Charlize Theron
Real Name: Charlize Theron
Date of Birth: 7 August, 1975
Place of birth: Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa
Profession: Model and actress
Charlize Theron was raised on a farm outside Benoni, South Africa as an only child. She received an education as a ballet dancer and danced in Swan Lake and the Nutcracker Suite. Since there was not a great call for ballet dancers in South Africa, she traveled to Europe and the U.S. and got a job at the Joffrey Ballet in New York. She was also able to work as a photo model. An injured knee put an end to her ballet career.
Charlize Theron’s mom, Gerda, is German and her late father Charles was French.
Theron began modeling in 1991 at the age of 16 when she won a local modeling contest. She modeled in Europe and came to New York in 1992.
Theron didn’t particularly enjoy modeling and decided to try her luck with ballet, which she was very passionate about. After a knee injury, she was unable to dance. Her mom bought her one-way ticket to L.A. in 1994 and Theron managed to enlist the services of an agent within two weeks.
Her first role was a young mother in a park in a B-film in 1995 in a non-speaking role. Her total screen time was three seconds. Her next role was that of Helga in ‘2 Days in the Valley’ in 1996. That part landed her the role of Tina in ‘That Thing You Do’ also in 1996.
Since then, she has starred in ‘The Devils Advocate’ in 1997 with Al Pacino, ‘Mighty Joe Young’, 1998, ‘The Cider House Rules’, 1999, The Legend of Bagger Vance’, (2000) and ‘The Italian Job’, (2003). She was awarded her first Academy Award for her performance as Aileen Wuornos in ‘Monster.’
When Charlize was 15 years-old, her dad, who was an alcoholic abuser was shot by her mom in self-defense after he attacked her. She was never charged. Her first language is Afrikaans and she appeared in the May 1999 issue of Playboy.
Charlize dated the lead singer of the band Third Eye Blind, Stephan Jenkins from January 1998 until July 2001. She is now living with long-time boyfriend Irish actor Stuart Townsend in a 1930’s house in L.A. that used to belong to actress Helen Twelvetrees.
After her Oscar win, she traveled to her native South Africa and met with former South African President Nelson Mandela. Mandela praised her for putting their country on the map and gave a hug, which provoked Charlize to break into tears. She was the guest of honor at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg March 11th, 2004.
The couple said they consider themselves married, but won’t marry until it is legal for lesbians and gays to marry. Charlize is also active in PETA.
