At 21, Diaz auditioned for The Masks, although she had no earlier acting expertise, based mostly on the recommendation of an agent for Elite who met the movie's producers whereas they have been looking for the female lead. After obtaining the lead female position, she immediately began acting lessons. The Mask grew to become one of many high ten highest grossing films of 1994, and earned Diaz nominations for a number of awards.
Over the next 3 years, she took roles in low-funds unbiased movies, reminiscent of The Final Supper (1995), Feeling Minnesota (1996), She's the One (1996), Keys to Tulsa (1996), and A Life Much less Odd (1997), preferring to feel her way successfully into the business. She was scheduled to star within the film Mortal Kombat, but needed to pull out after breaking her hand whereas training for the position
She returned to mainstream movies with the foremost box office successes My Greatest Buddy's Marriage ceremony (1997) and There's Something About Mary (1998), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe within the class of Best Actress - Musical or Comedy. She received important acclaim for her efficiency in Being John Malkovich (1999), which earned her Best Supporting Actress nominations at the Golden Globes, the BAFTA Awards, and the SAG Awards. During 1990-2000, Diaz starred in lots of films, such as Issues You Can Inform Just by Taking a look at Her, Very Dangerous Things, Any Given Sunday, and the hit adaptation of Charlie's Angels. In 2001, she gained nominations for Best Supporting Actress on the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards, the Critics' Alternative Awards, and the AFI Awards for Vanilla Sky, and likewise voiced Princess Fiona in Shrek, for which she earned $10 million
