Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron born August 7, 1975, is a South African-born American actress and former fashion model. She is well-known for her portrayal of the serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the film Monster, for which she won an Academy Award.

Theron was born in Benoni, Gauteng, 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. She is also fluent in English and speaks some Xhosa. "Theron" is a French surname (originally spelt Théron) pronounced in Afrikaans as "Tronn", although she has said that she prefers the pronunciation "Thrown". The pronunciation commonly used in the United States involves two syllables, with stress on the first.

Theron grew up as the only child on her parents' farm near Johannesburg (Benoni). At the age of thirteen, Theron was sent to boarding school and began her studies at the National School Of The Arts in Johannesburg. At fifteen, Theron witnessed the death of her father, an abusive alcoholic; her mother shot him in self-defense when he attacked her. The police laid no charges against her.

At the age of sixteen, Theron traveled to Milan, Italy, on a one-year modeling contract, after winning a local competition. She went to New York with Pauline's Model Management. She decided to remain in NY after her contract ended, attending the Joffrey Ballet School, where she trained as a ballet dancer. A knee injury closed this career path when Theron was nineteen.

Unable to dance, Theron flew to Los Angeles on a one-way ticket her mother bought her. During her early months there, she went to a bank to cash a check her mother had sent her to help with the rent. When the teller refused to cash it, Theron immediately started into a shouting match with her. Afterwards, a talent agent in line behind her handed her his business card and subsequently introduced her to some casting agents and also an acting school.

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. Larger roles in widely released Hollywood films followed, and her career skyrocketed in the late 1990s with box office successes like The Devil's Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), and The Cider House Rules (1999).

After appearing in a few notable films, Theron starred as the lesbian serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003). Film critic Roger Ebert called it "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema". For this role, 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. The Oscar win pushed her to The Hollywood Reporter's 2006 list of highest-paid actresses in Hollywood; earning $10,000,000 for both her subsequent films, North Country and Æon Flux, she ranked seventh, behind Halle Berry, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Renée Zellweger, Reese Witherspoon, and Nicole Kidman.

On September 30, 2005, Theron received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the same year, she starred in the financially unsuccessful science fiction thriller Æon Flux, for which she received positive reviews. Additionally, Theron received Best Actress Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for her lead performance in the drama North Country. Ms. Magazine also honored her for this performance with a feature article in its Fall 2005 issue.

In 2005, Theron portrayed Rita, Michael Bluth's (Jason Bateman) love interest, on the third season of FOX's critically-acclaimed television series Arrested Development. She also received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for her role of Britt Ekland in the 2004 HBO movie The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.

In 2008, Charlize Theron was named the Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year, preceded by others such as Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball and Julia Roberts.

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.

Having signed a deal with John Galliano in 2004, Theron replaced Estonian model Tiiu Kuik as the spokeswoman in the J'ADORE advertisements by Christian Dior. From October 2005 to December 2006, Theron endorsed Raymond Weil watches. In February 2006, she was sued by Weil for breach of contract.

In May 2006, Maxim magazine named Theron #25 in its annual "Hot 100" issue.

In October 2007, Esquire magazine named Theron The Sexiest Woman Alive in its annual issue.

Theron dated the lead singer of Third Eye Blind, Stephan Jenkins, from January 1998 to July 2001. They broke up after Jenkins failed to take her requests of marriage seriously. Theron now resides in Los Angeles in the home of late 1930's actress Helen Twelvetrees, with her long-time boyfriend Stuart Townsend, with whom she starred in the 2004 film Head in the Clouds, as well as in the 2002 film Trapped; she has said that they will not marry until same-sex couples are able to have their marriages recognized. Townsend recently stated he considers himself and Theron to be husband and wife. "We didn't have a ceremony," he said. "I don't need a certificate or the state or the church to say otherwise. So no there's no big official story on a wedding, but we are married. ... I consider her my wife and she considers me her husband".

While filming Æon Flux in Berlin, Germany, Theron had suffered a herniated disc in her neck, specifically the disc between the third and fourth vertebrae, which occurred as a result of her suffering a fall while filming a series of back handsprings.

Theron is also involved in women's rights organizations. In 2006, Theron won GLAAD's Vanguard Award at the GLAAD Media Awards for increasing "visibility and understanding". Theron is a supporter of animal rights and active member of PETA. She recently appeared in a PETA ad for their anti-fur campaign.

In a 2008 interview, she continuously mixed up two European cities, Budapest and Istanbul. The deputy mayor of Budapest responded by inviting her to spend a luxurious weekend in the Hungarian capital in order to get to know the city.

Theron became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 2007.

Filmography
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Charlize Theron
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