Born on August 7, 1975 in Benoni, South Africa, Charlize Theron is a former fashion model turned Hollywood actress and eventually Academy Award winner for her role in Monster. The daughter of a construction company owner, Theron is of German and French descent. She grew up as an only child on her parents’ farm near the South African capital. She was sent to boarding school to finish her studies at the national School of the Arts in Johannesburg. At 15, she witnessed how her mother shot her father, who was drunk, in self-defense.
At 16, Charlize Theron traveled to Milan, Italy on a one-year contract after winning a local competition. Then she moved to New York under Pauline’s Model Management. Despite the end of her contract, she opted to stay in the Big Apple to train as a ballet dancer. When she injured her knee and was unable to continue, she moved to Los Angeles. It was said that she was discovered while arguing with a bank teller who refused to cash a check from her mother. Eight months in Los Angeles, she was cast in her first non-speaking role in Children of the Corn III in 1995.
Up to the late 1990s, Theron landed in much bigger and more successful roles, such as The Devil's Advocate in 1997, Mighty Joe Young in 1998, The Cider House Rules in 1999, and, according to a critic, “one of the greatest performances in the history of cinema” in Monster in 2003. She did win the Academy, Screen Actors’ Guild, and Golden Globe awards for the film, making her the first South African to win an Oscar for Best Actress. She was given her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was named by Esquire Magazine as The Sexist Woman Alive in 2007.