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Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron (born 7 August 1975) is a South African actress, film producer and former fashion model. She rose to fame in the late 1990s following roles in the films The Devil's Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), and The Cider House Rules (1999). Theron received critical acclaim for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003), for which she won the Silver Bear, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Academy Award for Best Actress among several other accolades, becoming the first South African to win an Academy Award in a major acting category. In recent years, she has moved into the field of producing, both in television and film. She received further Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for her performance in North Country in 2005, and a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance in Young Adult in 2011. In 2012, she appeared in Snow White & the Huntsman and Prometheus, both of which were box office successes. Theron became a U.S. citizen in 2007, while retaining her South African citizenship. Theron was born in Benoni, in the then-Transvaal Province of South Africa, the only child of Gerda (née Maritz) and Charles Theron (born 27 November 1947). Second Boer War figure Danie Theron was her great-great-uncle. Her ancestry includes French, German, and Dutch; her French forebears were early Huguenot settlers in South Africa. "Theron" is an Occitan surname (originally spelled Théron) pronounced in Afrikaans as [tɜːron], although she has said that the way she pronounces it in South Africa is [θron]. She changed the pronunciation when she moved to the U.S. to give it a more "American" sound. She grew up on her parents' farm in Benoni, near Johannesburg. On 21 June 1991, Theron's father, an alcoholic, physically attacked her mother and threatened both her mother and her while drunk; Theron's mother then shot and killed him. The shooting was legally adjudged to have been self-defense and her mother faced no charges. Theron attended Putfontein Primary School (Laerskool Putfontein), a period she later characterised as not "fitting in". At 13, Theron was sent to boarding school and began her studies at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg. Although Theron is fluent in English, her first language is Afrikaans.


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Born:
Aug 7, 1975 In Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa
Movie/TV Credits:
66
First Appeared:
In the movie The Old Guard 2
Latest Project:
Movie Fast X: Part 2 2025-04-03
Known For
Filmography
Movie Fast X: Part 2 Cipher 2025-04-03
Movie The Old Guard 2 Andromache of Scythia / Andy 2025
Movie Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love Self - Guest 2023-04-26
Movie Fast X Cipher 2023-05-17
Movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Clea 2022-05-04
Movie The School for Good and Evil Lady Lesso 2022-10-19
Movie Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Clea (archive footage) (uncredited) 2022-07-08
Movie The Addams Family 2 Morticia Addams (voice) 2021-10-01
Movie F9 Cipher 2021-05-19
Movie The Old Guard Andromache of Scythia / Andy 2020-07-10
Series Home Movie: The Princess Bride Fezzik 2020-06-29
Movie Long Shot Charlotte Field 2019-05-02
Movie Bombshell Megyn Kelly 2019-12-13
Movie The Addams Family Morticia Addams (voice) 2019-10-10
Movie Gringo Elaine Markinson 2018-03-08
Movie Tully Marlo Moreau 2018-05-04
Movie Terror Nullius (Archive Footage) 2018-03-20
Movie The Fate of the Furious Cipher 2017-04-12
Movie The Last Face Dr. Wren Petersen 2017-01-11
Movie Going Mad: The Battle of Fury Road Self 2017-08-01
Movie Atomic Blonde Lorraine Broughton 2017-07-26
Movie The Huntsman: Winter's War Queen Ravenna 2016-04-06
Movie Kubo and the Two Strings Monkey / Mother (voice) 2016-08-18
Movie Dark Places Libby Day 2015-04-08
Movie Mad Max: Fury Road Imperator Furiosa 2015-05-13
Movie Take Flight Self - Performer 2015-12-10
Movie A Million Ways to Die in the West Anna Barnes-Leatherwood 2014-05-22
Movie Prometheus Meredith Vickers 2012-05-30
Movie Snow White and the Huntsman Queen Ravenna 2012-05-30
Movie The Furious Gods: Making Prometheus Self 2012-10-11
Movie Young Adult Mavis Gary 2011-11-11
Movie Wikus and Charlize Self (voice) 2010-04-01
Movie Astro Boy Narrator 2009-10-15
Movie The Road Mother 2009-11-25
Movie Sleepwalking Joleen 2008-03-14
Movie Hancock Mary Embrey 2008-07-01
Movie The Burning Plain Sylvia / Mariana 2008-11-07
Movie In the Valley of Elah Detective Emily Sanders 2007-09-14
Movie Battle in Seattle Ella 2007-09-07
Movie Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters Self 2006-06-13
Movie North Country Josey Aimes 2005-02-12
Series The Reichen Show 2005-11-11
Movie Æon Flux Æon Flux 2005-11-30
Movie The Life and Death of Peter Sellers Britt Ekland 2004-10-01
Movie Head in the Clouds Gilda Bessé 2004-04-29
Movie The Italian Job Stella Bridger 2003-05-30
Movie Monster Aileen Wuornos 2003-12-24
Movie Trapped Karen Jennings 2002-09-20
Movie Waking Up in Reno Candy Kirkendall 2002-12-13
Movie Sweet November Sara Deever 2001-02-16
Movie 15 Minutes Rose Hearn 2001-03-01
Movie The Curse of the Jade Scorpion Laura Kensington 2001-08-05
Movie The Legend of Bagger Vance Adele Invergordon 2000-11-02
Movie Reindeer Games Ashley Mercer 2000-02-25
Movie The Yards Erica Soltz 2000-04-27
Movie Men of Honor Gwen Sunday 2000-09-13
Movie The Cider House Rules Candy Kendall 1999-12-17
Movie The Astronaut's Wife Jillian Armacost 1999-08-27
Movie Celebrity Supermodel 1998-09-07
Movie Mighty Joe Young Jill Young 1998-12-25
Movie The Devil's Advocate Mary Ann Lomax 1997-10-17
Movie Trial and Error Billie Tyler 1997-05-30
Movie Hollywood Confidential Sally 1997-04-14
Movie That Thing You Do! Tina 1996-10-04
Movie 2 Days in the Valley Helga Svelgen 1996-09-11
Movie Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest Eli's Follower (uncredited) 1995-09-12