Believe it or not, Cameron Diaz’s screen debut was actually The Mask in 1994 with Jim Carrey. America got its first glimpse of the beautiful model as an actress that year, and they could never get enough after that. Though her lowest-rated movie is Slackers at a measly 10%, and her most recent movies have been certified rotten on Rotten Tomatoes going all the way back to 2007, Cameron Diaz does have some real masterpieces hiding in the depths of her filmography.
If you enjoyed The Mask, you’ll love all the movies on our list of Cameron Diaz’s ten best movies (according to Rotten Tomatoes) — especially because The Mask just may make an appearance on the list!
10. Charlie’s Angels (68%)
No, Cameron Diaz isn’t in the new Charlie’s Angels, the Elizabeth Banks (director, producer, writer, star) juggernaut masterpiece from earlier this year, starring Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska as the new Angels. Cameron Diaz is now of the “old” angels from 2000’s Charlie’s Angels, where she co-starred with Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu as the three Angels — Natalie Cook, Dylan Sanders, and Alex Munday. This was the first movie in the Charlie’s Angels Extended Universe, or CAEU, for true fans, based on the TV show of the same name that aired in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
9. My Best Friend’s Wedding (73%)
When most people think of 1997’s My Best Friend’s Wedding, one of America’s favorite romcoms of the 1990s, they think of Julia Roberts in her starring role as Julianne Potter, a food critic who falls in love with her best friend, Michael (Dermot Mulroney) who is engaged to be married to Kimmy Wallace, played by Cameron Diaz. Kimmy is the daughter of the owner of the Chicago White Sox and a student at the University of Chicago, who Julianne feels is all wrong for Michael. The movie follows Julianne as she tries to persuade Michael to marry her instead of Kimmy, with an ending that — if you haven’t seen the movie before — may just surprise you!
8. Gangs of New York (73%)
Nobody can forget one of the best period dramas of all time, Gangs of New York, directed by Martin Scorsese and produced by Alberto Grimaldi and known abuser Harvey Weinstein. Based on the 1927 non-fiction book The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld by Herbert Asbury on the rise and fall of 19th-century gangs in the slums of New York City. The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Amsterdam Vallon and Daniel Day-Lewis as William Cutting, or “Bull the Butcher.” Cameron Diaz stars as Jenny Everdeane, a grifter and a pickpocket who falls in love with DiCaprio’s Amsterdam Vallon. We’re not sure who we’re more jealous of, Leo or Cameron!
7. Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (74%)
Not many people know about Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, a 2000 film written and directed by Rodrigo García. This movie stars Glenn Close, Calista Flockhart, Amy Brenneman, Holly Hunter, and — of course — Cameron Diaz. Holly Hunter received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Emmys for her role, but that’s about it.
Cameron Diaz plays Carol Faber, sister to Amy Brenneman’s Kathy. Carol is a blind woman who goes on a date with the medical examiner involved in the case woven into the other vignettes of the movie, and Carol is the one who reveals the ending of the story and the solution to the case.
6. In Her Shoes (75%)
In Her Shoes is a 2005 dramedy based on the novel of the same name by Jennifer Weiner. With an adapted screenplay by Susannah Grant, director-producer Curtis Hanson, and co-producers Ridley Scott and Tony Scott, it’s so small wonder this movie is one of Cameron Diaz’s best. Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette star as Maggie and Rose Feller, two sisters, and their relationship with each other and their grandmother, Ella, played by Shirley MacLaine. Cameron Diaz was nominated for an Imagen Foundation Award for Best Actress for her role in the movie.
5. The Mask (77%)
Ta-da! The Mask is, of course, on the list of Cameron Diaz’s top ten best movies (well, according to Rotten Tomatoes). The Mask is classified as a superhero comedy, since it’s (loosely) based off the comic of the same name, published by Dark Horse Comics. Directed by Chuck Russell, produced by Bob Engelman, and written by Mike Werb, this movie stars Jim Carrey as a nice guy named Stanley Ipkiss, who becomes an insane (and insanely confident) “superhero” when he puts on the titular Mask. Cameron Diaz is Tina Carlyle, the girlfriend of Peter Greene’s mobster Dorian Tyrell, and Jim Carrey’s love interest. Cameron Diaz makes her film debut in this role, and, man, she nails it, right out the gate!
4. There’s Something About Mary (83%)
There’s Something About Mary is a truly hilarious comedy directed by the Farrelly Brothers, Peter and Bobby Farrelly. Cameron Diaz stars in this 1998 box office success as Mary Jensen, a woman who is so dang appealing that multiple men try to woo Mary to be with them while a series of increasingly absurd and insane comedic situations befall them.
Cameron Diaz’s Mary Jensen is, of course, the titular Mary; the four men vying for Mary’s love are Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller), Pat Healy (Matt Dillon), Tucker/Norm Phipps (Lee Evans), and Dom Woganowski (Chris Elliott).
3. Shrek (88%)
Do not call yourself a cinephile if you haven’t seen Shrek (2001), directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson. Only loosely based on the picture book Shrek! by William Steig, Shrek is a comedy parodying fairytale movies and stories while telling the story of an ogre named Shrek, played by Mike Myers. Shrek and his friend, Donkey (played by Eddie Murphy), have to rescue Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz, of course!), a “damsel” in “distress” who is actually a princess with a secret — at night, she’s an ogre, too. They’re meant to deliver her to the evil Lord Farquaad (played by John Lithgow), but, instead, Shrek and Fiona fall in love. Cameron Diaz makes the movie as Fiona. If you haven’t seen this movie— Well, what’s wrong with you? Go watch it right now!
2. Shrek 2 (89%)
What’s better than Shrek? Oh, right — the sequel, Shrek 2! Even though everybody who’s anybody loved Shrek when it came out in 2001, it’s pretty much common knowledge that Shrek 2 is the superior film of the two. Released in 2004 and rising to a 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, Shrek 2 was directed by Andrew Adamson, returning from Shrek, joined by Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon this time. Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy reprise their roles as Shrek, Princess Fiona, and Donkey respectively, and are joined by Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), Queen Lillian (Julie Andrews), King Harold (John Cleese), and Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders). This is one of the best movies ever made. We will not be accepting questions at this time.
1. Being John Malkovich (93%)
Largely considered by those “in the know” (people who have seen movies) to be one of the best movies of the 1990s, Being John Malkovich deserves its rating of 93% and its position as the #1 on our list of Cameron Diaz’s ten best movies (according to Rotten Tomatoes). Directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman, who were actually both making their feature film debut with Being John Malkovich, amazingly, this movie is a fantasy, and a comedy, and a drama, all in one amazing film. This movie is about a puppeteer, Craig Schwartz (John Cusack), who finds a portal that leads directly into the mind of actor John Malkovich, eventually able to control his body. Cameron Diaz plays Craig’s wife, Lotte Schwartz, who finds a happy life through her experiences being John Malkovich, as it were.