HAPPY WITH HERSELF 'THE HOLIDAY' STAR DIAZ IS HAVING FUN, WHETHER DRIVING ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD OR MILKING A COW.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Writer

So, really, who is Cameron Diaz? The goofy blond bubblehead she plays in so many movies?

The reluctant celebrity who, with and without boyfriend Justin Timberlake, is often in fights with tabloids and photographers? Or somebody much too self-aware to boil down to a thumbnail profile?

``Cameron is a first-class, really first-rate comedian,'' says Nancy Meyers, who wrote and directed Diaz's latest romantic comedy, ``The Holiday,'' and who suggests the actress is more self-aware, and much less like her characters. ``And she's also very, very vulnerable.

``Obviously, she's a knockout to look at. And I think she's a girl's girl. For such a sexy, hot-looking girl to be so girl-friendly, it's great. There are a lot of women who look like that on screen that other women look at, and you judge them a little bit. You don't judge Cameron Diaz. You're with her all the way.''

In the film, Diaz's L.A. movie-trailer editor and Kate Winslet's English journalist, both on the run from toxic relationships, swap homes for Christmas. Fish-out-of-water comedy and new romantic possibilities ensue.

Typical. But an interview with Diaz is anything but. First off, she shows up with a dark brown ponytail -- not for a role or anything, just because the classic California golden girl felt like looking different. And she's all friendly and chuckles, as you may expect, but she also wants to indulge a misanthropic streak that ... well, it makes you like her even more.

Some can get away with all kinds of things. Diaz is gleefully exploring her possibilities.

Q: Going anywhere for the holidays this year?

A: I'll be here (Los Angeles) when everybody else goes away, which is awesome. It's my favorite time of the year. It's glorious, I love being alone. I just love being by myself. I'm good at it. But not in a weird way. It's not like, ``Leave me alone!'' I'm just very comfortable by myself.

Q: Guess the idea of house-swapping isn't very appealing, huh?

A: Nope. Nope. No. No. Don't want anybody in my house. Well, friends of course, but not a total stranger.

Q: Your ``Holiday'' co-star Kate Winslet has been nominated for four Academy Awards. You're best-known for frothy comedies such as ``There's Something About Mary'' and ``Charlie's Angels.'' Does that ever make you feel, oh, I don't know, undervalued?

A: I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I'm happy with the things that I've accomplished. I'm not ashamed for being a happy, bubbly, funny person. I think that's just as valid as being the dark, brooding, tortured, Oscar-nominated one.

Not that I think that's what Kate is at all, but certainly, if you want to start putting people in boxes, I don't think that I'm undervalued. I'm really just honored to be in the position that I am in. I'm not going out there going, ``I need more.''

Q: You don't need more. You're one of Hollywood's highest-paid, most sought-after stars. Where do you want to go from here?

A: I'm terrible at making plans; I've no idea what I want. I remember when I started doing this, my first film, ``The Mask.'' Everybody kept asking me, ``Ten years from now, what kind of work do you see yourself doing?'' I was like, ``I don't know.'' I didn't know if I'd still be making movies or doing something completely different, but I just knew that I wanted to be happy, period. Whatever it is, making movies or milking a cow. I'm kind of on a milking-a-cow trip right now. I don't know why.

Q: So it's been more than 10 years -- are you happy?

A: I am very happy. I can't complain, although I do (laughs). But overall, I'm very happy with everything.

Q: And you haven't exactly been killing yourself lately, making about one movie a year and a ``Shrek'' cartoon or two.

A: I'm sure there's a lot of great roles out there. I'm just really bad at commitment... I'm really bad at saying, ``Yeah, I'm gonna be there in three months.''

It's gotta be something that I'm really sure I'm going to be happy doing if I get there.

I don't know where that comes from. It's probably a lack of discipline, honestly. It's probably being a spoiled brat and getting my way every time. It's the way it is. I just, you know ... I'm sure I'll suffer for it later, but I'm happy right now.

Q: You're in a long-term relationship, too, which surely helps. But ``The Holiday'' is about two heartbroken women. Could you relate?

A: I think that we've all been through these relationships before. That's just life. It's the journey of love, and this lifetime is to try to figure out how to make love work.

And who doesn't have problems? The great thing about love is that it's imperfect, and people spend a lot of time on it. What would we do if relationships were perfect? What would we do with our time?

Q: Advice for the lovelorn?

A: I think you just get through it. Having your heart broken is never fun. But you've got to get over it at some point, right? It just gets back to knowing yourself, being connected to yourself and happy with yourself. It always has to start there first.

All the time they're like, ``It's not about you.'' But really, it is. I encourage you to figure it out within yourself.

Q: Are marriage and kids in the cards for you?

A: I think everybody wants, at some point, to have that responsibility and be involved in that. But not at the moment; it's too much. Yeah, it's that commitment thing. I don't even want a dog. My cat just died; I don't even want a cat!

Oh, I just opened a frickin' can of worms. Q: So, um, sort of afraid to ask now, but how did you get along with the two little girls in ``The Holiday''?

A: Smacked 'em around. It always works. I'm just kidding. Why do I think that's so funny? I don't know. It's clearly not a thing you should joke about in print: ``She doesn't want kids, she smacks around the ones she works with, and she doesn't even want a dog.'' No, those girls were so sweet. It was a lot of fun.

Q: One last thing: How did you like driving in England?

A: The great thing about that was that the streets were shut down. Locked off. Nobody could get on the streets that didn't know that I was behind the wheel. But it's crazy, driving on the wrong side of the road. I can barely walk properly in England. Every time you step off of the curb, a sign says Look Right. But you always only see that after you've looked left first.

Bob Strauss [phone] [e-mail]

BORN: Cameron Michelle Diaz, Aug. 30, 1972, in San Diego.

BACKGROUND: After five years of globe-trotting and modeling, Diaz landed her first film role as the leading lady that steals Jim Carrey's heart in ``The Mask,'' despite having had no previous acting experience. She swears she didn't know how big the movie was until halfway through filming. When she asked where her parents could see the film, she was told, ``At the theaters.'' Her defense? ``Durrrrrrr. I'm blond. I'm allowed.''

PRETTY FUNNY: Diaz's true comedic talent was revealed in the 1998 film ``There's Something About Mary,'' holding her own with co-stars Ben Stiller and Matt Dillon. Most memorable about ``Mary'' was a scene that redefined having a bad hair day.

ON GOING BRUNET: ``I love it. I really prefer it,'' Diaz was quoted in a British newspaper on her new darker tresses. So, does this mean no more dumb-blonde jokes? ``I'm a natural blonde, so I still get to use that excuse.''

INTIMATE INTERVIEW: While Diaz is not shy about showing a little skin, her appearance on her friend Ellen DeGeneres' talk show was something worth blushing about. ``I was told to keep my legs together,'' Diaz said in response to her too-short skirt revealing a bit too much, right before DeGeneres offered up a napkin as a wardrobe supplement.

NO RINGS, PLEASE: Despite constant rumors of an engagement with longtime, live-in boyfriend Justin Timberlake, Diaz also reiterated on DeGeneres' show her lack of desire to tie the knot. ``I'm a commitment-phobe,'' she asserted, expressing her complete satisfaction with their ``kind-of-like married'' status.

FOURTH TIME'S A CHARM: Her love for surfing has resulted in the fourth incident that's left Diaz with a broken nose. This time, she says she's getting it fixed, citing medical reasons as the primary and only reason. ``It's not cosmetic, it's for breathing purposes,'' Diaz told Jay Leno last week on ``The Tonight Show.'' ``They're going to go in and fix the bone so the deviated septum is no longer blocked.''

NO HOLIDAY: With her newest film, ``The Holiday,'' coming out this month, the actress isn't interested in slowing down in her career or in her everyday life. Diaz is quoted as saying: ``Your regrets aren't what you did, but what you didn't do. So I take every opportunity.''

-- S. Debessai

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) CAndid Cameron

Love, work, hair color, house-swapping - no topic is off limits for star of 'The Holiday'

(2 -- 3) Cameron Diaz is an American in a less-than-ideal relationship who swaps homes -- and maybe more -- with an Englishwoman in ``The Holiday.'' Diaz says that in real life, she'd never give up her home to a stranger.

(4 -- 5) Above, Diaz appears on MTV's ``Total Request Live,'' Thursday in New York. At left, the actress watches a Clippers game in L.A. with boyfriend Justin Timberlake.

Scott Gries/Getty Images

Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

Box:

BEING CAMERON DIAZ (see text)