On a road trip from Los Angeles to the Palm Springs, Calif. location of her Vogue photo shoot, 36-year-old Cameron Diaz proved she’s a good driver, a genuinely nice person and was more than ready to tackle the meaty role of playing the mother of a dying child in her upcoming movie “My Sister’s Keeper.” All without abandoning her signature surfer girl speak and infectious laugh.

Diaz talked to Vogue about breaking out of her comedy comfort zone and taking on an intense drama:

“People who put labels on themselves limit themselves. If you are a woman who’s been labeled as a sex symbol, for instance-I mean, I am not saying that’s the label people would apply to me. But if you see yourself that way, inevitably you get to a point when you are no longer a sex symbol. And if you can’t move past that, you’re putting a limit on yourself; you’re arresting your development. And that’s where I think a lot of women get in trouble.”

An undeniable sex symbol in front of Mario Testino’s lens, the green actress (at the box office and in real life) dons organic designs by 3.1 Phillip Lim, Stella McCartney and Rag & Bone, just to name a few, for her desert-set “Sunshine Superwoman” (or as we like to call it “Diaz in Desert”) editorial.

For a behind-the-scenes look at the photo shoot, check out Cameron’s Vogue Video Diary, below.

The June issue of Vogue hits newsstands on Tuesday, May 19th.