Cameron Diaz, the 52-year-old actress known for her roles in The Mask and There’s Something About Mary, has described her decade-long retirement from acting as “the best 10 years of my life”.
Diaz stepped away from the limelight in 2014 to focus on being a mother and wife, enjoying the freedom that came with her decision.
In a recent appearance on the BBC’s Graham Norton Show alongside Jamie Foxx, Diaz shared her thoughts on her temporary retirement. “Oh my God, I loved it. It was the best 10 years of my life,” she said. Diaz explained that she relished the opportunity to live her life privately, free from the demands of Hollywood.
Diaz has now returned to the screen, partnering with Foxx for the Netflix blockbuster Back In Action. This marks her first role since playing Miss Hannigan in the 2014 remake of Annie. She revealed that her return to acting “made sense for my family” as they wanted to “switch it up a little bit”.
The Hollywood star, who made her acting debut in the 1994 hit comedy The Mask, mentioned that she had turned down roles for years during her retirement until people “stopped asking”. However, she couldn’t resist the opportunity to work with Foxx again. “If I’m going to leave my family for 10 hours a day – I want to do it with… the most talented man in entertainment,” she said of Foxx, who she also co-starred with in Annie.
Diaz, who starred in other major films such as Charlie’s Angels, Shrek, and The Holiday, expressed her passion for entertaining people. “It’s just a privilege to do this. I thought to myself, if I just let this go away, all of this goodwill that I got to build over so much time, the passion that I have for entertaining people and making movies that make people smile and laugh and have a good time… if I don’t engage in that again… then I would be a fool.”
Having welcomed her second child with husband Benji Madden in March last year, Diaz told Norton she was back for “at least” this film, adding: “This is maybe the beginning, maybe I’ll tiptoe in, maybe I’ll just go like gung ho! I don’t know.”
Diaz has also completed filming for the upcoming Apple TV+ black comedy Outcome alongside Keanu Reeves and Jonah Hill.
