At age 21,
Diaz auditioned for the movie The Mask, even though she had no previous acting experience,based on the recommendation of an agent for Elite who met the film's producers while they were searching for the female main actress. After obtaining the main female role, she immediately started acting lessons. The Mask became one of the top ten highest grossing films of 1994,and earned
Diaz nominations for several awards. During the next three years, she had roles in low-budget independent films, such as The Last Supper (1995), Feeling Minnesota (1996), She's the One (1996), Keys to
