EXCLUSIVE: Cameron Diaz is back on our screens starring alongside Keanu Reeves in new Apple TV film Outcome, as she opens up about her Hollywood comeback and the joys and challenges of motherhood in her 50s
Cameron Diaz is opening up on the pressures of motherhood in her 50s(Image: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)
Last year Cameron Diaz returned to Hollywood following a 10-year hiatus, in which she’d spent precious time with her husband, Good Charlotte rock star Benji Madden and their two children, Raddix and Cardinal.
However, the extended break certainly hasn’t done her any harm. Instead, since bursting back onto our screens in the 2025 comedy film Back In Action, Cameron has barely had a chance to catch her breath, booking multiple projects, including a new romcom, another action comedy and Shrek 5, where she’ll reprise her role as Princess Fiona.
But first she’s starring alongside Keanu Reeves in the new Apple TV film Outcome, about a fictional actor, played by Keanu, whose nice guy reputation is put at risk when he’s blackmailed with a damaging video.
READ MORE: Stay cool as you sleep with 7 best cooling bedding buys as UK temperatures soar
Cameron is starring in a new Netflix role alongside Keanu Reeves(Image: Apple TV+. All Rights Reserved. All Rights Reserved)
And once she was back in the game, Cameron just couldn’t wait to get started.
“To be able to still do this at such a high level with people like Keanu Reeves is a thrill for me,” she says. “I’m glad I took a break and I was able to focus on family and a part of my life that means so much to me but I still love doing this. It’s the best job in the world.”
It may be her dream career, but Cameron’s life is undoubtedly all about her family. Since welcoming daughter Raddix, six, and two-year-old son Cardinal, Cameron has waxed lyrical about motherhood, specifically becoming a mum for the first time at the age of 47.
“I love being a mother. It’s the best, best, best part of my life,” she said. But in a separate interview she admitted that the pressure was on to stay healthy, given that she’s now 53, with a sprightly toddler.
“The only pressure for me now is I have to live to be, like, 107, you know?” she joked.
“The women who have children my age are literally 20 years younger and that’s an interesting place to be because I’m not that age. And that’s totally OK. But I want to feel vital like that for my child.”
She added, “I’m just trying to stay alive just like every other mother. I’m just trying to keep it going.”
With the support of devoted husband Benji – who she married in 2015 and whose twin brother Joel is married to Nicole Richie – Cameron has managed to successfully maintain her Hollywood status, no mean feat for a woman in her fifties in the industry.
Cameron and her husband Benji are navigating parenthood with a toddler(Image: Getty Images North America)
Cameron is navigating life in her 50s with a toddler(Image: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)
And fans can’t get enough of seeing her back on screen. “To see a naturally beautiful woman of a certain age represented is such a tonic,” one said.
Another added, “A beautiful woman ageing naturally is so refreshing for Hollywood.”
Since her unforgettable movie debut in 1994’s The Mask, she has been the go-to blonde bombshell character in films such as Charlie’s Angels and There’s Something About Mary.
But in the three decades since she started out, a lot has changed in Hollywood. The very nature of fame and who can become famous has altered dramatically. It’s something they address in Outcome, which premiered earlier this month.
“The world has changed. Being famous, becoming a celebrity, is something that is accessible to anyone now,” Cameron muses when discussing how celebrity culture has evolved.
“It could happen to anyone, whether they want it to or not. Social media has changed everything. Everyone can have their 15 minutes of fame now. You don’t need to be in Hollywood. You just need to go viral or just make a video that receives a bunch of likes.
“It’s all relative to the person but it’s all a form of being famous for however long. Fame has become something that it feels like everybody is reaching for.”
Cameron has been the go-to blonde bombshell character in films (Image: Photographs © 1998 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporati)
But when it comes to navigating the pitfalls of fame, Cameron’s not forthcoming with good advice, probably because she’s successfully managed to enjoy a full life away from the cameras for so long.
“There is no handbook or manual on being famous,” she says. “You have to write your own and make it your own. Maybe reach out to other people that you admire. Discover how they do it.”
Outcome marks the second time Cameron has worked with Keanu, their first film being Feeling Minnesota in 1996. She jokes that she’d hoped he’d forgotten the experience.
“My memories of it are that it was a long time ago! I think it was only my fourth film. I was so green. I was kind of hoping he had forgotten all about it but he hadn’t. He remembered,” she laughs, adding that the actor hadn’t changed at all in 30 years.
“All I can say is that Keanu is the same generous, lovely human being he was back then. He hasn’t changed at all. He is still the best to work with and still the best to play basketball with. It was just like old times. But I was so honoured to get to work with him again.”
With two kids at home, life is already busy for Cameron, but it’s about to get even more manic. Earlier this month she was pictured filming a new movie in New York with The Office legend Stephen Merchant, who she clearly adores.
While appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she gushed, “He’s so great. Gosh he’s the best.”
The film, reportedly titled The Sham will see the pair play unlikely lovers, whose fake marriage soon blossoms into a real romance.
Cameron is known for her role in The Holiday(Image: © 2006 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. and GH One LLC. All Rights Reserved.)
Stephen, who is clearly just as thrilled to be working with Cameron, said, “Having a great time making this movie in glorious NYC, can’t wait to share it.”
Cameron will also be starring in new Netflix film Bad Day in which she plays a single mother “having the worst day ever” and she’s said to be developing – and starring – in a sequel to the 1980s comedy Troop Beverly Hills.
Needless to say, after leaving the world of showbiz for so long, Cameron is now certainly making up for lost time.