The 42-year-old actress and single mom doesn’t consider herself her kids’ only parent.
Theron is on the cover of Elle’s May issue and inside the magazine, she reveals to Chelsea Handler that her mom, Gerta has a critical part in raising her children.
“I knew that I would have to have my mom help me if I was going to do this as a single parent,” Theron shares. “To not acknowledge her co-parenting my children would be a lie.”
Theron adopted her son Jackson in March 2012 and daughter August in July 2015. The actress admits growing her family hasn’t been easy.
“I struggled mentally through the adoption process. Some of my lowest points in my life were dealing with the first time I filed; it really took an emotional toll,” she confesses. “There were so many situations that didn’t work out, and you’d get attached and have all your hopes up and then just get crushed.”
Theron is concerned with making sure her African-American children “know where they come from and be proud of that.”
Theron refuses to travel with her children to certain parts of the U.S. due to racism. The actress says, “racism is much more alive and well than people thought.”
“We can’t deny it anymore. We have to be vocal,” she says.