Cameron Diaz explains when she stopped acting and quit Hollywood

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

After Cameron Diaz burst onto the scene in 1994's THE MASK alongside Jim Carrey, her career essentially took off like a rocket. Through the late '90s to a little after the mid-2000s, Cameron Diaz stacked up an impressive filmography that was a mix of standard Hollywood fare (MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING, THE HOLIDAY, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, CHARLIE'S ANGELS, and THE SWEETEST THING) and character-driven films that showed she had depth and talent (BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, VANILLA SKY, ANY GIVEN SUNDAY, and GANGS OF NEW YORK). This is why it still comes as a surprise that her final film appearance came in the 2014 film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, ANNIE. Her IMDB credits come to a screeching halt after the release of that film and this wasn't an actress who was aging out and couldn't get roles anymore. This was clearly a choice and while she has touched on this topic a bit in the past, Diaz got candid recently with Gwyneth Paltrow about why she decided to stop acting and quit Hollywood.

During a conversation with Gwyneth Paltrow for "In Goop Health" series, Diaz explained that her decision to step away from Hollywood came down to wanting to focus on her personal life and getting away from the constant grind of being a working actress:

"I just decided that I wanted different things out of my life. I'd gone so hard for so long, working and making films, and it's such a grind. I didn't really make any space for my personal life. And then I decided to stop making movies and really focus on my personal life, my personal relationships with my family, with my friends."

Diaz married Good Charlotte lead singer Benji Madden in 2015 and the two also announced the birth of their first child earlier this year. Diaz says that getting married ended up being a big part of her ultimate decision to take a step back:

"Benj and I met each other, and we got married, pretty much immediately, because we both knew we had to do it. We needed this."

Diaz goes on to say that she "got peace in my soul because I finally was taking care of myself" when speaking about how she felt after she decided to stop being a working actress. Speaking of the work, acting and making films can be a grueling process that leaves time for little else. It seems as though she believed she was using her work as a crutch and she needed to prove to herself that she could be an adult on her own:

"I really looked at my life, and I saw what I had been. When you're making a movie, it's a perfect excuse, they own you. You're there 12 hours a day for months on end, and you have no time for anything else. And I realized I handed off parts of my life to all these other people… I needed to become self-sufficient again, you know. I really needed to know that I could take care of myself and that I knew how to be an adult."

The one thing she didn't touch on was whether or not she missed acting as a whole. I can't see her tapping out forever, even though she hasn't been in an acting project since 2014. I can honestly see her going the Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon route and tackling some awesome HBO or Netflix show and reemerging once again. Doing a limited series wouldn't be as grueling and she could still have the majority of the time for her personal life. Diaz was certainly no slouch as an actress. During her career, she picked up four Golden Globe Award nominations, three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and a New York Film Critics Award. She appeared in a slew of box office hits and by 2013, a mere year before she decided to "retire", she was named the highest-paid actress over 40 in Hollywood. As of 2018, the U.S. domestic box office grosses of her films total over $3 billion, with worldwide grosses surpassing $7 billion, making her the fifth highest-grossing U.S. domestic box office actress. I personally miss her on the big screen because I enjoyed her infectious personality but also loved it when she dug deep in more dramatic roles. Since quitting acting, Diaz has become an author, releasing "The Body Book" in 2013 and "The Longevity Book" in 2016. Even if she wants to be done, because she seems pretty content with her life right now, she's certainly accomplished a lot but I honestly think there is some more acting work left in her second act.

Do YOU want to see Cameron Diaz make a comeback?