Few actors have attained Cameron Diaz’s level of popularity and success. Diaz was one of Hollywood’s most in-demand performers, from breakout performances in The Mask and There’s Something About Mary to blockbuster franchises like Shrek and Charlie’s Angels.
But there’s a reason you haven’t seen Cameron Diaz in recent years: she’s been out of the movie business since 2017.
Diaz recently addressed why she has no regrets about leaving her profession behind, but also why she decided to return for one more project in recent interviews.
Diaz is one of Hollywood’s most successful actresses, with her films collecting a total of $3 billion at the US box office, making her the fifth-highest-grossing actress of all time. She was also nominated for four Golden Globes.
Her career was still prospering in the 2010s: she was the highest-paid Hollywood actress over 40 in 2013, and she participated in three films in 2014: The Other Woman, Sex Tape, and Annie.
Diaz, however, vanished from cinema screens after that. While she was still a bankable celebrity who might have scored major parts in movies and TV series, she chose to leave Hollywood to focus on herself and her family.
Diaz is married to Good Charlotte musician Benji Madden, and they had their first child, a girl called Raddix, via surrogate in 2019.
“I just decided that I wanted different things out of my life,” Cameron Diaz stated in a Gwyneth Paltrow interview last year. “I’d been working so hard for so long, making films, and it’s such a grind.” I didn’t create much room for my personal life.”
Diaz has stated in interviews that she doesn’t miss the busy and demanding schedule that comes with being a movie star.
“When you’re making a film, it’s the ideal excuse.” “They own you,” she went on. “You’re there 12 hours a day, every day for months.” You don’t have time for anything else. And I realized I had turned up elements of my life to these other individuals, and they had taken them. And I just had to take it back and accept responsibility for my life.”
“When you do something at a really high level for a really long period of time, there’s a lot that — when you’re the person who’s sort of delivering on this one thing,” she told the comedian. “You’re the person on the screen, you’re the person who’s ‘the talent’ — everything around you, all parts of you that isn’t that, has to be handed off to other people.”
Return to filmmaking
Diaz has stayed active in her spare time, writing two best-selling health books, The Body Book and The Longevity Book.
While she has been enjoying her retirement and has no regrets about leaving Hollywood, she has lately decided to come out of retirement for one more film.
Last year, it was announced that Diaz will return for a new film titled Back in Action, starring Jamie Foxx. It will be Diaz’s first new film since 2014’s Annie, and it will be released on Netflix this year.
Diaz and Foxx have collaborated on several projects, including Any Given Sunday and Annie, and Diaz couldn’t pass up the chance to reunite with her former co-star.
“I took the time, I met my husband, we got married, built our family, built our homes—all those things that take a lot of focus,” Diaz was quoted as saying by Rachel Ray. “That is still my top priority.” I wasn’t sure whether I could do both at the time, but it simply turned out that it’s a really good thing for my family right now.”
