Cameron Diaz explains why she decided to quit acting for 11 years

Cameron Diaz has lifted the lid on why she stepped back from acting for over a decade.

Diaz shot to fame in the 1990s after starring in the likes of The Mask, There's Something About Mary, and My Best Friend's Wedding, before going on to further carve a stellar career for herself in the years that followed.

Other notable movies she's starred in include the Shrek and Charlie's Angels franchises, as well as My Sister's Keeper, The Other Woman and The Holiday (to name a few).

After starring in dozens of films over a 20-year period, Diaz decided to take a well-earned break.

While many questioned if the 52-year-old would ever return to acting, she started filming Back in Action with Jamie Foxx in 2022. The highly anticipated Netflix movie will be released in January 2025.

Now, Diaz has addressed her years-long break from acting and shared why she felt that it was 'something [she] had to do'.

Speaking to Variety, the Bad Teacher star said: "It felt like something I had to do to reclaim my own life. And I just really didn’t care about anything else."

Cameron Diaz came out of retirement to star in her new Netflix movie, Back in Action (Presley Ann/Getty Images for Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit)

Diaz continued: "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.

"It really comes to: What are you passionate about? For me, it was to build my family."

Diaz is married to Good Charlotte's Benji Madden. The celebrity pair tied the knot in 2015 following a whirlwind romance.

They've since welcomed a daughter and son via surrogate. Raddix was born in December 2019, and their son Cardinal was welcomed into the world in March 2024.

Diaz shares two children with her husband Benji Madden (Ricky Vigil M/GC Images)

Taking to Instagram to announce the birth of their second child earlier this year, Madden, 45, penned: "We are blessed and excited to announce the birth of our Son, Cardinal Madden.

"He is awesome and We are all so happy he is here! For the kids safety and privacy we won’t be posting any pictures - but he’s a really cute. We are feeling so blessed and grateful."

As well as Back in Action, Diaz is also poised to reprise her role of Fiona in Shrek for its upcoming fifth film.

DreamWorks, the animation studio behind the well-loved franchise, confirmed that another movie was in the works in July. It will be released in July 2026.