Theron, Charlize, << THEHR uhn, shahr LEEZ >> (1975-…), a South African motion-picture actress, won the 2003 Academy Award as best actress for her role in the intense drama Monster. Theron played Aileen Wuornos, the first woman serial killer executed in the United States. Theron also produced the film.
Theron was born Charlize Therone on Aug. 7, 1975, in Benoni, South Africa, near Johannesburg. She later changed her last name to Theron. She grew up on a farm in South Africa and became a ballerina and successful model as a teenager. In 1994, at the age of 18, she moved to the United States to continue her ballet career. However, she turned to acting after a knee injury. After appearing in a minor role in a horror film in 1995, she made her feature film debut in 2 Days in the Valley (1996).
By the late 1990’s, Theron was one of Hollywood’s busiest actresses. Her other films include Celebrity and Mighty Joe Young (both 1998); The Astronaut’s Wife and The Cider House Rules (both 1999); The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000); The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001); The Italian Job (2003); Head in the Clouds (2004); Aeon Flux and North Country (both 2005); In the Valley of Elah (2007); Hancock (2008); and The Road (2009). Theron’s later movies include Young Adult (2011); Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) and the film that is both its prequel and sequel, The Huntsman: Winter’s War (2016); Prometheus (2012); A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014); Mad Max: Fury Road (2015);The Fate of the Furious (2017); and Bombshell (2019). Theron also provided the voice for the character of a monkey in the animated film Kubo and the Two Strings (2016).
