Charlize Theron Biography

Theron was born in Benoni, South Africa. 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. Theron'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".

Theron grew up as the only child on her parents' farm near Johannesburg (Benoni) and was sent to a boarding school at the age of thirteen. At fifteen, Theron witnessed the death of her father; he was an abusive alcoholic, and her mother shot him in self defense when he attacked her. No charges were pressed.

At the age of sixteen, Theron travelled to Milan, Italy on a one-year modelling contract, after winning a local competition. Her contract ended while she was in New York City, and she decided to remain there, attending the Joffrey Ballet School, where she trained as a ballet dancer. A knee injury ended this career path at the age of 18.

Unable to dance, she bought a ticket to Los Angeles. After eight months in the city, she was cast in her first film part, a non-speaking role in the direct-to-video film Children of the Corn III. She followed this with larger roles in widely released Hollywood films, and her career skyrocketed in the late 1990s, with box office successes like The Devil's Advocate, The Cider House Rules, and Mighty Joe Young.

The May 1999 issue of Playboy published nude photos of Theron, taken during the early years of her modeling career. Claiming they had been "for private use", Theron ended up suing photographer Guido Argentini.

After appearing in a few notable films, Theron starred as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the film Monster (2003). Receiving praise for her performance (film critic Roger Ebert called it "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema"), Theron won the Best Actress Oscar 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 an Oscar for Best Actress.