Cameron Diaz Reveals She Always Wanted to Do This Before Acting in 50th Birthday Throwback (Exclusive)

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Cameron Diaz's first career choice may surprise you. In celebration of Diaz's 50th birthday, ET is throwing it back to some of our first interviews with the A-list actress, where she revealed that her plan wasn't to be in front of the camera at all.«I always wanted to be a zoologist, you see,» Diaz said at the time. «That was what I'd been planning most of my life.»In fact, Diaz had very few concerns about being a star or turning into the household name that she's cemented herself as over the years.«It's not important for me to be a star,» she insisted. «My name being a household name is not something that's important to me.

I want to be able to say, 'That was my best.'»Diaz got her start at 21 in 1994's , alongside Jim Carrey. Though she admittedly didn't have any acting experience at the time, she went on to star in a myriad of roles, including ,,, and more, and became that star she said she wasn't worried about turning into.In 2014, she starred in the movie-musical remake of .

The same year, Diaz found love with Benji Madden and slowly started to step back from the spotlight. She officially announced her «retirement» in 2018, and a year later Diaz and Madden quietly welcomed a daughter named Raddix.Diaz has spoken openly since then about the reasons why she took a step back from Hollywood.