Charlize Theron

Birth Date:
August 7, 1975

Height:
5 ft 9 in

Measurements:
35-26-37

Occupation:
Actress

Babe Collector
TeraBabes
Star Pages
VIP Beauties
I Just Wanna...
Heavenly Celebrities
Celebrity Inferno
Full Babes
Babe Mania
Bomis
Famous Beauties
ABC Celebs
Super Star Links
Babe West
Top Celebrity Pages: Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron was born in Benoni, South Africa. Her father, Charles Theron, was a construction company owner of French Huguenot descent; her mother, Gerda, is of German descent and took over her husband's business after his death. Theron's first language is Afrikaans, and her second is English. In the United States, both in her films and while being interviewed, etc., Theron speaks with a totally unaccented American style of speech, leading most Americans to assume she is American.

Theron grew up as the only child on her parents' farm near Johannesburg (Benoni) and was sent to a boarding school at the age of thirteen. At fifteen, Theron witnessed the death of her father; he was an abusive alcoholic, and her mother shot him in self-defense when he attacked her. No charges were pressed.

At the age of sixteen, Theron traveled to Milan, Italy, on a one-year modeling contract, after winning a local competition. Her contract ended while she was in New York City, and she decided to remain there, attending the Joffrey Ballet School, where she trained as a ballet dancer. A knee injury ended this career path at the age of 18.

Unable to dance, she bought a ticket to Los Angeles. After eight months in the city, she was cast in her first film part, a non-speaking role in the direct-to-video film Children of the Corn III. She followed this with larger roles in widely released Hollywood films, and her career skyrocketed in the late 1990s, with box office successes like The Devil's Advocate, The Cider House Rules, and Mighty Joe Young.

The May 1999 issue of Playboy published nude photos of Theron, taken during the early years of her modeling career. Claiming they had been "for private use," Theron ended up suing photographer Guido Argentini.

After appearing in a few notable films, Theron starred as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the film Monster (2003). Film critic Roger Ebert called it "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema," for which Theron won the Best Actress Oscar 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 an Oscar for Best Actress.

Having signed a deal with John Galliano in 2004, Theron replaced Estonian model Tiiu Kuik in the J'ADORE advertisements by Christian Dior; she is the current spokeswoman for Dior perfume. On September 30, 2005, she received her own bronze star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the same year, she starred in the financially unsuccessful science fiction thriller Æon Flux and was given positive reviews, as well as a Best Actress Golden Globe nomination, for her lead performance in the drama North Country. She had also been nominated for an Oscar as a lead actress for the role.

In 2005, Theron also portrayed Rita, Michael Bluth's (Jason Bateman) love interest on the third season of FOX's critically acclaimed sitcom, Arrested Development.