Charlize Theron is getting candid about some of the challenges that come with parenting preteens, and she thinks other parents will relate. At her Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) 2024 Block Party on July 13, 2024, she spoke to E! News about her daughters Jackson, 11, and August, 9, and admitted that they are "firecrackers" who are "embarrassed by me constantly."
And although August is only 9 years old, Charlize said she's basically like a preteen because she's "a 9-year-old who thinks she's a 13-year-old."
The Mad Max: Fury Road actress adopted Jackson in 2012 and then adopted August in 2015.
They're "normal kids," she told E! News, but of course, that still comes with challenges.
"I'm just trying to keep my head above water, because they are smart and they are witty and they are firecrackers, but they do not go, 'Oh my God, Mom, you're so amazing,'" Charlize told the outlet. "They’re like, 'Excuse me, I need. I want.'"
"They’re a–holes, but they’re really nice. Other parents know what I’m talking about," she continued.
Charlize admitted that her kids are also "so embarrassed by me constantly." In 2022, when speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Charlize opened up about one of the moments when her eldest daughter was embarrassed by her.
Because Jackson is a preteen, she explained at the time, "there are moments" when she's embarrassed by her mom's work, like her Dior ads. "We're walking through an airport and she sees me on a [Dior billboard] and she's just like, 'Oh my God, you're on a f—— wall with no shirt, Mom. This is so embarrassing. Put a shirt on!'" Charlize shared at the time.
At the time, though, Charlize spoke about how her kids didn't really understand her job.
"In their heads, they're like, 'We know you work, but we're not 100 percent sure what you do,'" she told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. "My younger one goes, 'Oh my God, Mom, it feels like you can't hold a job.'"
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