What happened to Cameron Diaz? Actress opens up on leaving Hollywood and beauty standards

American actress Cameron Diaz opened up about the changes in her appearance in a recent chat.

While talking to Michelle Visage on her podcast Rule Breakers, the 49-year-old author revealed how much her life has changed since she exited the entertainment industry after starring as Miss Hannigan in Annie (2004).

During the interview, Diaz opened up about being trapped in a world where beauty was the main focus.

Calling herself a victim of "the societal objectification and exploitation" that every woman is subjected to, she said she bought into all of them at one point.

"It's hard not to, it's hard not to look at yourself and judge yourself against other markers of beauty, and I think that that's one of the biggest things... The last eight years, girl — I'm like wild. I'm like a wild animal, like a beast!"

She also said that, as an actress, sitting in front of the mirror for hours a day eventually became "toxic."

"You just start to pick yourself apart, you know. And you're like, 'Why I am sitting here like being so mean to myself?' My body's strong, my body's capable. Why am I going to talk down to it? Why am I going to be mean to it when it's like carried me this far?"

However, recently, Diaz said that the last thing she thinks about in a day is her appearance.

Further, while chatting with the 53-year-old, the Bad Teacher star also confessed that she does not put much effort into her beauty routine even though she owns "a billion products" in her vanity.

"I literally do nothing. I like never wash my face. Twice a month if I'm lucky, I'll be like, 'Oh, I better put this on. One time works, right?' Like is that all I have to do? I'm just not in that place right now like where I put any energy."

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Cameron Diaz wanted to focus on other things in life

The 49-year-old last appeared in Will Gluck's directorial film Annie where she played the role of Miss Hannigan. In 2021, while talking to comedian Kevin Hart on his show Hart to Heart, the star revealed that she quit acting because she wanted to pay attention to other parts of her life, which got neglected because of her successful career.

Since she was busy with her career, Cameron Diaz said that other parts of her life would have to be "sort of handed off to other people." Diaz added that around the age of 40, she realized that there were several parts of her life that she was "not touching and managing."

In an interview with Hello Magazine, My Sister's Keeper actress said she enjoys her family time with musician husband Benji Maddex and daughter Raddix.

Calling being a "wife and a mother" rewarding, Cameron Diaz said that this part of her life has been the "most fulfilling" so far.

She also explained that she feels grateful that she is getting to raise their daughter without work "getting in the way."

Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden tied the knot at her Beverly Hills home in 2015. The couple welcomed Raddix via surrogate in 2019.