Charlize Theron Feels 'Very Bitter' Working On Rom-Coms Because She Hasn't Experienced Romance In Real Life

Apr 27, 2022 by apost team

Charlize Theron is a South African actress who gained American citizenship in 2007. Theron is one of Hollywood's highest-paid performers and her work has received critical acclaim as well as commercial success. She is the winner of an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award. 

The star first rose to fame in the 1990s when she appeared in the films "The Devil's Advocate," "Mighty Joe Young" and "The Cider House Rules." She gained attention in 2003 when she won the Academy Award for best actress for playing serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the film "Monster." She was the first South African to win an Oscar for an acting category.

Some of Theron's other films include "Hancock," "Snow White and the Huntsman," "Prometheus" and "Mad Max: Fury Road." The actress produced a number of movies that she also starred in, like "The Burning Plain," "Dark Places" and the romantic comedy "Long Shot." Even though she has performed in a variety of genres, Theron says romantic comedies are the most difficult for her.

In her personal life, Theron is a single parent to two adopted children. She opened up about her parenting approach with her eldest adopted child, Jackson, back in April 2019. Her 11-year-old daughter, who was born male, told her mother that she was a girl. Theron expanded on her daughter's coming out and about the most important things she likes to teach her kids as she raises them.

Read on to learn more about Theron's parenting approach and why she "struggles" with starring in rom-coms. 

Actress Charlize Theron, 47, revealed in April 2019 that her child, Jackson, is transgender. Theron said that she thought Jackson was a boy, too, as she explained to the Daily Mail. "Yes, I thought she was a boy, too," Theron said, "until she looked at me when she was 3 years old and said: 'I am not a boy!'"

The 11-year-old is now frequently spotted wearing dresses on outings with her mom. "I have two beautiful daughters who, just like any parent, I want to protect and I want to see thrive," Theron added. 

The Oscar-winner continued on to explain that she wants Jackson to be exactly who she wants to be, believing it doesn't matter how a child grows up. "'They were born who they are and exactly where in the world both of them get to find themselves as they grow up, and who they want to be is not for me to decide," she told the Mail.

"My job as a parent is to celebrate them and to love them and to make sure that they have everything they need in order to be what they want to be," she added. "And I will do everything in my power for my kids to have that right and to be protected within that."

Therapist Tanya Koifman praised the “Mad Max” star's approach in an interview with Bravo TV.

"It is so wonderful when celebrities such as Charlize openly not only accept, but embrace, their child for who they are," Koifman said. "When people see celebrities embracing their transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming children, it sends the right message to the public, and it can help lead to greater visibility and acceptance, and hopefully a safer existence for transgender people."

apost.com

According to the South China Morning Post, Jackson Theron was born in January 2012 and adopted by Theron shortly after. But news of the adoption was only announced in March 2012, according to PEOPLE magazine.

Theron, who is South African, became the target of a lot of discrimination and flak at the time of the adoption. Fans and media outlets in South Africa criticized her for not adopting a child locally, especially when the country’s struggles with poverty, HIV, AIDS and homelessness are taken into account. According to The Borgen Project, there were roughly 14 million orphaned children in South Africa in 2017. That number represents 14 percent of all children living in the country.

Theron responded to the criticism when she told NPR in 2019 that she did not have a specific country in mind when she applied to adopt.

“I wanted to believe that somehow my child would find me in the way that we were just meant to be,” she said. “So I wasn't specific with anything … In whatever country they would allow me as a single woman to adopt, that’s where I filed.”

“I grew up in a country where people lived with half-truths and lies and whispers and nobody said anything outright, and I was raised very specifically not to be like that,” she said in a 2019 interview with talk show host Jimmy Fallon, according to the South China Morning Post.

While Theron has worked at raising her children to be the most honest version of themselves, she has also worked hard to create a career that feels very authentic to her.

According to Daily Mail, Theron was discovered by a talent agent who was standing next to her in line at the bank. The bank cashier had refused to let Theron cash a check, and she was throwing a tantrum when she caught the attention of the agent. From there, her career took off, and now she has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

When it came to the emotional element of acting in a romantic comedy like "Long Shot," Theron admitted that she felt out of place. "I just wanted to make sure that we would have two characters that felt modern and that we would focus on a relationship that felt real," she said. "I struggle with that sometimes in romantic comedies. I feel like I'm the only loser who has never experienced the third act of most romantic comedies and it just makes me feel very bitter."

The actress added, "So I just wanted to feel like I could bring something to the table and I think it's hard for me to do that kind of fantasy love stuff." Even though it was difficult for her at first, Theron made an incredible impression with "Long Shot," and it is nice to see her challenge herself and work outside of her comfort zone.

Part of the reason that romantic comedies were a struggle for Theron is that she does not have as much long-term relationship experience as some people. For instance, her co-star, Seth Rogen, has been married since 2011. Theron's life has followed a different path. 

"I've never wanted to get married. That's never been something that's important to me," she said to Howard Stern. The single mother added, “My life is filled with love.”

Are you a fan of Charlize Theron? What do you think of romantic comedies? Let us know and be sure to pass this along to your friends and family.