She was the queen of romcoms in the 90s and one of the highest-paid Hollywood actresses. But at that peak of stardom, the beIoved actress decided to step away from the limelight. She didn’t announce her retirement, she simply stopped appearing in movies. Now we know why.
When we first saw her in the now-classic movie The Mask, then 21-year-old Cameron Diaz took our breath away. Many kept wondering where the bIonde beauty was hiding until then. From that moment on, how ever she turned into American sweetheart we all love so much.
Prior to getting her first acting role, Diaz worked as a model. At the age of 16, she signed with Elite Model Agency and traveled the world doing shows and commercials for famous names in the fashion industry, including Calvin Klein and Levi’s.
Once she Ianded the role in The Mask, opposite Jim Carey, she needed to take some acting classes. For someone without any experience in the field, she nailed it.
Diaz became a celebrity aImost overnight. All of a sudden, every director and producer wanted her in their movies. She continued being part of a number of romantic comedies, as well as critically acclaimed movies such as Being John Malkovich and Oliver Stone’s sports drama Any Given Sunday. After receiving many awards and nomina tions, and a star on the Walk of Fame, just at the height of her career, Diaz made a decision many considered shocking. She left Hollywood, and it looks like it is for good.
Diaz opened up about this decision in an interview with Kevin Hart, during which she said that not being under the spotlight any longer gives her a chance to manage her life the way she wants.
For me, I just really wanted to make my life manageable by me. My routine in a day is literally what I can manage to do by myself,” she said on his show ‘Hart to Heart.’ I think you probably can relate to this, she added.
When you do something at a really high level for a really Iong period of time, there’s a lot that when you’re the person who’s sort of delivering on this one thing. You’re the person on the screen, you’re the person who’s ‘the talent’ — everything around you, all parts of you that isn’t that, has to be handed off to other people.”