Oscar-winner Charlize Theron has been named the "sexiest woman alive" by US magazine Esquire, following in the footsteps of fellow actresses Jessica Biel and Scarlett Johansson.

In an interview with the magazine due out next week, Theron discusses her upbringing on a farm in South Africa and how hard it is for a star in Hollywood to have a normal life, saying: "I can't go anywhere. Not if we want to talk."

Theron, who won an Oscar for the 2003 movie "Monster," also talks about her recently-acquired US citizenship, but takes a swipe at her new country.

"I know what I am now, too. I'm American," she says.

"I grew up in a country that learned the lesson that you can't impose your way of life on 26 different kinds of people just because you call yourself righteous. I think there are lessons this country still has to learn."

The actress also offers some self-criticism for the 2000 box office flop "Reindeer Games."

"That was a bad, bad, bad movie. But even though the movie might suck, I got to work with John Frankenheimer. I wasn't lying to myself -- that's why I did it. I mean, he directed 'The Manchurian Candidate,' which is like the movie of all movies," she said.

Theron is currently appearing in "In the Valley of Elah," which explores the stress experienced by US soldiers in Iraq.