In March 2023, Cameron Diaz became a mother for the second time. The actress and her husband Benji Madden announced the exciting news via a joint Instagram post writing, ‘We are blessed and excited to announce the birth of our son, Cardinal Madden. He is awesome and we are all so happy he is here!’
Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden - who married in 2015 - said that they wouldn’t be sharing pictures of their son ‘for the kid’s safety and privacy’, but stressed that ‘he’s really cute’. They added, ‘We are feeling so blessed and grateful. Sending much love from our fam to yours.’
But considering that it was not known that the couple were expecting another child, the happy news came as a surprise to fans.
Cameron, 51, and Good Charlotte rocker Benji, 45, have one other child, four-year-old daughter Raddix. At the time some unconfirmed reports claimed that the pair had welcomed their first child via a surrogate after years of trying to conceive with the use of IVF, acupuncture and supplements. However, neither Cameron or Benji have ever publicly commented on or confirmed any methods they used to have their daughter, as it their right.
Still, that didn’t stop social media users from speculating whether Cameron Diaz had had her son Cardinal via a surrogate.
Similar questions were asked of Naomi Campbell when she announced the birth of her first child in May 2021. The model - who was also 51 at the time - told British Vogue, ‘She wasn’t adopted – she’s my child,’ leading fans to speculate since Naomi hadn’t announced that she was pregnant.
But just because people are interested in whether Cameron Diaz used a surrogate, it doesn’t mean that they’re entitled to know. As the star wrote in her post, she wants to protect her son’s privacy, and is allowed to do so. While Cameron might have once been one of Hollywood’s biggest and busiest stars, appearing in films such as The Mask and My Best Friend’s Wedding, she took a step back from the limelight in 2014. In the time since, she launched her wine brand Avaline, before announcing her planned return to acting in 2022 with the aptly-named film Back in Action.
However even as she returns to the spotlight, Cameron is still entitled to her privacy, and the ability to enjoy motherhood without pressures and nosy questions. Speaking on the Goop podcast about being ‘the oldest mom in my group of girlfriends with kids’, she told pal Gwyneth Paltrow, ‘I'm lucky to be my age, lucky to have those girlfriends, lucky to have my daughter, lucky to have all the support I do raising her.’
She added, ‘The whole concept of ageing has just changed completely, even in the last 10 years. It's totally opened up. I'm excited. I've got 50 or 60 years to go – I want to live to be 110, since I've got a young child.’