Charlize Theron was born in Benoni, a city situated within the greater Johannesburg area, in South Africa, as the only child of Gerda Theron (née Maritz) and Charles Theron. Growing up, she was raised on a farm located outside the city. Theron's ancestry is rooted in Afrikaner heritage, a blend of Dutch, French Huguenot, and German descent. Notably, her great-great-uncle was Danie Theron, a renowned Afrikaner military figure.
Charlize Theron received an education in ballet dancing and had the opportunity to perform in productions such as "Swan Lake" and "The Nutcracker". However, the lack of work for young actresses and dancers in South Africa led her to travel to Europe and the United States, where she landed a job at the Joffrey Ballet in New York. Additionally, she worked as a photo model. Unfortunately, an injured knee brought an end to her dancing career.
In 1994, her mother purchased a one-way ticket to Los Angeles, and Charlize embarked on a journey to visit all the agents on Hollywood Boulevard. Despite her efforts, she faced rejection. Her frustration grew when she attempted to cash a $500 check from her mother at a bank, only to learn that it was an out-of-state check and therefore unable to be cashed. The scene she created prompted an agent to offer her his card in exchange for her learning American English. She achieved this by watching soap operas on television.
Charlize Theron's early film career began with a non-speaking role in the B-film Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995),which consisted of only three seconds of screen time. Her next role was as Helga Svelgen in 2 Days in the Valley (1996),which led to her part as Tina Powers in That Thing You Do! (1996). Since then, she has starred in a variety of films, including The Devil's Advocate (1997),Mighty Joe Young (1998),The Cider House Rules (1999),The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000),and The Italian Job (2003). On February 29, 2004, she received her first Academy Award, a Best Actress Oscar, for her performance in Monster (2003).
