie came out, she revealed that she was taking a break from the industry, but in 2017, she confirmed that she had retired for good.
Of course, this means that Cameron lives a much more low-key lifestyle that’s mostly out of the public eye these days. During her time in the industry, though, Cameron attended a number of high-profile events and red carpet gatherings. Scroll through the gallery above to see her transformation from her early days of acting to now!