Charlize Theron

Biography

Charlize Theron (born August 7, 1975 in Benoni, South Africa) is an Oscar winning South African actress.

Both of her parents are Afrikaans-speaking. Her father, Charles Theron, was a construction company owner of French Huguenot descent; her mother, Gerda, is of German descent and took over her husband's business after his death. Charlize's first language is Afrikaans, and her second is English. Theron is a French surname pronounced in Afrikaans as "Tronn", although she has stated that she prefers the pronunciation "Thrown". [1]

She grew up as the only child on her parents' farm near Johannesburg and was sent to a boarding school at the age of 13.

At the age of 15, Charlize witnessed the death of her father, Charles Theron. He was an abusive alcoholic and her mother, Gerda Theron, shot him in self defence when he attacked her. No charges were pressed.

At the age of 16 she travelled to Milan, Italy on a one-year modelling contract after winning a local modelling competition. Her modelling contract ended while she was in New York City.

She decided to remain in New York City and attended the school of the Joffrey Ballet in New York. She trained as a ballet dancer and danced in both Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. A knee injury ended her dancing career at the age of 18.

Unable to dance and almost penniless, she bought a ticket to Los Angeles. After eight months in the city she got her first part, a non-speaking role in the B-film Children of the Corn III.

In 1999, She posed nude for the May 1999 issue of Playboy magazine.

In his December 7, 2003 review of the film Monster, respected film critic Roger Ebert said Theron's performance in the film's lead role was one of the greatest performances in the history of film. Ebert added that if she did not win the Oscar for best actress, then the award should be cancelled. She did indeed win Best Actress at the 76th Academy Awards in February 2004, as well as the SAG Award and the Golden Globe Award. She is the first South African to win the Best Actress Academy Award.

On September 30, 2005 she received her own bronze star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Theron is the current spokeswoman for Dior perfume and resides in Los Angeles with her long-term boyfriend Stuart Townsend. She recently revealed that she had surgery on a herniated cervical disc in her neck, while filming a movie in Berlin, Germany.