Birth Date:
August 6, 1975.
Place of Birth:
Benoni, South Africa.
Breakout Role:
Charlize Theron is receiving enormous critical acclaim for her performance as Aileen Wuornos in Patty Jenkin's "Monster." She gained 30 pounds for the role and showed acting chops never before displayed in previous roles as fashion models, debutantes and unhappy wives.
Oscar Winner:
Charlize Theron won "Best Actress" at the 76th Annual Academy Awards.
Career Beginnings:
Began as a ballerina before moving to Los Angeles from South Africa at 18. She danced in the Joffrey Ballet in New York before an injury put a halt to her dancing career.
Did You Know:
Turned down the female lead in "Pearl Harbor" to star alongside Keanu Reeves in the flop "Sweet November."
Most Beautiful:
Named one of "People" magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 2000.
Dating:
Theron is currently dating Irish actor Stuart Townsend. They star together in the upcoming drama "Head In The Clouds."
Injured:
Theron was recently injured performing her own stunts on the set of "Aeon Flux." Filming has currently been halted.
Short Biography:
South African actress Charlize Theron was raised on on a farm in Benoni, South Africa. Trained as a ballet dancer, she was sent to Milan at 16 to become a model following the death of her father (which, it was later revealed, occurred after he was shot by Theron's mother, who was defending herself from his drunken abuse).
Following a bit part in 1994's "Children of the Corn III," Theron won her began to receive major roles in Hollywood. She has starred opposite Keanu Reeves as an embattled wife in "The Devil's Advocate," played a a polymorphic perverse model in Woody Allen's "Celebrity," and a heart breaking first love in Lasse Hallström's Oscar winning "Cider House Rules." Theron has also starred in major Hollywood productions John Frankenheimer's "Reindeer Games," Robert Redford's "The Legend of Bagger Vance" and the star-studded remake of "The Italian Job."
In 2003, Theron's career switched gears with a starring role in "Monster," the crime drama based upon the real-life story of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute who, in the late '80s, murdered seven men in Florida. The role has shown audiences a side of Theron that certainly hadn't been hinted at in her previous films. She won an Academy Award for her performance.
