Cameron Diaz hasn't appeared in a movie since 2014, when she retired from acting. Audiences were first introduced to Diaz as an actress in 1994 after she left modeling behind. Diaz's debut came as the female lead in The Mask opposite Jim Carrey. Her natural comedic ability and beauty paired with The Mask's incredible success immediately launched Diaz's career as one of Hollywood's hottest up-and-coming female stars. By the end of the 1990s, Diaz was playing major roles in My Best Friend's Wedding, There's Something About Mary, Being John Malkovich, and Any Given Sunday.
Once Diaz was firmly established as a recognizable star, the 2000s saw her filmography expand in many ways. She started the millennium moving into action with Charlie's Angels and lent her voice to animation as Princess Fiona in Shrek. Both of these proved to be franchise roles for Diaz. She also did some more dramatic roles and continued to rely on rom-coms. By the 2010s, Diaz was still as busy as ever. 2014 was the biggest example of this, as Diaz starred opposite of Leslie Mann and Kate Upton in The Other Woman, teamed up with Jason Segel for Sex Tape, and then appeared in the reboot of Annie.
Diaz's prolific 2014 has so far proven to be the last time she's been on screen. As her leave from movies or TV shows continued to grow, the question of Diaz's future as an actress was raised in 2018. Her close friend Selma Blair mentioned in an interview that Diaz was retired. Diaz eventually confirmed that this was true but didn't immediately provide an explanation for why she decided to walk away from her life as a movie star. But, Diaz finally provided an explanation in 2020 while talking to Gwyneth Paltrow. She explained that retiring from acting brought peace to her soul "because I was finally taking care of myself."
Diaz's decision to retire from acting was also tied to how being an actress made her feel and the toll it took on her personal life. She realized that she didn't really enjoy being in the public eye to the extent that she had became accustomed to over the last few decades. But once she decided to leave acting behind, Diaz refocused her energy and attention on repairing existing relationships and building new ones. This ultimately led her to marry Good Charlotte musician Benji Madden in 2015 and they started a new life together where Diaz is now a mother of one. She's also managed to stay busy in other areas, as she's become an author and launched her own wine company.
Even though plenty of actors have "retired" only to come back years later, there is no telling if Diaz will follow the same path. She sounds quite happy with her decision to walk away and there hasn't been much of any talk about a comeback. With her own business and the responsibilities of raising a family, Diaz could be content with her accomplishments from three decades of acting. Of course, most would happily welcome some more performances by Cameron Diaz in the future if she does have a change of heart.
