It’s not every day that you see Cameron Diaz sporting baggy jorts, knee-high striped socks, and a red bucket hat. But in a rare New York City appearance this week, the beloved actress stepped onto the set of her new Netflix film 'Bad Day' looking like she raided a Y2K thrift store during a windstorm of trends.
Her outfit consisted of oversized denim shorts, a red track jacket layered beneath a camo puffer vest, topped off with white sneakers and a bucket hat that screamed retro revival.
The look was captured by paparazzi on Wednesday and quickly made the rounds online. Equal parts nostalgic and polarizing, the ensemble was a hard left from the sleek, effortless glamour Diaz is known for, but completely in line with the maximalist mood of the moment.
The Netflix comedy is currently being filmed in Brooklyn. According to 'The Hollywood Reporter,' the film follows “a single mom fighting to keep one little promise to her daughter on the absolute worst day of her life.”
Diaz stars opposite Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black) and Ed O’Neill (Modern Family), and based on her outfit alone, the role promises to showcase a different side of the actress.
'Bad Day' comes following Diaz’s much-celebrated comeback earlier this year in the Netflix action-comedy 'Back in Action,' where she reunited with longtime collaborator Jamie Foxx. The two played ex-CIA operatives dragged back into the spy world after years off-grid. It marked her return to acting after a decade-long hiatus.
“It’s like riding a bike, you know what I mean?” Diaz told reporters during a Back in Action press junket in London. “When you go back to something that you’ve done, there’s so much of it that you don’t have to think about. I was like, ‘Oh man, I just know how to hit my mark. I know what questions to ask the cameraman.’ The set was second nature to me.”
Diaz’s reemergence on screen isn’t just a career move. It’s part of a bigger life journey. After stepping back from acting in the early 2010s, the 'Bad Teacher' star dedicated over a decade to family life with husband Benji Madden. The couple now shares two children, 5-year-old Raddix and toddler Cardinal, who just turned 18 months.
“For me, it was just something I had to do,” Diaz explained during the Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in October 2024. “It felt like something I had to do to reclaim my own life. And I just really didn’t care about anything else.” She added, “It really comes to: What are you passionate about? For me, it was to build my family.”
Since reclaiming her place on set, Diaz’s schedule has filled up quickly. Alongside 'Bad Day,' she’s already wrapped filming on an Apple TV+ project directed by Jonah Hill, scheduled to release in 2025. She’s also set to reprise her iconic voice role as Princess Fiona in 'Shrek 5,' currently slated for a 2027 release.