Warning: This article discusses topics of suicide and terminal illnesses.

Cameron Diaz’s net worth has soared from her most memorable roles.

Thankfully, Cameron Diaz’s movie comeback is finally happening. The actress is due to appear opposite Keanu Reeves in Apple TV’s Outcome, and she is once again lending her voice to Princess Fiona in the fifth installment of the Shrek franchise. While Diaz is generally prominent in romantic comedy movies, some of her best projects see her taking on more dramatic and profound characters. Cameron Diaz has many amazing movies, but some are better than others.

20 Back In Action (2025)

As Emily

Following over a decade in retirement, Cameron Diaz has made her return to movies alongside a fellow A-lister in the Netflix original movie Back in Action. The film stars Diaz and Jamie Foxx as a pair of international secret agents who fall in love and decide to leave behind their days of saving the world to settle into a domestic life. However, years after getting married and starting a family, the couple finds their past catching up with them as they are forced to return to their old ways.

The idea of a spy having to mix personal and professional duties is hardly a new concept, but Back in Action elevates the familiar premise thanks to its stars. The title is quite appropriate for Diaz, seeing her return to the screen to show off her comedic and action skills, two areas she has always excelled in. The chemistry between her and Foxx makes for a lot of laughs and thrills.

19 The Box (2009)

As Norma Lewis

There are several Cameron Diaz movies that flew under the radar over the years that deserve to be sought out. The Box is one of the most interesting examples and presents one of the great moral dilemmas in movies. Diaz co-stars with James Marsden as a couple who are struggling financially when they get a visit from a mysterious man who offers them a chance at wealth. Presenting them with a box with a button inside, the man explains that if they press the button, they will receive $1 million but someone they have never met will die.

She plays a complex character, someone who is not evil but whose desperation is leading her down a dark path.

The Box does not quite live up to its intriguing premise as the answers and mythology the movie creates get a little too complicated. However, Diaz delivers a strong performance in the lead role that really grounds the human drama of the story. She plays a complex character, someone who is not evil but whose desperation is leading her down a dark path.

18 The Counselor (2013)

As Malkina

The Counselor is a movie that had a lot of things going for it, including an acclaimed director, renowned writer, and a star-studded cast that includes Cameron Diaz. While the film was a surprising failure among audiences and critics, the years have allowed it to be seen in a new light and viewed by some as a misunderstood gem. The Counselor stars Michael Fassbender as a lawyer about to be married when he sees his entire world threatened after getting involved with drug trafficking.

Directed by Ridley Scott and written by Cormac McCarthy, The Counselor also stars Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, and Brad Pitt. Diaz has a standout role as Malkina, the girlfriend of a drug dealer who turns out to have plans of her own. Some felt Diaz was miscast in the femme fatale role, but her commitment to the part is one of the most entertaining aspects of the bleak and violent saga.

17 Bad Teacher (2011)

As Elizabeth Halsey

Cameron Diaz has a reputation as a likable and charming star so it is a lot of fun seeing her subvert that image in the hilarious R-rated comedy Bad Teacher. Diaz stars as Elizabeth Halsey, a teacher at a middle school who is incompetent at her job and cares very little about educating her young students. However, when she is dumped by her rich fiancé, she is forced to return to the classroom, where she sets her sights on a new substitute teacher (Justin Timberlake).

It feels like Bad Santa but set in a middle school, which gives a sense of how much it leans into the R-rating.

Diaz is clearly having a lot of fun embracing the vulgarity and immoral nature of her character while delivering one of her funniest comedic performances to date. The movie has a simple premise but gets a lot of big laughs with such a flawed protagonist. It feels like Bad Santa but set in a middle school, which gives a sense of how much it leans into the R-rating.

16 Very Bad Things (1998)

Role: Laura Garrety

When it comes to dark comedies, it is hard to get much darker than Very Bad Things. The movie stars Jon Favreau as a man who is getting ready to marry his beautiful but demanding fiancé (Cameron Diaz), but first heads to Las Vegas with his friends for a wild bachelor party getaway. However, when the party ends with an accidental death, the friends are faced with the need to cover up their crime which only leads to more and more bodies piling up.

Very Bad Things will not be for everyone as it is grim and gruesome to the point that it might overshadow the comedic aspects. However, Diaz’s performance is the highlight of the movie as she leans into the absurdity and callousness of these characters, delivering the funniest moments of the story.

15 Any Given Sunday (1999)

Role: Christina Pagniacci

Oliver Stone has tackled a number of big topics in his movies, from the conspiracies of presidents to the Vietnam War to the greed of Wall Street. The acclaimed director stepped into the arena of sports for the first time in Any Given Sunday, looking at the high-stakes world of professional football. The movie stars Al Pacino as the coach of a fictional NFL team who has to deal with a variety of pressures in his job, including an aging quarterback, an arrogant new star, and a demanding new owner, played by Cameron Diaz.

The movie is a chaotic and engrossing immersion into this world with Stone’s penchant for filmmaking flair all over the project. Pacino leads an incredible cast that also includes Jamie Foxx, Dennis Quaid, and Aaron Eckhart. However, Diaz truly stands out, going toe-to-toe with Pacino in several scenes as this bold woman who is ready to show everyone that she is going to drag this team into the future.

14 In Her Shoes (2005)

Role: Maggie

Among some of Cameron Diaz’s flashier and bigger movies, In Her Shoes is an intimate gem that ranks among her best performances. The film focuses on the relationship between two adult sisters, played by Diaz and Toni Collette, who have very different personalities. While their relationship is shattered thanks to a heartless betrayal on Diaz’s part, they are forced back together when they come to learn about a grandmother (Shirley MacLaine) they never knew existed.

It is a story that seems rather ordinary but gradually builds to a wholly satisfying ending.

The movie is a showcase of three terrific actors, with each of the women creating nuanced and strong characters to play off each other. Diaz is wonderful as the flawed yet vulnerable Maggie, making her arc in the movie one of its most effective. It is a story that seems rather ordinary but gradually builds to a wholly satisfying ending.

13 Knight And Day (2010)

Role: June Havens

The combination of Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in an action movie helmed by James Mangold should have been an obvious hit, but Knight and Day was something of a disappointment at the box office and with critics. However, years after the fact, many more people are finally checking out the movie and seeing it as a truly underrated gem. Diaz stars as a woman who gets mixed up in the misadventures of a disgraced spy (Cruise) who is trying to clear his name.

Cruise and Diaz combine their action movie star power with Mangold’s expert directing in the genre to deliver some truly fun sequences. However, the real treat of the film is the comedic aspect, with Cruise delivering one of his funniest performances as the unhinged hero while Diaz brings her usually comedic timing to the great role of his foil. Their chemistry makes it a shame they didn’t make more movies together.

12 Gangs Of New York (2002)

Role: Jenny Everdeane

While Cameron Diaz has worked with some great directors in her career, collaborating with Martin Scorsese on one of his most ambitious projects is a certain standout. Gangs of New York is an epic historical drama that takes a look at the brutal early days of New York City and the gangs that clashed on the streets of the city. The story follows Leonardo DiCaprio as an Irish immigrant out to seek revenge on the mob boss (Daniel Day-Lewis) who killed his father years ago. Diaz plays a woman caught between the two men.

Diaz gives a fine performance in the movie, earning a Golden Globe for her work. However, she is just one aspect of the impressive overall movie, with it marking the first collaboration between DiCaprio and Scorsese, as well as featuring a towering performance from Day-Lewis. Scorsese paints a fascinating and wild portrait of American history, not shying away from the ugliness of it all.

11 What Happens In Vegas (2008)

Role: Joy McNally

What Happens in Vegas isn’t one of the best rom-coms of all time, but it is a very memorable one. Diaz stars as Joy McNally, a woman who meets Ashton Kutcher’s Jack Fuller Jr. in Las Vegas and drunkenly marries him. However, when Jack wins a huge fortune on a slot machine, which Joy provides the quarter for, they try to force their marriage to work for six months in order to keep half of the winnings each. Kutcher and Diaz’s chemistry is excellent, and both demonstrate the constant bickering and underlying tension between their characters brilliantly.

What Happens in Vegas is from the relatively early days of Ashton Kutcher’s career, but it isn’t the first film of his where he plays a struggling groom, having appeared in 2003’s Just Married, and this shows in his rapport with Diaz. While the critic reviews for What Happens in Vegas aren’t the best, Diaz still stands out. Joy is quite unlikeable when she is first introduced, but her later growth makes her easy to root for. Portraying Joy proves that Diaz can take on any type of character easily, even if the film’s story doesn’t do her any favors.