Cameron Diaz Was "Just Trying to Stay Alive…Like Every Other Mother" During 10-Year Hiatus From Acting

As she returns to the spotlight in Netflix's Back in Action, Cameron Diaz is discussing her decision to hit pause on her acting career to become a mother.

Having previously announced her retirement from acting, fans of Diaz were delighted when she signed on for several projects, including Shrek 5. She returns to the spotlight on Jan. 17 with her starring role in the Netflix movie Back in Action alongside Jamie Foxx.

In a YouTube video promoting Back in Action, Diaz opened up about her 10-year break from acting, and why she decided to return for the action comedy. "I was not keeping up with any kind of training," Diaz said of her downtime. "I did nothing public. I said no to everything."

While Diaz hasn't appeared in any movies since 2014's Annie, she did start wine brand Avaline during the break. "That was what I was putting most of my focus on," the star of The Other Woman explained in the video. "If I was doing anything other than just sort of being a mom and living my day to day."

Ultimately, parenting her two kids—daughter Raddix and son Cardinal, whom she shares with husband Benji Madden—took precedence. "That was pretty much it," she said. "I'm just trying to stay alive just like every other mother. I'm just trying to keep it going."

Why Cameron Diaz Made Back In Action Her First Movie In 10 Years | Netflix - YouTube

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Back in 2019, Diaz discussed her potential retirement from acting in an interview with InStyle. "The way I look at it is that I've given more than half of my life to the public," she told the outlet. "I feel it's OK for me to take time for myself now to reorganize and choose how I want to come [back] into the world."

Having worked extremely hard and become one of Hollywood's most popular actresses, Diaz seemingly wanted to step away and focus on her personal life. The Sex Tape star tied the knot with Madden on Jan. 5, 2015, and they've since welcomed two children together via surrogate.

During a 2022 appearance on Michelle Visage's "Rule Breakers" podcast, Diaz discussed become a mom in her 40s. "The women who have children my age are like, literally almost 20 years younger and that's an interesting place to be because I'm not that age," she explained (via Motherly). "And that's totally OK."

Diaz continued, "But I want to feel vital like that for my child. So I want to be able to be the mom who can run around and do all the like fun stuff with her and I want my energy to stay vital."