Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz)

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Lore & Background

Fiona is loosely based on the unsightly princess in William Steig's children's book Shrek! (1990), from which her role and appearance were significantly modified. The screenwriters adapted the character into a princess under a shapeshifting enchantment, an idea initially greatly contested by other filmmakers. In early drafts of the script, Fiona is born an ogre to human parents, who lock her in a tower to conceal her true nature and lie about her appearance to their subjects. One day, Fiona seeks help from a witch named Dama Fortuna, who offers her a choice between two potions, warning her that only one will turn her beautiful. Fiona selects the wrong potion, entitled 'Beauty', and only after drinking it learns that the elixir renders her human during the day before reverting every night. The writers had originally intended for Fiona's backstory to be the film's prologue, but discarded it after test audiences found the scene depressing. Additionally, Shrek 2 reveals why Fiona was locked in a tower in the first place, with the filmmakers realizing they could use some of the first film's abandoned concepts to gradually unveil more details about Fiona's story throughout the series. For Shrek 2, they decided to reimagine Dama Fortuna as Fiona's conniving fairy godmother and the sequel's main villain, who uses magic against Fiona and Shrek's marriage.

In Their Own Story

Fiona is voiced by actress Cameron Diaz. Comedian and actress Janeane Garofalo was originally cast as the character until she was fired from the first film with little explanation. According to film historian Jim Hill, the filmmakers originally cast Garofalo as Fiona because they had felt that the actress' 'abrasive, sarcastic comic persona' would serve as an ideal foil to Farley's positive approach to the titular character, but eventually relented that Garofalo was 'too downbeat' for the film's lighter tone, offering the role to Diaz. Fiona was Diaz's first animated role. DreamWorks invited Diaz to star in an animated film about an ogre and a princess who learn to accept both themselves and each other. In addition to the film's positive message, Diaz was drawn to the idea of co-starring alongside Myers, Eddie Murphy and John Lithgow. Approaching her role as though it were a dramatic performance, Diaz recorded most of her dialogue before a full script had been written, working closely with director Andrew Adamson to stage scenes before the film had been storyboarded. Prior to Shrek, Diaz starred in the action comedy film Charlie's Angels (2000), a role for which she had undergone martial arts training. While recording the scene in which her character fights Monsieur Hood and his Merry Men, Diaz became quite animated, gesturing and occasionally uttering Cantonese phrases; her martial arts background is credited with benefiting the sequence. Diaz once burped during a recording session, which was written into a scene for Fiona. Without a proper screenplay to aid her, Diaz found the improvisation required for some scenes one of the most challenging aspects of the recording process. The actress did not see the film's completed story until after she had finished working on the project on-and-off for two years, by which point she finally truly understood her 'character and ... what she was going through'.

Reader's Guide

The character is considered a parody of traditional princesses in both fairy tales and animated Disney films. Reception towards Fiona has been mostly positive, with critics commending her characterization, martial arts prowess and Diaz's performance. However, reviewers were divided over the character's human design, some of whom were impressed by her technological innovations, while others found her realism unsettling and too similar to Diaz. Several media publications consider Fiona a feminist icon, crediting her with subverting princess and gender stereotypes by embracing her flaws. Fiona was one of the first human characters to have a lead role in a computer-animated film, thus the animators aspired to make her both beautiful and realistic in appearance. However, an early test screening resulted in children reacting negatively towards the character's uncanny realism, prompting the animators to re-design Fiona into a more stylized, cartoonish heroine. Several revolutionary achievements in computer animation were applied to the character to render convincing skin, hair, clothing and lighting. Diaz also became one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses due to her role in the Shrek franchise, earning $3 million for her performance in the first film and upwards of $10 million for each sequel.

Did You Know?

• Fiona was one of the first human characters to have a lead role in a computer-animated film.
• An early test screening resulted in children reacting negatively towards the character's uncanny realism, prompting the animators to re-design Fiona into a more stylized, cartoonish heroine.
• Actress Janeane Garofalo was originally cast as Fiona until she was fired from the first film with little explanation.
• Cameron Diaz once burped during a recording session, which was written into a scene for Fiona.
• Diaz earned $3 million for her performance in the first film and upwards of $10 million for each sequel.