How Cameron Diaz’s Hiatus From Acting ‘Improved’ Her Marriage to Benji Madden ‘Enormously’

Jonah Hill’s prayers were answered when Cameron Diaz signed on to star in his new film, Outcome. “Cameron is an actual angel that fell from heaven, and she is not only, like, an iconic classic movie star,” the actor-director, 42, gushed to Extra at the New York City premiere April 6. “When she came on the screen for her camera test or something, we’re all back there like, ‘Whoa, we’re making a real movie.’ My first movie [I directed] was like bunch of skaters and my second movie was me and my therapist, you know, so this was like real deal.”

And it was a big deal, too. Once one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, the 53-year-old famously retired from acting in 2014 and has only recently returned to the biz. Her decade off gave her “peace,” she’s said, and allowed her to get to know herself outside the bubble of stardom, she revealed to Gwyneth Paltrow, as reported by Entertainment Tonight. “I had handed off all these parts of my life to all these other people,” she said, adding, “I basically had to take it back and take responsibility for my own life. That’s my job.”

Taking 10

That job was a good fit, it turns out. “Oh my God, I loved it. It was the best 10 years of my life,” the San Diego, Calif., native gushed while promoting her 2025 Netflix film Back in Action on The Graham Norton Show, per Us Weekly. “I was just free to say, ‘I’m a mom, I’m a wife, I’m living my life.’” Live it Cameron did. After marrying Good Charlotte rocker Benji Madden in 2015, they welcomed two children, daughter Raddix, 6, and son Cardinal, 2. “Cameron wasn’t looking to turn her nose up at Hollywood when she took that extended break,” a source tells Star. “She needed to focus on family first, but it also gave her a chance to step away from the constant grind and pressure that goes with being an A-list actress.”

After all, she was just 21 years old when she got her start alongside Jim Carrey in 1994’s The Mask, and she quickly became a box office powerhouse with hits like My Best Friend’s Wedding, There’s Something About Mary, Charlie’s Angels and Vanilla Sky. Motherhood offered her a new role — one she embraced. “She’s a total perfectionist who throws her heart and soul into everything she does, so once Raddix came along, she had to be her priority,” says the source. “Cameron totally dedicated herself to family, which improved her and Benji’s marriage enormously and gave her time to clear her head and appreciate the world outside of acting.”

Going Off-script

The former model found other ways to express herself, too. She expanded her professional empire, founding the organic wine brand Avaline and writing two health books, New York Times bestseller The Body Book and its follow-up The Longevity Book. “She got to take on new, creative challenges that felt a lot more grown-up and worthwhile, in many ways, than her acting career,” says Star’s source. “She’s very proud of herself for branching out.”

Now that Cameron is back in front of the cameras, she’s embracing this exciting new chapter in her movie career. In addition to starring in Outcome, she will reprise her role as Princess Fiona in the upcoming Shrek 5. She also recently finished filming the action-comedy Bad Day and has been cast opposite Stephen Merchant in an untitled romantic comedy. “In the earlier stages of her career she’d throw herself into acting like it was the be-all and end-all. These days, though, Cameron manages her time a lot better and doesn’t sweat the small stuff or overthink her role,” says the source.

“She feels so privileged to be in a position where she can do it all on her terms and work with people she truly likes and respects, and vice versa,” continues the source. “The fact it’s part of her life and not totally defining her is what ultimately counts the most.”