Charlize Theron is the face of a Dior fragrance, an Oscar winner and one of the most impressive actresses in Hollywood, but when it comes to her two children – Jackson, 10, and August, 7 – there’s really only one award that counts.
“When my kids say, ‘Mom, nobody makes pasta better than you,’ nothing comes close,” Theron said Harper’s Bazaar in a recent interview. “I never need her to say, ‘Oh, you’re in this movie.’ I still have such a grudge that there is a mom in our circle who makes french toast that my kid raves about. And she gave me the recipe and I tried it. And every time I make it, my kid says, ‘No, Aunt Nicole’s is better.’ And I’m like motherfuckers I’m a lot more driven by this stuff.”
Her children, she added, are the love of her life. They’re just starting to feel like their mom is famous, but find it kind of funny (“They’re going to act like they’re so embarrassed. They’re going to be like, ‘Oh God. Don’t look, Mom. There’s a huge one Picture of you.'”)
Theron wants her daughters to appreciate the value of hard work and how she got her to where she is now — whether starring in the upcoming series Atomic Blonde Continuing or hopefully one day making the perfect french toast.
“I think that’s more important than fame or anything,” she said. “I saw my mother work hard and I remember thinking all my life, nothing is passed on. You have to work harder than everyone else in the room.”
The actress adopted her two daughters, a decision that was actually in the offing for a long, long time. When she was 8 years old, Theron expressed a desire to adopt a child from an orphanage in a letter to her mother.
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“My mom actually showed me the letter when I first adopted it,” Theron said during an interview with Diane von Furstenberg for the podcast Responsible at DVF. “When I was 8 years old, I was introduced to the idea of starting a family through adoption. She says you never asked me to have another baby. You never asked me to have a little brother or sister for you. You just went for adoption right away.”
Theron added that the whole process of adopting her children is “empowering” for her as a woman.
“The fact that I could choose when to become a mom… I travel a lot and I see that a lot of young girls don’t have that choice,” Theron explained. “There’s great power in choosing to be a mom and then doing it when your body, your mind, and everything is celebrating.”
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