Cameron Diaz has been pushing her first book, The Body Book, pretty hard lately and for good reason. The publishing industry is having hard times, and it’s great that Cami is there to give it her all. Her lifestyle guide does seem much more accessible than other celebrity efforts, and Cameron’s a pretty cool chick. I used to think she was lame for refusing to sign autographs for fans. Then John Malkovich clued us all in on the professional autograph scam, and I realized Cami might be a lot smarter than she looks.
This book of Cameron’s does look interesting even if she’s given a lot of it away already for the sake of promotion. She’s talked about grooming down there, her awful adult acne, and her distaste for plastic surgery. The last point is somewhat debatable because I feel like Cameron has had some work done. She confessed to a bit of Botox, but I think there’s more to that story. Here are some more details from Cameron’s talk with People. We’ve heard some of this already (the skin stuff), but her thoughts on aging are somewhat new:
Cameron Diaz loves her body and thinks you should love yours, too.
“I don’t want to look like I did when I was 25,” the actress, 41, tells PEOPLE. “I like the way that I look now better than when I was 25. I can’t help that other people may be uncomfortable with that, but that’s not my responsibility to make them feel okay with the fact that I’m getting older. I’m okay with it. I like it.”
In her new tome, The Body Book, Diaz opens up about her own struggles with food, her beliefs about beauty and her suggestions for getting healthy in the New Year.
“There’s no such thing as anti-aging,” Diaz tells PEOPLE. “There’s no such thing as turning back the hands of time, and it makes me crazy that we live in a society where that’s sold to women – that we’re supposed to believe that if we’re getting older, we’ve failed somehow, that we have failed by not staying young.”
“I wish that women would let other women age gracefully and allow them to get older and know that as we get older, we become wiser.”
When she was younger, Diaz struggled with acne, which she eventually connected to all of the fast food that she was eating.
“I used to have really bad skin and that was absolutely due to the food that I was ingesting,” she says. “I lived on processed fast food. I drank a ton of soda and I ate greasy, fatty, cheesy foods consistently. I went around with really bad acne well into my early 20s. Even into my 30s, when I was still eating a lot of dairy. I’d get those little white bumps all over my skin – I stopped eating dairy and it completely changed my skin.”
But the Annie star admits to splurging on French fries and other less-than-healthy food from time to time.
“I’m a total advocate for eating the things you love. For sure I splurge. Health is an equation. It just depends on how many times you pick good over bad. You need a higher ratio of good, and if you do [that], you’re ahead of it.”
I totally get this part: “We’re supposed to believe that if we’re getting older, we’ve failed somehow. Seriously. I’m so tired of staring into the mirror and wondering if my 38-year-old face is different than my 25-year-old one. People tell me I look the same, but I know they’re full of crap. What’s really awful is that the potential difference bothers me, and I know it shouldn’t matter at all. It doesn’t, right? Thanks, Hollywood.
Photos courtesy of WENN
I’m 62. I used to be hot, and not I’m not. It’s ok though because it was exhausting.
I bet you are still pretty hot. Example: Helen Mirren!
Love that! Gotta admit, I’m nearing forty and looking forward to dialing things down a bit. For one thing, the bikinis are going in the trash! I want a 1 piece, possibly with a skirt.
I’m 58 and I find it very relaxing. When it was happening I didn’t realize on a conscious level how uncomfortable it was to be ogled all the time. When I gained some character in my face aka wrinkles, packed on a few pounds and became an anonymous middle aged woman, it was liberating. I wouldn’t want to go back. I have a couple of decades before I become old and “cute” I hope.
LOL….good point. I guess I’m lucky then.
Love it- thanks for that perspective! I’m going to be 47 and a large part of me hates aging. But another part of me sorta sees what you’re saying; I’m letting my gray show and I almost don’t care whereas only a few years ago when I had one gray strand it made me freak out,
Back to more important matters, Cameron has had a lot of work done- she looks great in these pics!
So many nice words.. i just can’t wait to see how she’ll back up this words once she’ll start having plastic surgery again. the chances that she’ll never jack her face anymore are very low.
She looks beautiful in these photos.
+1 I’m sure she’s wearing “no make up” make up but she looks beautiful regardless.
+1
She seems to be at ease with herself.
She looks great.. and love her comfy looking outfit. 🙂
Love this outfit too. She looks great.
I’m turning 30 in a few months. Trying to get back to my early 20s figure is such a bitch. But I understand the process and I appreciate aging, even if I never want to experience my inevitable death. Is that weird? I do know I want to be the best me inside and out at whatever age I am.
MCraw
I’m there with you. I’m (semi) recently 28 and my 35 yo ex has shacked up with a 22 yo college senior. My friends all tell me to get over it. I am definitely a better version of myself (looks/personality/self) wise than I was at that age, but it’s still been a pretty crushing blow that I can find myself fixated on. Every day I just try to make better and like you said, work to the best version of me there is.
She’s so cute.
I don’t believe that. I buy she’s comfortable/happy with the way she looks and it’s great that she realizes that looking young forever is completely unnatural and not something to aspire to. But… c’mon.
I love what she’s saying. As a former (seems like another life former) dancer/actor/model (but never waitress, lol!) I spent most of my life focused on how I look. It’s exhausting. Now, at 35, I’m letting go. I’m tired of pretending that there is something wrong with *gasp* looking my age. Like Cameron, I feel better than I ever have – healthier, stronger, more myself now than in my 20s, certainly. Probably because I’m more focused on beauty from the inside out rather than only the surface. The concept of “beautiful at any age” should be put forward more – maybe we could stem the tide of fillers that’s invading everyone over 30’s faces!
I think most women are at their most beautiful between 30 and 40 something, so I bet you’re gorgeous. Enjoy it! Your face and your spirit have matured, but you aren’t really aging yet. I think it’s so sad that women start getting fillers and all that so young.
I do think beauty come from within, and you can be beautiful, in your own way, at any age. I don’t think beauty is that important anyway. I’m 56 now, and have never had anything done. I still like my face, though I have laugh lines, etc., but I’m starting to “never say never” about my neck. It bothers me, to be honest. I’m struggling with whether doing something would make me a hypocrite and a shallow person unable to accept aging gracefully. Also, I’m the sort of person who would have a bizarre incident on the operating table and die from a neck lift, so I’m on the fence.
I took a look at some photos of Cameron back in 1997 when she was 25. Her style was questionable, but I have a hard time believing she wouldn’t want her 25-year-old face back. She was really stunning in her 20s. I think she has possibly messed with her face. I definitely noticed how her face looked absolutely horrible after getting Botox. She probably swore never to do Botox again after taking one look at the same horrible pics I came across. She still looks good for her age, but I don’t know if Cameron is the best person to be writing a beauty book the same as with Goop isn’t the right person to be telling people how to eat healthy, detox, and exercise. Both women have messed with their faces, smoked cigs, stayed out in the sun for too long, and have participated in other unhealthy and questionable fads to stay really thin. And I have seen normal women her age who look much more youthful because they’ve lived a healthier lifestyle.
I’m over 30 and my main concern is weight gain because my metabolism has slowed down. Other than that, I don’t even have wrinkles yet and people often mistake me for being in my mid-20s. I rarely drink alcohol, I’ve never smoked, I don’t do drugs, I exercise, I get a good sleep most nights, and rarely partied hard in my 20s. That’s the secret to looking young. People need to realise that you do eventually pay for bad habits made in your 20s even if it doesn’t appear on your face until your 30s or 40s.
This!!!!
Well, I’m 46 and I drink and smoke. I have maybe a couple of wrinkles and people think I am in my mid-thirties. It has much more to do with genetics and staying out of the sun than anything else. And of course no crack, meth or abuse of drugs, alcohol or food.
I think Cameron looks gorgeous.
I’m 29 and yet to get a wrinkle, but I’m a moisturizer fiend. But I know a woman who is 39, has 7 kids, is a heavy smoker and drinker and recreational drug user, that used to be a hardcore user of cocaine for many years, but still she doesn’t look a day older than I do. And she’s pasty white like me too. POC seem to age much better usually.
@yuya… genes!! agreed! all the women in my family look younger than their years, myself included… regardless of various lifestyle choices among us including smoking drinking etc… I’ll be 35 tomorrow but I’m often told I look mid twenties 🙂
It’s not just genetics. Lifestyle and environment are also factors. Lots of studies on twins who had disparate lifestyles have demonstrated that multiples factors are involved.
But do you not see, it’s not about when she objectively *looked* better, but when she felt better about her appearance. Many women might look better in their twenties, but don’t feel comfortable in their own skin until later. I think it’s very plausible that she likes herself (And her physical appearance) more now than she did when she was younger if she feels more confident as a person now.
Happy (almost) Birthday, Here’s Wilson! best wishes for a great year!
I was definitely better looking in my 20s but SO much happier in my late 30s. Wouldn’t trade that for a tighter face.
I bought her book the other day and, I have to say, I’m really liking it (I’m about 2 chapters in) Worth it if you want a relatable easy-to-read book that explains the science behind things in an easy to understand way.
I got it from Amazon about a week ago and look forward to reading it when I get home! Great book. 😀
If you’re wanting something else in the same vein to read, try “Rushing Woman’s Syndrome” and/or “Accidentally Overweight” by Dr Libby Weaver. She’s a nutritional biochemist (or something super sciencey along those lines) so she’s got the brains to back up her writing and it’s very easy to read. I’ve learnt so much that has explained lifetime problems that I’ve had.
She gets a lot of insults thrown her way for not looking just like she did in The Mask. So I’m glad she said this…
I wonder how long until someone gets pissed about this?
She full of crap. That’s why in early 2013 or late 2012 she got some work done to her face. Lol
Her outfit and being make up free is so Goop promoting her book last year and didn’t Goop talk about not wanting her 20 somthing face or body back.
I’m 47 and have some wrinkles and put on a couple of pounds, I’m trying to deal with the icky part of growing older but at this age I’m not trying to look 25 anymore and just want to be and stay healthy (I really wanna wake up and nothing aches) Lol!
I’d say it doesn’t matter what other people thought she looked like in her 20’s, it’s how she felt about herself in her 20’s. When I was a teen and during my 20’s, I felt like crap. I look back on those pictures and it’s like…damn…I certainly didn’t look as bad as I thought I did.
On the other hand, the older I get, the better I look. Most of my 20’s were spent highly sedentary, chain smoking and eating crap. Nowadays I treat myself better, I also am starting to change the way I think about myself and I can feel that taking effect.
So, I also don’t want to look like I did when I was 25. Because I had severe adult acne, was overweight and very much out of shape.
I don’t think that can stop you from ‘doing things’ to your face – but perhaps you appreciate it more? Or you do less? Or get less carried away? I dunno.
yeah happy. im now 33 and happy and poised. i struggled for so long basing my feelings on being thin and looking hot. years of yo-yo dieting, blah blah blah. i finally realized im no more or less happy plus/minus 20lbs. its all in my head. i hate when women are just torn apart over their looks. its so wrong. especially in todays society where we make up the majority of the workforce. women need to stand up and be able to feel good about themselves. good for cameron for being a positive leader on this issue.
She’ll say anything to sell her book.
I am 45 and have a full head of grey hair. Prematurely grey, dyed for too many years then a few years ago I went through the painful experience of growing it out, it was hard to have grey on top, dye on the ends but since I was not going to shave my head, I stick with it. Now a year later with a head of mostly grey hair here is what I learned. The men love it. I get compliments all the time from random men. One of my good friends, a man, told me it makes me stand out in a field of dyed hair. I have a fairly young looking face, so now people don’t know how old I am because of the stark contrast. Luckily, my grey hair is, if I do say so myself, rather pretty, mostly white in the front, silver threads throughout the rest. Oddly the only, and I mean only people who tell me I would look younger if I dyed it are women. We are conditioned to think that any evidence of aging is bad, grey hair being the top of that list. I mean think about how much money the dye industry makes and how many ads are aimed at covering that grey. I have a few wrinkles (laugh lines mostly) but frankly look younger with the grey hair than I did with dyed hair which inevitably only looked good of a week before my part turned grey. (And I need to change my avatar- not rocking that dye anymore!)
I love to hear this! My grandparents had stark white hair by 35… and I’m following suit! My hair is rather dark brown and in the last year I’ve gone from not having one white hair to being probably 20-30% white. And I’ve stopped dying it, as well. It’s even through my entire head, so I don’t have a Pauly Walnuts or skunk stripe. I might highlight it to blend my way white, but for now, I’m kind of digging it. We’ll see how I feel in another 6 months, but I think it can be striking in a sea of dyed heads!
Do it! Abandon the dye – it has been very liberating. Truly, I get more love from the menfolk now – that has really amazed me!
I so want to do this! I have some white hair coming in in the front as a streak and I think it would look so cool to have that! I would love a head of white hair. I am growing out my hair this year and want to see what really does lurk under all those years of hair color.
I bet you look gorgeous with that hair!
I started with the ‘Bride of Frankenstein” stripes at first. I would occasionally wear my hair back and had a co-worker ask me if I got my hair highlighted which started the joke at work that I was turning “ultra” blond. 🙂
My family on both sides tends to get grey hair much later in life. Around their 70s’. People assumed my parents and grandparents dye their hair but never did dye it. In my 40’s and have none and also been accused of dying it. So, if you have grey hair other people want you to dye it, if you don’t have any grey hair people already assume you do dye it and don’t believe you when you tell them its natural. Think people often want & assume others make the same decisions they make because it makes them feel more comfortable. What really leads women to feel insecure is when others become independent of the herd. Women tend to have herd mentality when it comes to beauty and age, thanks to the media. Men, just know pretty is pretty and couldn’t care less about the ritual.
As far as her face is concerned, she looked better at 25. Her face has changed over the years, and unfortunately not for the better.
I’m not trying to rip on her, especially since I’m a big fan of hers. But she’s not as pretty as she used to be.
With that said, I’m glad that she’s more comfortable with who she is and is proud of the way she looks today. Good for you, Cameron.
Agree 100%
She looks great in these pics, but overall she has not aged well. She seems like she’s done some hard livin’.
good for her! there is so much misogynistic garbage in our society, and she is saying no to that. women should not have to hate themselves for aging. i am a college educated working professional who had an eating disorder for so long. its total bs that women are constantly assessed and judged based on our looks. for instance, people feel it is acceptable to comment on my weight (unprompted) regarding 5-10 lb fluctuations. thats not right. cameron is a stunner and was a stunner. she is being drug thru the mud for aging. good on her for telling the haters which is basically all the media to step off. she is healthy, bottom line.
You do know she had plastic surgery year or two ago right.
Her statements would be a lot more empowering (and truthful) to women if she hadn’t had plastic surgery a few years ago to change her body and her face. If I remember correctly, the boob job was relatively small, but the facial modifications were startling.
Lucky her, for feeling better about her looks now than she did when she was young, ‘cause from now on, things will never be the same, will only get worse.
Oh BS! And I beg to differ. She was beautiful in ‘The Mask’, now her face looks like a plate of mashed potatoes. If she was okay with it she wouldn’t have to keep talking about it. She’d just shut up and age.
Having just turned 51 this month I have to say I wouldn’t mind looking like I did in my 20’s. Even though people always guess my age to be several years younger, there are changes I’m not liking. If the cost weren’t an issue, I think I would have a little something done. Nothing crazy, but a little sprucing up for myself. And I can say moisturizing daily since I was about 14 has surely helped. Clinique’s moisturizer has been a product I haven’t been without since that age.
I think she looks gorgeous. Even if you live a healthy lifestyle gravity will get you in the end. Plus your skin loses it’s elasticity after menopause. Unavoidable!
Yo Cameron, dear. You.ain’t.38.
I’m 24 ( althought I look 18 due to my Asian genes LOL), with some eye bags and acne. But nevertheless, I’m hoping that I can be able to age with dignity and acceptance. I’ve never been a fan of plastic surgery, I think it damages the structure and balance of the face. You’ve got to be able to look in the mirror, see your mother’s wrinkles, your father’s laugh lines and be thankful that you see glimpses of your loved ones smile at you everyday. For now it’s yoga, sex and french fries. Hopefully I’ll be inspired by these wonderful women (meryl streep, cate blanchett, helen mirren etc) and be able to age with grace. 😛
Somehow I doubt that. She is more confident yes, but I bet she wishes she had THIS confidence, combined with THAT body (25 yr old)