Cameron Diaz had a lot of opportunities to put her name on something. In her decades-long career as one of Hollywood’s brightest stars, she always resisted putting her name on any company or endorsing any brand. But four years ago, that changed.
Diaz is the cofounder of organic and vegan-friendly wine brand Avaline, which she started with Katherine Power in 2020. (Power founded both cosmetics brand Merit Beauty and skin care brand Versed.) Diaz and Power were friends, often bonding over a glass of wine and a chat. But one night they realized something.
“One day we just sort of asked what was in the bottle,” Diaz said. “We turned the bottle around and realized there was no label, no ingredient list.” The duo wouldn’t consume anything else if they didn’t know what it was made of, so why ignore the ingredients in their sips of wine?
The two stumbled on what proved to be disruptive to the wine industry—tranparency about ingredients and additives in Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Cabernet, and other adult beverages. But it took some persuading. Even in Los Angeles, “a mecca of wellness,” said Power, people rolled their eyes when they asked about the ingredients in wine and whether it was natural or organically produced. “They were so snobby, and they would say, it’s all organic, it’s just grapes, you know,” recalled Power. “But we knew the research.”
It took pushing from both women globally because the wine industry is incredibly old-fashioned, she said. “We knocked on doors to convince these Old World wine families to work with these two girls from Hollywood,” said Power.
Their efforts have made headway, as Avaline has often been listed as one of the best-selling wine brands in the U.S, with a range of reds, whites, sparkling, and rosé.
“The industry is really coming around, but it’s an old-fashioned industry,” Power added.
Diaz is coming off a yearslong break from acting. She’s set to return with a Netflix action comedy with Jamie Foxx called Back in Action.
“It felt like something I had to do to reclaim my own life,” said Diaz of the break. “It really comes to: What are you passionate about? For me, it was building my family.”
A friend told Diaz about imagery she found striking. A jellyfish needs to suck into itself to push itself forward.
“I always thought of that as, I can’t go forward anymore if I don’t come into myself, and I don’t pull in all my energy into the power to be able to thrust forward,” said Diaz. “So once you figure that out for yourself and take the time, however much time it takes you to do it—and it’s on your timeline—it’s yours. You just do that, and you’ll find a way to your next passion.”