Few actors have achieved the fame and success that Cameron Diaz had. From breaking roles in The Mask and There’s Something About Mary to blockbuster franchises like Shrek and Charlie’s Angels, Diaz was one of Hollywood’s most in-demand stars.

But there’s a reason you haven’t seen Cameron Diaz on movie screens in recent years: she’s been retired from Hollywood since 2017.

In recent interviews, Diaz revealed why she has no regrets about leaving her career behind, but also explained why she decided to return for one more film.

Cameron Diaz – retirement

Diaz is one of the most successful actresses in Hollywood history: her films have earned a combined $3 billion at the US box office, making her the fifth-highest-grossing actress of all time. She also received four Golden Globe nominations.

In the 2010s, her career was still thriving: she was the highest-paid Hollywood actress over 40 in 2013, and in 2014 appeared in three films: The Other Woman, Sex Tape and Annie.

But after that, Diaz disappeared from movie screens. While she was still a bankable star who could have certainly landed big roles in movies and TV shows, she instead decided to retire from Hollywood to focus on herself and her family.

Diaz has been married to Good Charlotte musician Benji Madden, and they welcomed their first child, a daughter named Raddix, in 2019 via surrogate.

“I just decided that I wanted different things out of my life,” Cameron Diaz said in an interview with Gwyneth Paltrow last year. “I had gone so hard for so long, working, making films and it’s such a grind. I didn’t really make any space for my personal life.”

In interviews, Diaz said that she does not miss the hectic and demanding schedule that comes with being a movie star.

“When you’re making a movie, it’s the perfect excuse. They own you,” she continued. “You’re there 12 hours a day for months on end. You have no time for anything else. And I realized I handed off parts of my life to all these other people, and they took it. And I had to basically take it back and take responsibility for my life.”

“When you do something at a really high level for a really long period of time, there’s a lot that — when you’re the person who’s sort of delivering on this one thing,” she told Kevin Hart. “You’re the person on the screen, you’re the person who’s ‘the talent’ — everything around you, all parts of you that isn’t that, has to be handed off to other people.”

Return to film

While not on screen, Diaz has kept busy: she wrote two bestselling health books, The Body Book and The Longevity Book.

While she has been enjoying retirement and has no regrets about leaving Hollywood behind, she did recently decide to un-retire for one more movie.

Last year, it was reported that Diaz would be coming back for a new film fittingly titled Back in Action, starring Jamie Foxx. It is set to be released on Netflix this year, and will be Diaz’ first new movie since 2014’s Annie.

Diaz and Foxx have worked together over the years: they both acted in Any Given Sunday and Annie, and apparently Diaz couldn’t resist a chance to reunite with her old co-star.

“I took the time, I met my husband, we got married, built our family, built our homes—all those things that take a lot of focus,” Diaz told Rachel Ray. “That’s still my priority. I wasn’t certain at the time whether I could do both, [but] it just turned out that at this point in time, it’s a really nice thing for my family.”

However, sources say that Diaz return to Hollywood is only temporary, and that after wrapping up filming on Back in Action she is retiring again.

“These back-to-back 10-hour workdays have been a lot on her and she hates being away from Raddix,” a source told Marca. “Cameron loves being a mom more than anything in the world.”

The source added that Diaz “has nothing left to prove to anyone.”