Cameron Diaz's best and worst movie roles ranked

By Gena Oppenheim 8:25am PDT, Aug 28, 2017

Cameron Diaz was only 22 years old when she broke onto the celebrity scene with her first major feature film, "The Mask." She's since racked up quite the Hollywood resume, though we're eagerly awaiting her return to the big screen since she decided to take a break to find herself in 2014. In the meantime, it's the four-time Golden Globe nominee's 45th birthday on Aug. 30, 2017, so let's check out some of her memorable — and, not so memorable — movie roles ranked, starting with her very worst.

No. 20: "Feeling Minnesota"

The 1996 drama "Feeling Minnesota" follows Cameron Diaz's Freddie Clayton, a former stripper who agrees to marry a club owner's friend in exchange for paying off her debt. To make matters even more complicated, she ends up falling for her husband's brother, Keanu Reeves' Jjaks Clayton. The plot goes into a total tailspin of robbery and murder after the lovers run away together, leaving us exhausted and unamused. The flick only earned a 3.8/10 average rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes for a reason.

No. 19: "Sex Tape"

Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel played Annie and Jay Hargrove in the 2014 naughty(ish) comedy "Sex Tape." After recording a lovemaking session in an attempt to spice things up, the video is accidentally sent around to the couple's closest friends and family members via the cloud. But Cam's frantic wife and mom-of-two character was actually quite flaccid. So much so, it earned her a Golden Raspberry Award for worst actress. Overall, the film was way less sexy than the title teased, nabbing a mere 4/10 average rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

No. 18: "The Other Woman"

With an all-star trio cast of blonde beauties — Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton — it was a bit surprising that "The Other Woman" only earned a 4.2/10 average rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Well, not all that surprising when you consider the lackluster plot, which revolves around a chauvinistic businessman cheating on his wife with not one but two girlfriends. Cam's Carly Whitten, girlfriend No. 1, teams up with the other ladies to plot revenge after they all discover one another. Even with huge box office numbers, the film, in which Cameron played an overindulgent lawyer, was only liked by 57 percent of Rotten Tomatoes audience members.

No. 17: "The Sweetest Thing"

Cameron Diaz in a triad of big female stars clearly doesn't always work for her. She flopped alongside Selma Blair and Christina Applegate in 2002's "The Sweetest Thing" as single and on-the-prowl Christina Walters. As cliche rom-coms go, she ends up happily married to the one guy who refuses to fall prey to her man-eater ways. The flick actually ended up scoring the same weak 4.2/10 critics' average as "The Other Woman," but was liked more by Rotten Tomatoes' audience voters at 65 percent.

No. 16: "Annie"

Maybe Cameron Diaz should have taken the hint after Sandra Bullock declined the role of Miss Hannigan in the 2014 "Annie" reboot. Cam's portrayal of the mean, controlling foster home boss lady was bad enough to be recognized with a nomination for worst supporting actress at the Golden Raspberry Awards. The musical on its own, with Quvenzhané Wallis as the lead, has an average rating of 4.5/10 from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

No. 15: "What Happens in Vegas"

If only what happened in this movie could actually stay in Vegas… Cameron Diaz teamed up with Ashton Kutcher for the 2008 rom-com "What Happens in Vegas" for a not-so-joyful ride through a night of drunken mistakes. Cam's Joy McNally is an uptight stock trader who heads out of town after getting dumped. She meets Ashton's Jack Fuller when they accidentally get assigned the same hotel room. Yup, you guessed it… The strangers end up tying the knot in Vegas after one too many drinks. An average 4.5/10 rating from critics is all this flick gets for its super-cliche plot line, according to Rotten Tomatoes.

No. 14: "The Counselor"

Cameron Diaz joined an ensemble cast with some major Hollywood players — Penelope Cruz, Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem — for the 2013 thriller "The Counselor." But despite an A-list roster, the drug-fueled cartel crime story was only liked by 23 percent of Rotten Tomatoes audience members, with a 5/10 average rating from critics. Still, Cam's ruthless, sexy, money-hungry character, Malkina, was definitely a different kind of role for the rom-com queen.

No. 13: "Bad Teacher"

Cameron Diaz starred in the 2011 comedy "Bad Teacher" as Elizabeth Halsey, a lazy and severely inappropriate middle school teacher who's working to raise money for breast implants after her rich fiance leaves her. Cam's boozy, pot-smoking character was just funny enough to win her a Teen Choice Award, but overall, the movie was a flop with a 5.3/10 average critic rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

No. 12: "Knight and Day"

In "Knight and Day," Cameron Diaz's June Havens gets unintentionally swept up into an action-packed rollercoaster adventure when she collides with Tom Cruise's rogue agent Roy Miller on an airplane. The 2010 flick served up a nonstop barrage of unrealistic danger that was totally trashed by critics. The Hollywood Reporter was brutally honest: "Laziness permeates the film from the inexplicable escapes to the neglected romance."

No. 11: "Vanilla Sky"

Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise had attempted a collaboration once before joining forces for "Knight and Day." Their 2001 sci-fi film "Vanilla Sky" was also met with mixed reviews for its twisted, psychological mind games, with a mere 5.3/10 average rating from Rotten Tomatoes. But Cam's performance as Julie Gianni, an obsessive ex-lover, earned her both a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination. Her intense, fatal-attraction persona showed off her range and took her career up a notch.

No. 10: "Any Given Sunday"

Despite some meh reviews, the 1999 football drama "Any Given Sunday" turned out to be quite the fan favorite, with a 73 percent fresh audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Cameron Diaz's Christina Pagniacci, owner and general manager of the Miami Sharks, takes charge of the team after inheriting it from her father. We really enjoyed her down-to-business, cutthroat performance as a woman in power, especially when she barked orders at acting legend Al Pacino's head coach character, Tony D'Amato.

No. 9: "Charlie's Angels"

The 2000 movie reboot of "Charlie's Angels" put a more comedic spin on the original action-drama TV series. Cameron Diaz's Natalie Cook teams up with Drew Barrymore's Dylan Sanders and Lucy Liu's Alex Mundy as tough-girl private investigators working for their elusive boss, Charlie. Since the movie wasn't all too serious, Cam could have fun with the sexy action role. The flick came out with 68 percent positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, though its sequels didn't stack up.

No. 8: "My Best Friend's Wedding"

Julia Roberts might have been cast as the lead in 1997's "My Best Friend's Wedding," but Cameron Diaz's supporting role was just as noteworthy. Cam's Kimmy Wallace is a 20-something college student from a wealthy family. Her naive persona and typical ray-of-sunshine attitude is crushed when she realizes that her fiance's best friend, Julia's Julianne Potter, is in love with him. The movie goes down in film history as a rom-com classic, scoring in the low 70s from both critics and audience members on Rotten Tomatoes.

No. 7: "The Holiday"

Cameron Diaz's niche is definitely a good rom-com role! Though 2006's "The Holiday" didn't pan out too well with critics, earning an average 5.5/10, a whopping 80 percent of Rotten Tomatoes audience members liked it. Cam's Amanda Woods is a workaholic living in Los Angeles who falls upon a home-exchange website and decides to swap with a woman in England for the Christmas holidays. In perfect cliche form, she ends up falling head-over-heels for the homeowner's cute brother, played by Jude Law.

No. 6: "In Her Shoes"

Acting alongside a major Hollywood icon like Shirley MacLaine is no easy feat, but Cameron Diaz rose to the task in 2005's "In Her Shoes." Cam's Maggie Feller is a broke party girl who relies on her lawyer sister for support until they have a blowout fight. She runs off to live with her long-lost grandmother at retirement community in Florida, where she uncovers the truth about her mother's mental illness and finds her path in life as a stylist for the elderly residents. With Cam and Shirley's comedic yet poignant performances, the movie earned 75 percent positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

No. 5: "The Mask"

1994's "The Mask" was Cameron Diaz's very first feature film and it scored a 6.4/10 average rating from critics and a 77 percent fresh rating from audience members on Rotten Tomatoes. The fantasy-comedy centers around Jim Carrey's timid bank clerk character, Stanley Ipkiss, who finds a strange wooden mask that turns him into a brazen, green-faced wiseguy. He uses his newfound confidence to win over Cam's Tina Carlyle, a seductive dancer at the Coco Bongo club, but ultimately realizes that he's better off without his oddball superhero powers.

No. 4: "Gangs of New York"

The 2002 drama "Gangs Of New York," which tells the story of an 1860s mob boss and his foes, scored an Academy Award nomination for best picture. We commend Cameron Diaz for stepping out of her comedy box to take on a more serious period piece, a move that paid off: Cameron earned a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actress for her work in the drama. She still incorporated some of her usual romance into the role, however, with Leonardo DiCaprio's Amsterdam Vallon falling in love with her pickpocket character, Jenny Everdeane. An impressive 81 percent of Rotten Tomatoes voters liked the film, which scored a 7.1/10 average rating from critics.

No. 3: "Shrek"

Cameron Diaz lent her voice to the 2001 animated film "Shrek" in which she played Princess Fiona, who falls in love with the titular green ogre after he saves her from captivity and, in turn, becomes an ogre herself. The flick was so well-liked that it won the first-ever Academy Award for best animated picture and sparked a whopping five sequels. Cam's bold and beautiful red-haired character helped the movie score an 88 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

No. 2: "There's Something About Mary"

After its 1998 debut, "There's Something About Mary" became a comedy cult classic. According to Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 83 percent fresh rating from critics too. Cameron Diaz's Mary Jensen is the object of affection of every guy in high school, including Ben Stiller's nerdy, clumsy Ted Stroehmann. He scores a date to prom with her but messes it all up when he gets a horrifying pants-zipper injury while using the restroom at her house before the dance. The movie picks back up more than a decade later when he decides to go after the dream girl he lost. Cam's hysterical performance earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination.

No. 1: "Being John Malkovich"

Cameron Diaz blew us away in the 1999 twisted-fantasy film "Being John Malkovich" as Lotte Schwartz, the eccentric pet-obsessed wife of John Cusack's Craig Schwartz. After he finds out that a small hidden door at work is actually a portal into the mind of John Malkovich, she becomes enchanted by the alternate realm. The dark comedy received 93 percent positive reviews from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It was, not surprisingly, nominated for three Academy Awards, and Cam received yet another Golden Globe nod for her mesmerizing performance.

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