Cameron Diaz Explains Why Stepping Away From Acting In 2014 Was “Something I Had To Do”

With an upcoming return to the screen next year, Cameron Diaz is opening up about her decade-long hiatus from acting.

The 4x Golden Globe nominee recently explained why she took an extensive break from Hollywood following her last role as Miss Hannigan in the 2014 Will Gluck-helmed update of Annie.

“For me, it was just something I had to do,” she said at Fortune‘s Most Powerful Women Summit. “It felt like something I had to do to reclaim my own life. And I just really didn’t care about anything else. I didn’t. Nobody’s opinion, nobody’s success, no one’s offer, no one’s anything could change my mind about my decision of taking care of myself and building the life that I really wanted to have. So, I think it really comes to: What are you passionate about? For me, it was to build my family.”

Diaz went on to marry Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden in 2015, and they share a daughter and son. She has since authored multiple health books and launched the organic wine brand Avaline.

The actress went on to explain that sometimes it’s necessary to take a break from something that doesn’t “feed my soul,” adding, “Whatever it is, that’s the thing you feel in your soul that speaks to you and you feel peace in it, you’re gonna figure it out.”

Diaz makes her long-awaited return to the big screen in Back in Action, premiering Jan. 17 on Netflix. The Seth Gordon-helmed action comedy stars Diaz and Jamie Foxx as Emily and Matt, two seemingly average parents who are dragged back into their former lives as skilled secret agents.

Additionally, Diaz is set to reprise the voice of Princess Fiona in Shrek 5, premiering July 1, 2026. She’s also been in talks for the Jonah Hill-directed dark comedy Outcome, starring alongside Keanu Reeves and Hill.