Charlize Theron Posters and Movies

About Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron was discovered by a talent agent while fighting with a bank manager on Hollywood Boulevard. Eighteen and starving, Theron got into the argument after the manager refused to cash her check. The outburst caught the agent's attention, and a few months later Theron got her first acting job.

She went on to become one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood, thanks to a combination of talent and her blonde, statuesque good looks.

Charlize was born on August 7, 1975. She was raised on a farm in Benoni, South Africa. Her mother is of German descent and her father was of Occitan (French) and Dutch ancestry. Charlize was their only child.

Trained as a ballet dancer, she was sent to Milan at 16 to become a model following the death of her father. He was shot by Theron's mother, who was defending herself from his drunken abuse. There were no charges against her mother.

After tiring of modeling, Theron returned to her first love, dancing, which resulted in a move to New York to dance with the Joffrey Ballet. Unfortunately, her career was halted by a knee injury, which led Theron to travel to Los Angeles to try her luck with acting.

Following a bit part in 1994's Children of the Corn III, Theron won her first dose of recognition with 2 Days in the Valley (1996). The film wasn't particularly successful, but it did give her both much-needed exposure and critical praise. The film also served as the stepping stone to her first leading role, that of Keanu Reeves' embattled wife in The Devil's Advocate (1997). Her next project, Trial and Error (1997), surfaced briefly before disappearing, but her next role in Mighty Joe Young (1998) netted Theron more positive notices.

Her rise to stardom was confirmed with her casting in Celebrity, Woody Allen's 1998 cameo-fest that also featured turns from everyone from Kenneth Branagh to Winona Ryder to Leonardo DiCaprio to Isaac Mizrahi. In her portrayal of a perpetually aroused supermodel, Theron shone in a role seemingly designed to allow her to flaunt her natural attributes. She was rewarded with more substantial work in The Cider House Rules (1999), Lasse Hallström's Oscar-winning adaptation of John Irving's novel. As a troubled young woman with secrets to hide, Theron received star billing alongside Michael Caine and Tobey Maguire.

Theron switched gears and dove headfirst into the "serious actress" category with her 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.

Co-starring with Christina Ricci as Wuornos' lover, the film promised to show audiences a side of Theron that hadn't been shown in her previous portrayals of models, girlfriends, and Southern debutantes. Theron was showered with more than a dozen awards including an Oscar following her first-ever Academy Award nomination.

Theron Today

On Dec.11, 2007, Theron's home in the exclusive Hollywood Hills became the latest to be burglarized in a series of robberies occurring to celebrities in Bel Air and Beverly Hills with a gross of $7M in loot, according to police.

Theron resides in Los Angeles, in the home of late actress Helen Twelvetrees, with Theron's long-time boyfriend Stuart Townsend, with whom she starred in the movie Head in the Clouds.

Theron's boyfriend 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."

Some Tacts about Charlize

• Theron's first language is Afrikaans; she is fluent in English and speaks some Zulu.
• She was named Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive in 2007.
• Theron is a supporter of animal rights and active member of PETA.
• Theron became a naturalized citizen of the United States in May 2007.