Following her star-making entrance into cinema in 1994's The Mask, Cameron Diaz – who'd never acted before that movie – became an overnight sensation.
"I'm a pretty girl who's a model who doesn't suck as an actress," she said shortly after the film's release. She went on to become a bit more than that.
Diaz appeared in a whole bunch of huge hits, including There's Something About Mary, Charlie's Angels and Shrek, finding time to work with some of the greatest directors of all time, including Martin Scorsese, Terry Gilliam, and Ridley Scott.
But her last appearance came four years ago, two decades after her debut, in 2014's musical remake Annie – and she has nothing slated for release. So what happened to the charming and charismatic actress?
She's retired…
Maybe.
The news of Cameron's retirement initially came from her former co-star and current best mate, Selma Blair, early this year.
"I had lunch with Cameron the other day," Blair said in an interview in March. "We were reminiscing about [The Sweetest Thing]. I would've liked to do a sequel but Cameron's retired from acting. She's like, 'I'm done'."
It's pretty unusual for such a huge announcement to come in passing anecdote from an acquaintance, and it wasn't long before Blair updated her statement, in a now-deleted tweet.
"Guys please," Blair wrote. "I was making a joke in an interview. CAMERON DIAZ is NOT retiring from ANYTHING. And for more breaking news: I am NOW retiring from being Cameron Diaz's spokesperson."
Still, it did fit in with a rumour that started at the end of last year, with US press reporting that Diaz is too busy with her new husband to take on any future acting gigs.
"Cameron hasn't wanted to work," a source was quoted. "She is enjoying being at home and being a housewife, she would love more than anything to be a mom. At this point they would be very happy with the miracle of one child."
And it appears that's where Cameron is now – Diaz got married in 2015 to musician Benji Madden, whom she met in 2014 – the last year she starred in a film.
To further complicate matters, this exchange happened during an EW interview that reunited The Sweetest Thing's stars, after Blair clarified her statements.
Cameron Diaz: "Maybe I should [join], you know, I mean, I'm down. I'm literally doing nothing."
Christina Applegate: "I'm literally doing nothing, too! I'm semi-retired, I haven't worked for years. I'm a mom, that's what we do. So I'm around, man."
Diaz: "That's so awesome. I'm totally down. I'm semi-retired, too, and I am actually retired, so I would love to see you ladies."
Was it a joke based on the original rumours, or was it Diaz actually confirming that she's retired?
We'll have to wait and see – if she doesn't pop up in next year's Charlie Angels reboot for a surprise cameo, that's probably pretty clear confirmation that we're not going to see her in any more movies. After all, she enjoyed making the original.
"It's really ridiculous how much fun we had," she said. "I mean – learning kung fu from a master, putting on one cute costume after another, working with a director like McG, plus hanging out all day long with two of your best girlfriends – it's not exactly having bamboo shoved under your fingernails."
But if she really has hung up her comedy/tragedy mask, she leaves behind quite an IMDB legacy – and some happy memories.
''What an amazing first experience in film to do The Mask with Jim Carrey," she said.
''I turned 21 on the set of that film, and I'll never forget it, because obviously you turn 21 and you're like 'Wooo, 21!'
''And we were working nights, so Jim kind of helped me celebrate, the whole crew helped me celebrate that night.''
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Freelancer writer
Sam is an entertainment writer with NCTJ accreditation and a twenty-year career as a film journalist.
Starting out as a staff writer at Total Film, moving up to Deputy Online Editor, Sam was responsible for Total Film’s YouTube channel, where he revolutionised the magazine’s approach to video junkets, creating influential formats that spread to other outlets.
He’s interviewed a wide range of film icons, including directors such as David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sofia Coppola, Ridley Scott, Michael Bay and Sam Raimi, as well as actors such as Meryl Streep, Nic Cage, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Anne Hathaway, Margot Robbie, Natalie Portman, Kermit the Frog, all of the Avengers and many more.
Sam has also interviewed several comic creators, including Stan Lee, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and he has a zombie cameo in The Walking Dead comic.
In 2014, Sam went freelance, working directly for film studios including Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox and Disney, as well as covering red carpet events for film marketing company PMA Productions.
Sam is the co-host, producer and editor of the Arrow Video podcast, which has seen year-on-year growth since its creation in 2017, gaining over half a million listens in that time.
His byline has appeared in outlets such as Yahoo, MTV, Dazed, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Good Housekeeping among others.
In 2012, Sam made it to the final of the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year competition, and went on to become a filmmaker himself, directing three features that have all played major festivals, and secured distribution – starring in two of them.
Jim Carrey once mistook Sam for Johnny Cash, and John Carpenter told him to ‘Keep up the good work.’ He promises to try his best.
