Cameron Diaz Has Un-Retired From Acting for 'Shrek 5' and Other Projects

The best news!!!

Cameron Diaz; Uk Premiere Of Shrek The Third, Odeon Leicester Square, London.; 11th June 2007
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Cameron Diaz has officially joined the cast of Shrek 5 despite having previously announced her retirement from acting.

DreamWorks confirmed the fabulous news on X, writing, "Not too Far, Far Away… @Shrek 5 is coming to theaters on July 1, 2026 with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz."

The post also came with a cute number 5 animation with Shrek ogre ears and the caption, "The all-star returns in theaters July 1, 2026."

At time of writing, the tweet has over 100k likes, clearly showing that fans are stoked for the next installment of the cult animated movie series.

Diaz hasn't appeared in a movie since 2014's Annie, and has spoken out several times about her decision to step away from Hollywood.

Speaking to Gwyneth Paltrow for a goop interview in 2020, she said that after she stopped acting, "I got a peace in my soul, you know? Because I finally was taking care of myself."

Gwyneth Paltrow & Cameron Diaz: In Conversation | In goop Health: The Sessions - YouTube Gwyneth Paltrow & Cameron Diaz: In Conversation | In goop Health: The Sessions - YouTube
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And in 2021, she told Kevin Hart on Hart to Heart that she needed to step away for her peace of mind and to nurture her relationships and other aspects of her life she hadn't previously had energy for. "I just really wanted to make my life manageable by me," she said. "Like, my routine in a day is literally what I can manage to do by myself. I feel whole."

In the interim, Diaz married Benji Madden in 2015, and welcomed daughter Raddix in 2019, followed by son Cardinal in 2024.

She has also spent time developing her line of wine made from organic grapes, Avaline, with co-founder Katherine Power.

And if you're as excited as I am for Diaz' big return to movies, you'll be delighted to hear that Shrek 5 isn't her only project in progress. The star also has two movies in post-production right now, according to iMDb: Outcome with Keanu Reeves and Matt Bomer, and Back in Action with Andrew Scott and Jamie Foxx. Woohoo!!!!

Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx in Back in Action

Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx in Back in Action.

(Image credit: Courtesy of Netflix)
Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.