The actress adds that her daughters will have to earn big purchases, like getting their first car.

Charlize Theron won’t be giving her kids a free ride through life: ‘They just need to get a job that pays them’

The actress adds that her daughters will have to earn big purchases, like getting their first car.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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May 3, 2026 5:01 p.m. ET

Charlize Theron in Universal City, Calif., in June 2025. Credit:

Presley Ann/Getty

- Charlize Theron doesn't want to give her kids a free ride through life.

- The *Apex* star and mother of two shared that she wants her kids to "earn it" when it comes to big purchases like their first cars.

- She added that as adults, they'll need to get "a job that pays," because she won't be taking care of all the bills.

Charlize Theron won't be giving her kids a free ride through life — or a free sports car, for that matter.

The *Apex* actress plans to instill a strong work ethic into her kids, especially once they hit young adulthood, Theron shared during a candid conversation with *Therapuss* host Jake Shane.

"First of all, your first car is going to be a Datsun, because you’re going to crash it," Theron told Shane, referencing daughters Jackson, 14, and August, 11. "You’re going to f--- it up somehow. You’re a new driver. So, we’re not getting, like, the nice car up front."

She added, "We need a little bit of experience, and we’re going to earn it."

Charlize Theron and her daughters Jackson and August.

Charlize Theron/Instagram

When Shane asked if her kids would have to worry about getting summer jobs as teenagers, Theron didn't hesitate to confirm.

"Yeah. Every time we go to Starbucks, I’m like, 'Look at this … Do you see how friendly? You have to be that friendly every morning at 6 a.m. Start getting ready for it,'" Theron joked.

Theron, who adopted Jackson in 2012 and August in 2015 explained that while the kids are still years away from worrying about that, she wants to instill self-sufficiency from a young age, so they'll be able to take care of themselves through adulthood.

"It’s too soon to kind of say where they’re going to end up," Theron said. "They just need to get a job that pays them, because I don’t want to support them for the rest of life."

Charlize Theron in New York City in 2019.

KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty

The mother of two has long been candid about her approach to parenting and her decision to adopt two children to raise as a single mother. During a sit-down with *Call Her Daddy** *host Alex Cooper last year, Theron called the choice "one of the healthiest decisions I ever made."

She explained, "With women, it's always like, something must be wrong with her. She can't keep a man, and it's never part of the discussion of like, 'Wow. She's really living her truth.' I look at them and just be like, 'Do you know how f------ great it is to live exactly how I want to live, to experience motherhood exactly how I wanted to experience it?'"

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Theron noted that she has enjoyed the freedom that comes with being a single woman in her 40s, especially when it comes to raising kids without the challenges presented by coparenting.

"I know the next thing they say is like, 'Well, that's not fair on your kids.' Can I tell you something? That will be their story to tell," she continued. "I can only tell you that this is the best way that I know how to be a mother to them, and maybe they'll grow up and tell their story, and I will respect that. I just know that this was the only way that I knew I could do it, and my f------ god do I love every single day of it. I love that I don't have to share them with somebody."

She added, "I love that I don't have to run every f------ thing by a guy."

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