#Why Cameron Diaz Stopped Acting and Quit Hollywood

Cameron Diaz has revealed why she walked away from acting. Diaz began her acting career in 1994’s The Mask alongside Jim Carrey. She then worked steadily in the business for two decades. But she, rather suddenly, decided to walk away and hasn’t starred in a movie since 2014’s Annie. Now, Diaz has explained her decision.

The reveal came as part of a conversation with Gwyneth Paltrow for her In Goop Health series. Cameron Diaz explained that it came down to wanting to focus on her personal life and getting away from the grind of being a working actress. Here’s what she had to say about it.

“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.”

The star of There’s Something About Mary and Vanilla Sky married Good Charlotte lead singer Benji Madden in 2015. That ended up being a big part of her decision to walk away from Hollywood. The two also announced the birth of their first child earlier this year.

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

Cameron Diaz also explained that she “got a peace in my soul because I finally was taking care of myself.” Much of the decision also came down to the work itself. As Diaz explains in the interview, making a movie is not only a grueling process, but there is time for little else. Diaz says she felt the need 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.”

During her career, Cameron Diaz was nominated for four Golden Globes. Some of her other well-known roles include Fiona in the Shrek franchise and Charlie’s Angels. Diaz has become an author, releasing two books. “The Body Book” in 2013 and “The Longevity Book” in 2016. Diaz did not address whether or not a return to Hollywood is on the table at some point, but she seems quite content with her life at the moment. You can check out the full interview from the Goop YouTube channel.