You only have to look at one of her movies to know that, from her breakthrough role as the curvaceous, pouting blonde bombshell in The Mask to her role as the curvaceous, pouting blonde bombshell in She's The One and, more recently, as the curvaceous, pouting blonde bombshell in this year's My Best Friend's Wedding, (and in the flesh, I'm happy to report) Cameron Diaz is indeed a curvaceous, pouting blonde bombshell. 

 "I haven't deliberately set out to play the blonde bombshell in my movies," she offers after I point out the similarities in her roles. "In fact, it's probably been quite the opposite. After the success of The Mask, I wasn't offered all that many blonde bombshell parts, to be honest. I think people believed from the beginning that I could actually walk and talk at the same time. 

 "And when you look at the roles I have taken, they've actually been quite different from one another. My character in The Last Supper is a million miles away from the girl in The Mask, or the girl in She's The One. It's not like I'm really trying to avoid playing pretty girl roles either, in the same way that Wesley Snipes isn't going to try and avoid playing the black guy in his movies. You've just got to find different ways of playing each role." 

 The current odds-on favourite to top any of the World's Sexiest Woman polls, and the celebrated object of desire on a million and one unofficial fanclub websites, Cameron is surprisingly nonchalant about her looks. 

 "I'm very happy with the way I look," she smiles. "I wake up some morning, catch myself in the bathroom mirror, and go, 'hey girl, you're alright'. But on the other hand, I find the website stuff, and the polls, something completely removed from my own personal life. You can't take anything like that too seriously, otherwise you'd end up in the loony bin. 

 "In this profession, there are many, many good-looking people, and you can quickly recognise the pitfalls of letting that go to your head." 

 Nonetheless, Cameron knows she gives good press. An ex-teen model, her love affair with the camera obviously helps win her more than her fair share of magazine covers. 

 "There was a time when I was struggling to get a hit after The Mask, and yet I was doing all these interviews. And I realised that it had nothing to do with my acting abilities that these guys were travelling miles to talk to me. 

 "But it was a mutually beneficial thing, of course. A struggling actress isn't about to turn some good publicity down, now is she (laughs)?" 

 Not that this particular actress is struggling all that much anymore. After a string of well-received but hardly box-office-busting films, Diaz scored her first blockbuster since 1995's The Mask with this year's My Best Friends Wedding, a film in which she managed to outshine Julia Roberts. And now comes A Life Less Ordinary, from the makers of Shallow Grave and last year's cult phenomenon, Trainspotting. 

 Part American road movie, part 1950s romantic screwball comedy, and part the 1946 classic A Matter Of Life And Death, A Life Less Ordinary sees Cameron as the spoilt little rich girl who happily lets herself be kidnapped by a bungling, unwitting Ewan McGregor. As they hide out in the wilds of Utah trying to figure out a ransom demand, up in heaven Gabriel has sent down two of his matchmakers (Delroy Lindo and Holly Hunter) on a do-or-die mission to bring the odd couple together. 

 "The expectations are probably bigger in Europe than they are in America," muses Cameron, "largely because it was bigger hit here than in the States. That said, there's a huge promotional push behind the film, and everyone involved is on tenter hooks to see how it does. 

 "I love the movie, it's one of the best things I've done. But then, I would say that, wouldn't I? I can never truly judge a film I've been in until about a year afterwards. Then I can really see all the faults I made (laughs)." 

 Given the success of My Best Friend's Wedding, and the imminent release of A Life Less Ordinary, one would suspect Cameron Diaz to be swamped with script offers... 

 "But it's actually pretty quiet at the moment," she smiles. "Maybe it's the lull before the storm, but I think also I have quite a way to go yet before I'm taken seriously as an actress. Which is fine by me, because I feel I'm only learning still. Give me a little bit more time, and I'LL RULE THE WORLD." 

 With that, Cameron lets out yet another giggle before being ushered on to her next interview. Before she goes, I ask her if she was ever anything less than ravishingly attractive - perhaps a pre-teen ugly duckling? 

 "Oh yeah, sure, but I had such a sparkling personality, it really didn't matter (laughs)."