Cameron Diaz has disclosed which A-list celebrity inspired her to become a mother, as the 52-year-old actress and her husband Benji Madden recently welcomed their third child. Diaz revealed that Gwyneth Paltrow played a pivotal role in her decision to have children.
Third Child Announcement
Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden, 47, announced the birth of their third child, Nautas, on Monday, 4 May. The couple already shares two other children: a daughter, Raddix, aged six, and a son, Cardinal, aged two. Diaz has described motherhood as her "favourite thing" and her "whole existence", but she was not always certain about having children.
Gwyneth Paltrow's Influence
In a 2022 episode of Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop podcast, Diaz credited Paltrow for encouraging her to become a mother. Diaz said: "It's my favourite thing I've ever done, it's my whole existence, you were right!" Paltrow, mother to Apple, 21, and Moses, 20, had often spoken about her love for motherhood. Diaz recalled that during their conversations over the years, she expressed uncertainty about wanting a child. Paltrow reportedly responded: "You're going to have a child if it's the last thing you do! Yes you are!" while Diaz remained "not convinced". Paltrow insisted: "Of all the people, you just had to be a mother. Not everybody wants to do it and that's great but I knew you were one, I just had to pull her out of you."
Diaz thanked Paltrow, saying: "I think about it all the time and I totally give you credit. You and Benji, the two of you." She joked that she "obviously" would not be a mother without the father of her child.
Late Motherhood Journey
Diaz had previously told Paltrow that she did not believe she could be a mother at 25 and was glad to become one later in life. "I was just scared," she explained. "I was afraid. I was afraid I wouldn't find a partner. I had no luck - you know, I didn't have people that I, in my life prior to that." She added that she wanted "different things out of life" after turning 40. In 2015, Diaz retired from acting to focus on building a family, having met Benji a year earlier.
The couple spent years trying for a baby before using a surrogate to have their daughter when Diaz was 47. Shortly before announcing the birth of her third child, Diaz admitted she was worried about being an older mother but had managed to make friends with other mothers, some of whom are "literally 20 years younger".
She told OK! Magazine: "I love being a mother. It's the best, best, best part of my life. The only pressure for me now is I have to live to be, like, 107, you know? 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. I'm just trying to stay alive just like every other mother."
