Charlize Theron has revealed that her eldest child Jackson is a girl after she was introduced to the world as a boy (Phillip Faraone/Getty)

Charlize Theron has revealed that her eldest child Jackson—who was originally introduced to the world as a boy—is actually a girl.

When asked about Jackson’s gender identity yesterday by The Daily Mail, Theron replied: “Yes, I thought she was a boy too. Until she looked at me when she was three years old and said: ‘I am not a boy!'”

The actress said she has “two beautiful daughters” and said she hopes to see them both thrive.

Charlize Theron on her daughters: ‘Who they want to be is not for me to decide’

The acclaimed actress continued: “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 publication that her job as a mother is to celebrate and love her children regardless of their identities.

Theron also said that her parenting has been inspired by her own mother.

“Yes, I thought she was a boy too. Until she looked at me when she was three years old and said: ‘I am not a boy!'” – Charlize Theron on her daughter Jackson

“I was taught by my mom that you have to speak up; you have to be able to know that, when this life is over, you’ll have lived the truth you’re comfortable with, and that nothing negative can come from that.”

Theron has spoken in the past about her difficult upbringing with an alcoholic and violent father.

Charlize Theron: ‘Who wants to tell that story?’

The actress told Howard Stern in 2017 that her mother shot and killed her father in self-defence.

“I just pretended like it didn’t happen. I didn’t tell anybody—I didn’t want to tell anybody. Whenever anybody asked me, I said my dad died in a car accident. Who wants to tell that story? Nobody wants to tell that story.”

She said that people did not know “how to respond” when she told them the story, and said she did not want to “feel like a victim.”

“I struggled with that for many years until I actually started therapy,” she said.

This is not the first time Theron has opened up about Jackson’s gender identity. In an interview with Access last year, Theron hinted that her child was a girl.

“I look at my two beautiful girls, and I think I have the worry that every mother has out there. I don’t think it’s any different. I want them to be safe, and I want them to live their full potential,” she said.

Charlize Theron is a long-time LGBT+ activist

Theron is a long-time LGBT+ activist. In 2009, she said she would not marry her then boyfriend Stuart Townsend until equal marriage was a reality across the US.

In 2017, she played a bisexual spy in Atomic Blonde. That same year, she revealed in an interview with Andy Cohen that she has had same-sex sexual experiences.

“Ooh! When I was young, yes. When you’re young you’re just kind of exploring it all. But it was pretty clear that I really like dudes.”

Asked about playing a bisexual character, she said: “Why not? It’s just so strange when we talk so much about it. It should be normalised by now.

“It’s something I feel is not represented enough in cinema… I feel that when you make movies, if you’re going to hold that mirror up and reflect society, then you should reflect society.”