Charlize Theron is happy with new man Eric Stonestreet and adopted son in a very Modern Family

PUBLISHED: 19:46 EST, 22 September 2012 | UPDATED: 03:11 EST, 23 September 2012

She's spoken of the joy of adopting a baby boy and now actress Charlize Theron has a new man in her life too.

The Oscar-winning star, 37, is said to have fallen for Eric Stonestreet, who plays gay Cameron Tucker in the hit US comedy series Modern Family.

Eric, 41, who recently split up with his long-term girlfriend Katherine Tokarz, was introduced to Charlize by mutual friends in Los Angeles earlier this year.

Oscar-winning star Charlize Theron is said to have fallen for Eric Stonehurst

Oscar-winning star Charlize Theron is said to have fallen for Eric Stonestreet, from TV's Modern Family

Mum on the run vs. red carpet queen: Charlize carries Jackson in June

Mum on the run vs. red carpet queen: Charlize carries Jackson in June, and at the MTV Movie Awards the same month

Mum on the run vs. red carpet queen: Charlize carries Jackson, and at the MTV Movie Awards, both in June

Charlize and Eric get along incredibly well, says a source close to the actress. They started off as friends but things are blossoming between them.

The insider added: Eric is down to earth and funny and Charlize thinks the world of him. Its early days but theyre very fond of each other.

Charlize, who adopted a ! boy called Jackson in May, broke off her engagement to Irish actor Stuart Townsend in 2010.

The ex files: Charlize and Stuart Townsend, seen here at party in May 2008, spent nine years together

The South African actress brought her African-American baby home at just nine days old, but the adoption process took her two entire years.

In May, she gushed about becoming a mother and spoke about the simple joys of changing nappies.

Speaking on The Today Show, the 5ft 10in beauty revealed: 'I love it! Ive got to tell you, Im available for other babies' diapers to be changed. I can do it in my sleep now. I am so good.

'I now know how to change a Japanese diaper, a Spanish diaper, an English diaper, a German diaper. Im like the diaper pro now.

She added: 'The one thing Im grateful beyond anything else is that she [Charlize's mother Gerda] raised me to always encourage me to be my own person and that teaches great independence.

Former life: Eric Stonestreet and ex flame Katherine Tokarz arrive at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January

Former life: Eric Stonestreet and ex Katherine Tokarz arrive at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January

TV star: Eric takes centre stage in Modern Family, alongside Sofia Vergara and Jesse Tyler Ferguson

'And I would hope to have my son feel the sam! e way abo! ut himself. And kind of go and discover the world in his own skin.

While Charlize has been linked to Prince Harry and Keanu Reeves in the past, she spent nine years with Townsend, with whom she starred in 2002's Trapped and later Head in the Clouds (2004).

The household name went on to star in Snow White and the Huntsman earlier this year.

Theron has also taken centre stage in hits like The Devils Advocate, The Cider House Rules and last years Young Adult.