Charlize Theron took her eldest daughter, Jackson, 12, to Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., on Sept. 5, marking a rare public family outing for the Oscar-winning actress. Photographs from the theme park show the pair walking together and boarding rides, with Theron appearing to keep a low profile while accompanying her preteen.
Theron wore a black baseball cap, sunglasses, a white T-shirt, jeans and Adidas sneakers during the visit. Jackson was photographed in a red T-shirt and matching Nikes paired with black shorts; reporters noted the mother and daughter rode Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and were joined by some of Jackson’s friends. Theron’s younger daughter, August, 10, who was adopted by the actress in 2015, was not seen at the park.
Theron adopted Jackson in 2012 and August in 2015. She has discussed her decision to adopt and to parent as a single mother in recent interviews, calling adoption “one of the healthiest” choices she has made and saying it allowed her to “experience motherhood exactly how [she] wanted to experience it.”
The actress has taken her daughters to Disney parks on other occasions. In September 2024 she posted photos from a Disneyland visit and wrote that “it’s not officially spooky season until we hit @disneyland,” and earlier that year the family spent time at Walt Disney World in Florida during spring break.
Theron has also addressed public commentary about her personal life. In a July appearance on the podcast Call Her Daddy, she defended her choice to parent alone and pushed back against suggestions that there is something wrong with her for not being in a long-term relationship. She said it should be acknowledged as a deliberate choice and described raising her daughters “exactly how” she wants as “f–king great.”
On the same program she spoke candidly about aspects of her love life, including joking about having to schedule intimacy around parenting obligations and recounting a recent hookup with a 26-year-old. Over the years, Theron has been romantically linked in media reports to a number of figures, including Alexander Skarsgård and Sean Penn.
Photographs of the Sept. 5 outing underscore the relative rarity with which Theron publicly shares family moments. The actress continues to balance high-profile film and television projects with parenting two children who were adopted when they were young, while largely keeping her private life out of the spotlight.