Cameron Diaz fought back tears during a U.S. TV interview on Monday as she paid tribute to her late father.

Diaz made her first public appearance following the death of her father, Emilio Diaz, at the Los Angeles premiere of her new film What Happens In Vegas and continued to promote the project on U.S. show Good Morning America with co-star Ashton Kutcher.

The smiling but clearly emotional actress said, “Well you know, it’s one of things you don’t really sum it up in a few words. I just think we’re so fortunate as a family to have the family that we have and my father, he was dad.” Emilio Diaz died suddenly last month, aged 58, after a bout of influenza developed into pneumonia.