Cameron Diaz Reveals Why She Quit Acting During Interview With Gwyneth Paltrow

Cameron Diaz opened up about why she quit acting during a Wednesday interview with Gwyneth Paltrow for Paltrow’s In Goop Health: The Sessions series.

Diaz explained that she found “peace” when she ending her acting career. “I just decided that I wanted different things out of my life. 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,” Diaz said.

During Diaz’s successful, two-decade Hollywood career from 1994 to 2014, she was nominated for four Golden Globe awards, but she wasn’t truly happy until she left the spotlight.

The former actress explained when she stopped acting, she felt, “A peace. I got a peace in my soul. I finally was taking care of myself.”

She continued explaining how when she was acting, she didn’t have much time for her family and friends. “When you’re making a movie, it’s a perfect excuse – they own you. You’re there for 12 hours a day for months on end and you have no time for anything else.” Diaz added, “Actors are infantilized. We’re put in a position where everything is taken care of for us.”

After stepping out of the public eye, Diaz said she finally felt “self-sufficient” and began “putting all the pieces of my life together the way that I wanted it to be put together, not how other people thought it should go.”

Since she retired from acting, Diaz published two books, The Body Book and The Longevity Book, and also started her own wine brand, Avaline. She married singer Benji Madden in 2015 and the couple welcomed a daughter earlier this year, Raddix Madden.