Cameron Diaz Reveals Reason She Quit Acting: ‘I’m Completely Starting Over’

It’s been quite some time since fans have heard from Cameron Diaz after stepping away from the limelight to create more space for her personal life. In a recent interview, Cameron sat down with GOOP founder Gwyneth Paltrow as she confessed just exactly why she stepped away from acting. “[…] Here I am. I’m in my 40s (and) I’m completely starting over.”

“I just decided that I wanted different things out of my life,” the model-turned-actress revealed on In Goop Health: The Sessions. “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.” She noted the steps and stages she’s experienced rising to fame in her 20s in the early 90s, to now experiencing something brand new in her 40s as a first-time mom.

“I think you just build a life when you’re in your 20s and 30s, and then into your 40s, as you know, it’s a completely different thing,” Diaz said. “But here I am. I’m in my 40s, (and) I’m completely starting over.” She added, “In our 20s, we’re just trying to figure out s— out. We’re like, ‘I am so messed up.’ You’re realizing how damaged you are in this way where you’re like, ‘Wait a second. There might be an issue here.’ And then in your 30s, you’re like, ‘OK, I’m getting my footing.’ And in your 40s, you’re like, ‘Oh, my God! I’ve got to do something about this.’”

When she decided to make such a drastic decision to leave what seemed like the perfect life, considering there are so many who are trying to reach her level of experience, fame and opportunity, but for her, she needed to know she could take care of herself. “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.”

Diaz and husband Benji Madden got married in 2015 and surprised fans in January by announcing the birth of their daughter Raddix Madden. She noted that when the two met, it was a pretty immediate feeling they knew they had to take the next step shortly thereafter. And they did. “Benji 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.”

While she seems happier than ever with her sweet family, Diaz did acknowledge the importance of fixing bad habits and ridding ones self from past traumas. “I’ve got to be quicker to identify the things that I’m holding on to and cut them loose and do my best to make the decisions that help me move forward and upward.”