Charlize Theron Biography

Charlize Theron was born in Benoni, South Africa, on the 7th of August 1975, and grown-up in a small town called Benoni and was a member of the community South Soho. Charlize was born a single child in a very wealthy family. Her father Charles, who was French worked on the family's road-construction business, and also had a farm which mother Gerda, who was German took over after Charles' death in 1990. She learned many of the 28 languages she speaks from the staff on her parents' farm. When she was 6, Charlize showed her first signs of what would be her stardom. She began ballet and considered doing this for a career. She continued dancing and would eventually go professional in Johannesburg.

At the age of 16 Charlize Theron took an offer to begin modelling in Milan, Italy, When she won a local modeling contest. She started modeling in Europe, and came to New York a year later. She didn't like being a model, so on the last day of shooting under her current contract in New York City, she decided she wouldn't return to Milan. Instead Charlize Theron began dancing with the Joffrey school in New York, returning to her first love. At 18, she suffered knee injury prevent her from ballet dancing. And her career ended in this field, Which led Theron at her mother's urge to travel to Los Angeles to try her luck with acting.

Theron booked a flight to "Hollywood," only to discover, to her distress, that her travel agent had put her on a plane to "Los Angeles." Charlize started visiting all of the agents on Hollywood Bulevard, but without any luck. She went to the bank to cash a check for $500 she'd gotten from her mother, and became terrible when she learned that the bank could not cash her check because it was an out-state check. She made a scene, and an Hollywood talent manager John Crosby happened to be standing in line behind her, and, after helpfully explaining that she could cash her out-of-state check at any post office, asked if she were, permitting an actress. Somewhat ashamed, Theron replied that she wasn't, but that she fully interested to become one. Agent gave her his card, in exchange that she learn the language, which she did by watching soap operas on TV.

Charlize Theron's luck was smiling on her as she lost the lead in the unfortunate "Showgirls" in 1995 to Elizabeth Berkley, paving the way for her breathtaking debut as Helga Svelgen, the sexy, catsuited Norwegian hitwoman who went toe-to-toe with Teri Hatcher and titillated fellow assassin James Spader in John Herzfeld's "2 Days in the Valley" in 1996. Theron was so unknown she remained nameless in the marketing campaign for "2 Days in the Valley". Nevertheless her barely attire, gun-toting image stared down from billboards and stopped traffic and imprinted itself on the studio mindset.

In early 1997, Theron starred in Jonathan Lynn's "Trial and Error" for New Line Cinema opposite Michael Richards and "2 Days in the Valley" co-star Jeff Daniels. By the fallow of that same year, she appeared on the big screen once again co-starring with Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves in the Warner Brothers thriller and box office smash, "Devils Advocate".

She was noticed and work began to come in steadily. The subsequent "Mighty Joe Young", 1998 netted Theron more positive notices. Her ascent 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. She was rewarded with more generous not to mention multilayered work in The Cider House Rules, 1999, Lasse Hallstrom's Oscar-winning adaptation of John Irving's novel.

In the wake of The Cider House Rules came a few highly publicized but ultimately disappointing projects, including John Frankenheimer's Reindeer Games in 2000, Robert Redford's The Legend of Bagger Vance in 2000, and Sweet November in 2001, the last of which reunited her with erstwhile co-star Keanu Reeves. Theron was also reunited with Woody Allen in his The Curse of the Jade Scorpion in 2001, another widely anticipated film that, despite a high-profile cast and stylish period design, was both a critical and commercial underacheiver.

The 2003 version featured Mark Wahlberg in the starring role, with Charlize Theron. That same year, Theron started working as a "serious actress" category with her starring role in "Monster", respected film critic Roger Ebert said Theron's performance in the film's lead role was one of the greatest performances in the history of film. Ebert added that if she did not win the Oscar for best actress, then the award should be cancelled. She did immensely win Best Actress 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 the Best Actress Academy Award.

On September 30, 2005 she received her own bronze star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Theron is the current spokeswoman for Dior perfume and resides in Los Angeles with her long-term boyfriend Stuart Townsend. She recently exposed that she had surgery on a herniated cervical disc in her neck, while filming a movie in Berlin, Germany.