5 stars who made a comeback after retiring: from Cameron Diaz announcing a new Netflix film and Tom Brady returning to football after just 40 days, to Jay-Z being ‘terrible’ at retirement
And they’re not the only celebrities to have surprised fans by coming back out of retirement. Here’s who else decided to dust themselves off and get back in the game in recent years.
1. Ozzy Osbourne
The rocker announced his retirement in November 1992, saying: “Who wants to be touring at 46?” But three years after his No More Tours series of concerts, he embarked on a Retirement Sucks Tour following the release of his 1995 album “Ozzmosis”. The British-born musician has continued with his career, but has cancelled his No More Tours II gig dates several times in the last few years due to health issues.
He said: “I like to see people, you know. That’s been the hardest thing of the past three years … I’m getting there. It’s a slow climb back, you know?”
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2. Floyd Mayweather
American boxing champion Floyd Mayweather started his career in 1996 and has stepped away from the ring on several occasions, including in 2007 after two impressive victories against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton.
“There comes a time when money doesn’t matter. I just can’t do it any more. I have found a peace with my decision that I have not felt in a long time.”
He came out of retirement in 2009 and then retired again in 2015 after fighting Andre Berto. He returned to fight Irishman Conor McGregor and called it quits again in 2017, although he has still taken part in multiple exhibition matches.
3. Jay-Z
“I tried that [retirement]. I’m terrible at that. I just needed a break. But I really thought that I was really burned out at the time,” Jay-Z explained. “I was releasing an album every year – 96, 97, 98 – and then in between that, soundtracks, other peoples’ albums, Roc-A-Fella, touring back to back … and I had just looked up one day and I was like … ‘I’m tired.’”
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4. Tom Brady
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback declared his retirement on February 1, but just 40 days later the American football player announced that he wasn’t totally ready to quit the sport.
“At this stage, it’s like 55 per cent yes and 45 per cent no. It’s not 100-0. That’s just the reality,” Brady said.
But Brady, 45, added: “I think as I’ve gotten older that’s changed because I have other responsibilities. So the responsibilities are many people taking care of me and things that I have off the field that are really important to me like my family, my kids, my wife’s done an amazing job of that. That’s a big commitment from her, so it’s harder when you get older.”
5. Cameron Diaz
Foxx announced their collaboration on the movie, directed by Seth Gordon, via his Instagram by posting an earlier audio recording of a call he made to Diaz. She was anxious about getting back into filming and said to the Django Unchained star: “I don’t know how to do this.” He then surprised her by pulling Tom Brady onto the call to give her tips on how to unretire!
- Jamie Foxx persuaded Cameron Diaz to return to acting with help from Tom Brady, while the famous US quarterback said he’d entertained the idea of retirement for his wife Gisele Bündchen
- Ozzy Osbourne has turned his multiple retirements into a running jokes with the names of his farewell concert tours, while Floyd Mayweather has come back to the boxing ring again and again