Charlize Theron’s Dating History: Stuart Townsend, Sean Penn, Alex Dimitrijevic and More

Charlize Theron has been romantically linked to many big names while on her search for The One.

Before making it big in Hollywood, Theron dated actor Craig Bierko in the ‘90s. Following their breakup, the actress moved on with Third Eye Blind’s Stephan Jenkins until 2001. Shortly after, Theron went on to have a serious relationship with Stuart Townsend for nearly a decade. After splitting from Townsend in 2009, Theron wasn’t seriously dating anyone until she began seeing Sean Penn from 2013 to 2015.

While Theron hadn’t found her perfect life partner early on, that didn’t stop her from following her dream to become a mother. She adopted daughters Jackson and August in 2012 and 2015, respectively.

"I haven't dated anybody for over five years," she said during a September 2020 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. "Once I had my children, it's not that it replaces something or makes you less interested in [romance] ... It's a lot of work to be a parent and part of that is at the end of the day, I get in bed and I go, 'Oh, my God, I wouldn't want this day to be anything different.'"

Theron, for her part, did meet someone who checked off her boxes. Us Weekly confirmed in May 2023 that she was dating Alex Dimitrijevic after meeting at an event a few months before.

Keep scrolling to see Theron’s dating history: