Diaz and confused

Since splitting from Justin, you've been linked to singer John Mayer, P.S. I Love You actor Gerard Butler and even your long-time ex, Matt Dillon. It seems people can't accept that you're just... single. (Laughs) "That's Hollywood for you. I tend to steer clear of gossip magazines." Never tempted to take a tiny peek? "No, I hate reading about other people, as well - it makes me sick to my stomach. The way I see it, if I'm going to believe what they say about somebody else's life, then I have to believe what they write about my life - and I know that stuff isn't real." You must want to see what they say about your films, though? "Actually, no. Again, if you read reviews of your work and believe the good stuff, you have to be willing to believe the bad, too. So I never read reviews for anything I do." So how do you measure your success? "It's a personal thing - the relationship I have with my work is how I assess whether or not I've done a good job. What I feel I brought to the collaboration of creating a film. Beyond that, the people that matter most to me are the audience. I'm very fortunate to be recognised by people who see my films. The feedback I get from them is the most valuable I could ever ask for." You're 35 now. Does ageing bother you? "No way! I'm enjoying it. I feel I get better with age. I mean, sure, I look at pictures of myself when I was 21 and think, 'Wow, I didn't look so bad.' But I take more care of myself now, so in a way I feel like I look better than I did then. I feel good about myself now. Does that make sense?" Totally. Have you had to make any big changes to your lifestyle? "I used to be able to eat and drink anything I wanted - fried chicken, onion rings, half a bottle of wine - then go right to bed. But as you get older, your insides rebel and go, 'Uh-uh, bi-atch! Gonna eat cheese fries? See how you sleep!' And you're tossing and turning all night. I look at girls in their early twenties now and realise the one thing we all have in common is that, if we don't die young, we all get older. Even teenage girls will be 35 one day - and will be looking back at their photos like I do." What are your views on plastic surgery? "Urrgh! Have you seen those shows where ordinary people want to look like Britney Spears or Brad Pitt? What on earth possesses them to want to destroy their own character? To go under the knife to do that is sick. I had to have work on my nose (due to a surfing accident in 2005) but I'd never do anything else. I think beauty comes from the inside." You've got loads of famous friends. Who do you go to for advice? "My older sister Chimene is my closest friend. We share everything and I feel really fortunate to have that. I have an amazing group of friends, as well, so if my sister's line is busy I've always got several other people I can call." One of those friends is Drew Barrymore, who sparked rumours that she's getting hitched to Live Free Or Die Hard star Justin Long. Do you want to get married? (Long pause) "I don't know. There are a lot of ways to approach commitment and relationships, and marriage is just one of them. I think partnerships are a wonderful thing, in whatever form they take, and I definitely want that in my life, whether or not it's in the traditional sense." What about kids? It seems everyone in Hollywood has "baby fever" right now. "I think it's wonderful when people, not just in Hollywood, make the decision to bring children into the world. Right now, I'm not at that point. But I am very interested in making sure we can sustain our planet so all our children will have clean water and air. That's very important - for me and also for our future generations." In your new movie, What Happens In Vegas, your character Joy ends up marrying her one-night stand. Ever had a morning-after-the-night-before disaster? (Laughs) "I think we've all had that moment of waking up in the morning in horror after partying a little too much the night before. I've definitely had that feeling of, 'What the...? What just happened?' But certainly nothing like what happens in the movie." You can read the full Cameron Diaz interview in the June issue of Cosmopolitan magazine –out now.