Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron is certainly one of the most interesting performers around. The South Africa-born thespian has wowed us in such a vast array of genres that it's actually quite astonishing. Of course, she won her Oscar for playing a very dark character in the film Monster. But she's also been fantastic in action films like Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, The Fate of the Furious, and Snow White and the Huntsman. And then there's all her work in fabulous dramas and dramedies such as Tully and Young Adult. She's even been in hilarious comedies such as Arrested Development and the current film she starred in with Seth Rogen, Long Shot.

In short, she is truly remarkable. But many fans don't know just how remarkable her personal life is. She's been through a lot and continues to deal with things she shouldn't have to deal with thanks to the nosey press. This article will delve into the personal life of Charlize Theron and her family, mainly her two adopted children, Jackson and August, both of whom have recently been in the news for interesting reasons. Without further ado, here are 20 little-known details about Charlize Theron's family life.

20 Adoptive Mother Doing Things On Her Own

It takes real bravery to raise a family on your own. But this is precisely what Charlize Theron wanted to fo. In her late 30s, she finally chose to be a mom. But instead of having kids of her own, she decided to adopt from Africa. Theron first became an adoptive mother in 2012, when she welcomed a baby boy, Jackson, into her life. Two years after thing, she decided that she wanted one more child and brought in August. Charlize battles every day to make sure she can give her two children the life she knows that they deserve, but she's certainly unafraid of doing this on her own. Sure, she has a bit of help, but without a steady partner, most parents would be put off. But not Charlize, she loves the independence of it all.

19 Like Every Mom, She Has To Deal With Public Tantrums

Charlize has been photographed dealing with her kids in ways that most parents have to. But, of course, given the fact that she's a celebrity, everybody ganged up on her. In a couple of instances, Charlize has been seen grappling with Jackson over certain issues. Once, Jackson was said to have got into a battle with a kid at the park. Another time, Jackson refused to go to dance class. Like any good parent would, Charlize attempted to make sure she could course-correct her kid. Sometimes that means physically dragging them up off of the ground where they've decided to perch. Seriously folks, use your brains; every parent has to do this sort of thing.

18 An Event That Shaped Her Entire Life

Charlize did NOT have a typical childhood. This has little to do with the fact that she was brought up in South Africa, and everything to do with what went down between her mom and dad. The actress went into detail on the Howard Stern Show in 2017 about how bad her father could get thanks to his love of certain beverages. One night he came home and got into an altercation with her mother. At the end of the day, her mother saved herself and Charlize from the man and finished their conflict for good. Charlize admitted to Howard Stern that this event shaped her for the rest of her life and made things pretty challenging for a long time. But she is proud of her mother.

17 Charlize Is Firm On The Breastfeeding VS. Formula Debate

Every mother has an opinion on the whole breastfeeding V.S. formula feeding argument. Seriously, this is one of the most sensitive topics around. But when asked about what she preferred, she said, "Both my kids grew up on formula, and I remember a mom saying to me, “You should really buy breast milk.” And I was like, What?! That’s a line you just don’t cross." Charlize is a fan of every mother doing what they think is best for their child and not judging others for their choices. She loved the formula option and thinks her kids have done really well off of it. Additionally, she has a few choice words for those who want to share their negative opinions on this.

16 Her Kids Are Allowed To Be Precisely Who They Choose To Be

Recently, Charlize Theron's child, Jackson, has been all over the news. For example, The Daily Mail covered the story of Charlize talking on the hilarious Graham Norton Show in England about how her child Jackson has chosen not to be a boy, even at a young age. For years, people have been passing their opinions around when it came to how Charlize let her biologically male son dress in certain ways. But Charlize stands by the fact that her kids can be anyone they choose to be. And she celebrates the fact that she is raising two young women instead of just one. She is happy for Jackson, who feels far more comfortable living life in a different way than in the beginning.

15 An Age-Old Love For Adoption

When Charlize Theron first filed for adoption, her mother showed her a letter that she had written when she was little, asking if she could go to the orphanage. In South Africa, where she grew up, prepares were everywhere and this is where she wanted to get her brother or sister from. Although she didn't get a brother or sister from an orphanage, she did build a love for them and vowed to adopt a child instead of having one. She claims that it was always her first choice, no matter who she was with in a relationship and what they wanted. She never saw the difference in raising an adopted child versus one that was grown inside of her. She loves attempting to make the world a better place by loving and caring for an individual who really needs it. What a hero!

14 Family Life Now Is Absolutely Nothing Like It Was

When Charlize was growing up, she never knew what the next day would bring her. This is because her father had many issues and made life really challenging for her and her mother. It also made things challenging in really negative ways that made Charlize feel uneasy all of the time. All she knew is that her day was dependent on the mood of her father. Nowadays, life is nothing like this. Not only does Charlize not have a consistent partner in her life to help raise her children, but she has made sure that her kids have a consistent and loving lifestyle. They are allowed to do the activities that they're interested in, play, and basically be care-free. This is the life Charlize always wanted for herself and has happily given it to her kids.

13 Learning To Lead From Her Mom And Passing It To Her Kids

The incident in Charlize's childhood allowed her to form some pretty thick skin. But this was mostly due to the courage and power of her mother, Gerda Meriz. When speaking about her mom, Charlize said that she is the biggest inspiration in her life and has taught her to be a leader and fix the issues in her life, even without therapy, which Charlize claims she would have loved when she was younger. Essentially, her mom taught her to sink or swim, something that was especially important in the face of the adversity that they faced. These are lessons that Charlize continues to pass to her two kids who she hopes will never have to go through anything like what she had to at their age.

12 Parenting Has Given Charlize Real Perspective

When asked about what parenting has taught her about herself, Charlize responded by telling the interviewers that she gained real "perspective." She continued by saying that things got so much clearer. When she was in her twenties, having a child really put her off. But when she got into her thirties and felt like she was ready, it didn't seem nearly as bad. Now that she has her children she realizes that some days are tough and children can be difficult creatures. But she also knows that the vast majority of the time things are absolutely wonderful. She is grateful for being a parent, but even more grateful to have gained some perspective by actually having kids.

11 She Doesn't Push Her Heritage Onto Her Kids

Although Charlize is very proud of her heritage from South Africa, she has said that she doesn't push it on her children. In a recent 2019 interview with Howard Stern, she told him, Robin Quivers, and Seth Rogen that for the longest time she thought that she and her mom were the only people from South Africa in the U.S. Little did she know that this wasn't true. Still, she didn't want to lose her heritage by being somewhere different. This is why she kept up with her Afrikaans and taught a bit of the language to her kids. However, she realizes that the country has a challenging history and that her kids may not need to be connected with the part that she was connected to. Therefore, she wants them to make up their own mind when they are older.

10 Not Every Day Is A Good Day, And That's OK To Admit

Some parents don't want to admit that raising children can just be no fun at all. But when Charlize was promoting her films, Tully and Gringo, she sat down with Entertainment Tonight and got real when she discussed motherhood. She started off by saying that it's the most meaningful thing that's ever happened in her life and she absolutely loves it. But it can be no fun at all. It can also be full of days where everything seems very, very bad. These days, she admits that she doesn't want to be a parent. But, in the long run, it's so worth it. This is the type of honesty that most parents can really relate to as having kids is anything but a walk in the park.

9 Co-Parenting With Grandma

Although Charlize doesn't have an active partner, she does rely on her mom, Gerda, for a lot of the co-parenting. Before she even adopted children, Charlize knew that she would have her mom to help her co-parent because this is something her mom really wanted to do. Although being a grandparent is very different than being a parent, Gerda has stepped in to fill shoes that needed to be filled in certain moments. Although this can be very challenging in moments, Charlize and Gerda have very similar values and are very close, making the process far easier. Now, Gerda isn't around all the time as she has a life of her own, but in moments, the co-parenting can be supremely helpful.

8 The Need To Adopt Made Her Very Unhappy

When Charlize was in her twenties, she was busy making movies but also busy going on adventures with her partner. The two of them would go to a country for five weeks and climb mountains and stay in random people's homes. She got to party a little bit and enjoy her life. But she also had this need to be a mother. It took over her life. But, she has said that the process of adopting truly made her unhappiness rise. In fact, it took an emotional toll on her because there were many situations in the adopting process that didn't work out. And this was after she built a connection with the kids she wanted to take in and her hopes were up. But, at the end of the day, she got two beautiful kids she deeply loves.

7 Rasing Two Kids Is Definitely More Challenging Than One

Charlize Theron is an only child who didn't grow up with any siblings at all, she had no idea about just how beautiful having a brother or sister could be. This is one of the reasons she decided to adopt two children instead of one. However, she also didn't know how much more challenging raising two children is in comparison to only having the one. Seeing how the two love and support each other makes up for the fact that they can gang up on her, make twice the problems, and even feed off of each other's negative emotions. In short, it can all be quite tiresome. However, she wouldn't redo any of it. She loves her life and adores her kids.

6 She Knows That People Judge Her For Her Parenting

When talking to the press, Charlize has acknowledged the fact that many people, both parents and the childless, have passed their judgments on her parenting style. She has been criticized for adopting children, feeding her kids formula, dealing with their tantrums in the street, and even allowing her kid, Jackson, to live the life that she wants to live. Although these judgments certainly bother her, she had a few choice words for them. These words aren't something we can share here, but she did tell Seth Rogen and Howard Stern them on Stern's show on April 29th, 2019. At the end of the day, Charlize is going to live her life her own way and attempt to close out the nay-sayers.

5 Life Changed Once She Became A Parent... Big Time

Before having children, Charlize's work always took top priority in her life. Perhaps this is why she was able to create the wonderful life she has today. She had time to be free and be able to take time to travel the world for three or four months at a time. But after having kids, she was no longer able to do this. Every day she has to consider how they will fit into a schedule that she's created to suit them. But in the same interview that she described these feelings she said, “I waited a long time to become a mother. It has exceeded all my expectations. It’s such a beautiful feeling to hold your children in your arms and be able to watch them grow and discover the world. It’s changed my life completely.”

4 Sean Penn Was NOT Going To Adopt Jackson

There has been a lot of talk about the relationship that Charlize Theron had with actor Sean Penn. But most of this dialogue wasn't from Charlize, as she took a few years to even discuss their past relationship. During an interview with ET, Charlize said the stories that Sean Penn was going to adopt Jackson with her were entirely untrue. They were in a very new relationship at the end and therefore it would have made no sense to raise a child together. Adopting Jackson was something that she wanted to do alone, regardless of whether or not Penn was there. Of course, Penn got along really well with Jackson, but he was in no way Jackson's father or even a father figure.

3 Social Media Doesn't Play Into Her Parenting Because It's Not "Real"

One thing you don't see is Charlize posting pictures of her kids on social media. Although Charlize has social media for herself, she only uses it for her charity work, product endorsements, and film promotion. Seriously, if you look at her page, that's pretty much all you'll find. This is because she knows that social media is highly curated. She knows hat people spend hours trying to figure out which image looks best of them before they post it. She doesn't want to spend hours of her day on such a vapid thing and she certainly doesn't want her kids around it, especially if they are used to market other things. This is a smart move as it shows us that Charlize really has her priorities in order and can see through how silly social media can be.

2 Two Is More Than Enough... Really... That's It!

Without a doubt, Charlize Theron is done adopting kids. Two is more than enough. The actor, who is in her 40s, is thrilled and delighted with Jackson and August and doesn't want, or need, to add any more young ones to her life. When asked about it, she said, "I don't admire [those with three or more children] or judge it or feel any way about it other than it works for them because they are making it work. But that doesn't necessarily mean I could make it work for myself." This is incredibly honest as many parents feel the need to keep having kids for various reasons, and often they don't think about the effect it will have on themselves.

1 There's Nothing Wrong With Asking For A Little Help

At the beginning of her time as a mother, Charlize wanted to do it all. She wanted to cook, clean, organize, mother, guide, and teach her children. But after a while, she knew that doing this on her own would be pretty tough. This is why she has one nanny to help her and she reached out to her mother, who was more than happy to co-parent a little. Although she values the fact that she could ask for help, she does want us to know that she doesn't have a staff of 40. She said, "I have one nanny and my mom up the street and amazing friends and family. I call them my village. But I’ve learned to balance things out more. I look at my fuel gauge and think, Is it full or is it empty? Then it’s up to me to decide how to fill that tank back up or just remain empty. But what can you do on an empty tank?" This is an incredibly valuable statement that any of us can learn from.

Sources: The Howard Stern Show, People, Elle, Daily Mail, Little Things, healthymummy.com, IOL, ET,  dailymail.co.uk, babypost.com, edition.cnn.com, ijr.com, bckonline.com, Huffington Post