Charlize Theron (born August 7, 1975 in Benoni, South Africa) is an Academy Award winning actress.

Her first language is Afrikaans, and her second is English. In Afrikaans, her surname is correctly pronounced "Tronn". Theron has stated that she prefers the pronunciation "Thrown". [1]

Theron trained as a ballet dancer and danced in both Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. She travelled to Europe and then the United States where she was accepted at the Joffrey Ballet in New York, but a knee injury ended her dancing career. She also worked as a photo model.

Soon after Charlize won a modelling contest, she was encouraged by her mother to leave South Africa. At 18 she moved to Los Angeles without knowing anyone in the city but after two weeks when she was standing in line on Hollywood Boulevard an agent gave her his card. After eight months in the city she got her first part.

In his December 7, 2003 review of the film 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 indeed 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.

Theron is the current spokeswoman for Dior perfume.

She currently resides in Los Angeles with her long term boyfriend Stuart Townsend.

Filmography

• Children of the Corn III (1995)
• 2 Days in the Valley (1996)
• That Thing You Do! (1996)
• Trial and Error (1997)
• The Devil's Advocate (1997)
• Celebrity (1998)
• Mighty Joe Young (1998)
• The Astronaut's Wife (1999)
• The Cider House Rules (1999)
• Reindeer Games (2000)
• The Yards (2000)
• Men of Honor (2000)
• The Legend of Baggar Vance (2000)
• Sweet November (2001)
• 15 Minutes (2001)
• The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
• Trapped (2002)
• Waking Up in Reno (2002)
• Earthlings (2003) (documentary)
• The Italian Job (2003)
• Monster (2003) (also producer)
• The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004)
• Head in the Clouds (2004)
• Aeon Flux (2005) (currently in post-production)
• Class Action (2005) (currently filming)
• The Italian Job II (2006) (currently announced start of production)
• The Ice at the Bottom of the World (2006) (currently in production) (also producer)

External links

• Official site
• Charlize Online: A Charlize Theron Fan Page
• TV and Movie Trivia Tribute: Charlize Theron
• Charlize Theron Directory
• An interview