Cameron Diaz Stopped Acting for 11 Years Because ‘I Had to Reclaim My Life’ and ‘No One’s Offer Could Change My Mind About Taking Care of Myself’

When Cameron Diaz headlines Netflix’s action comedy “Back in Action” alongside Jamie Foxx next year, it will mark her first movie in 11 years. The actor left Hollywood for a decade to focus on her family (she has two children with husband Benji Madden) and launch businesses like her popular wine Avaline. Speaking at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit, Diaz stood by her decision to retire from acting for just over a decade.

“For me, it was just something I had to do,” Diaz said. “It felt like something I had to do to reclaim my own life. And I just really didn’t care about anything else.”

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“Nobody’s opinion, nobody’s success, no one’s offer, no one’s anything could change my mind about my decision of taking care of myself and building the life that I really wanted to have,” Diaz added. “It really comes to: What are you passionate about? For me, it was to build my family.”

Cameron is now jumpstarting her acting career again. Netflix’s “Back in Action,” streaming Jan. 17, 2025, centers on two former CIA spies (Diaz and Foxx) who are forced back into a life of espionage after their secret identities are exposed. The film, directed by Seth Gordon, co-stars Kyle Chandler, Andrew Scott and Glenn Close.

Also on the horizon for Diaz is a return to the “Shrek” franchise, which is developing a fifth animated movie that will feature the voice reprisals of Diaz as Fiona, Mike Myers as Shrek and Eddie Murphy as Donkey. Prior to these projects, her last movies were the 2014 theatrical releases “The Other Woman,” “Sex Tape” and “Annie.”

Diaz was one of the most bankable Hollywood stars in the late 1990s and early 2000s, shooting to fame after her film debut in 1994’s “The Mask” opposite Jim Carrey. She later starred in a string of successful romantic comedies, including “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “Charlie’s Angels” and “Shrek.” She announced her initial retirement in 2018, which meant the role of Miss Hannigan in “Annie” would’ve been her final film performance.

Watch Diaz’s appearance at the Fortune summit in the video below.

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