Charlize Theron

When she was 15, her father attacked her mother, and her mother shot him in self-defense. He died, but her mother was not charged in the incident.

First language is Afrikaans, English is spoken as her second language.

Nude pictures of her taken years earlier appeared in the May 1999 issue of Playboy Magazine.

Became a fashion model at age 14.

Named one of People magazines 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.

Turned down the female lead in Pearl Harbor to star alongside Keanu Reeves in Sweet November .

Auditioned for the female lead of Nomi Malone in Showgirls , which went to Elizabeth Berkley.

Ranked #4 in the 2001 FHM Taiwan list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".

Placed #1 on Beautiful People Internet Poll, narrowly beating Cameron Diaz in #2 and Kate Beckinsale in #3. The photo featured on the site was the famous Diving Board photo.

Both of her parents were born and raised in South Africa. Her ancestry is Afrikaner: largely Dutch, as well as French Huguenot (the origin of her surname) and German.

(September 2002) Voted #12 Sexiest Female Movie Star in the Australian Empire Magazine.

Used hypnotherapy as an aid to quit smoking.

Is the only child of Charles, whom she was named after, and Gerda Theron.

She gained 30 pounds to play Aileen Wuornos in Monster .

On the show "Sunday Morning Shootout" it was revealed that her manager discovered her in a Hollywood bank after he witnessed her shouting at a bank teller for refusing to cash her check.

Won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as Aileen Wuornos in Monster on what would have been Aileens 48th birthday: February 29, 2004.

After winning her Oscar, she returned to great celebrations in her native South Africa, and she even met former South African President Nelson Mandela. When he praised her for putting their country on the map and gave her a hug, Theron broke into tears (she was guest of honor at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg on March 11, 2004).

Has said her favorite actor is Tom Hanks.

In 2004 she injured her neck while filming on Flux . Fortunately the injury was not serious enough to put her in the hospital, but it did postpone production for several weeks.

As a teenager in her native South Africa, she learned English by watching American television.

At the 2005 Golden Globe Awards she was sporting a new dark hair color. She is a current member of the celebrities who have dyed their hair from blonde to brown, or black. They include, among others: Mary-Kate Olsen ; Nicky Rothschild ; Mandy Moore ; Rene Zellweger ; Christina Aguilera , Melinda Messenger and Ashlee Simpson.

In 2005 she was the first person to sign on to be a presenter at the 77th Annual Academy Awards.

Second actress (the first was Kim Basinger ) to win an Oscar after appearing naked in Playboy magazine.

She is the second South African-born person to win an Academy Award--Ted Moore was the first. Basil Rathbone was the first South African-born actor to be nominated, followed by Cecil Kellaway. Theron was the first South African-born woman to win an Oscar.

Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on September 29, 2005.

Ranked #15 on Maxim magazines Hot 100 Women of 2005 list.

Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2006 Razzie Award nominating ballot. She was listed as a suggestion in the Worst Actress category for her performance in on Flux . However, she failed to receive a nomination (had she gotten the nomination, she would have been the first person to be nominated for both Leading Actress awards at the Oscars, for North Country , and the Razzies.).

Ranked #4 in FHM magazines "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement.

Studied acting with Ivana Chubbuck.

Ranked #15 in FHM magazines "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement.

Dyed her hair black for the title role in on Flux .

Trained as a ballet dancer at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, and performed in both "Swan Lake" and "The Nutcracker". Her dancing career ended after a knee injury.

One of the first movies she ever went to see at the theater was Splash . She confessed that after watching the movie, she felt jealous of Daryl Hannah and developed a crush on Tom Hanks. She even said to herself that she could have played the role of Madison better than Hannah.

Shares the same background as Daniel Bonjour , who also left South Africa as a teenage actor and traveled to Europe and then America. Both their parents are of European background. Also, both actors have found it easier to simply use an American accent in their work.

(February 2006) Chosen by Femme Fatales magazine as one of the "50 sexiest women on the planet".

"Entertainment Weekly" predicted her Oscar win for Monster 11 months before she won it.

She earns $2 million per year endorsing Diors "JAdore" fragrance, as well as $2.5 million per year endorsing Swiss watchmaker Raymond Weil.

At 16 she won a modeling competition to go to Milan, Italy, and work on the catwalks and, at 18, won a scholarship to study ballet at the Joffrey School in New York. She turned to acting only because she injured both knees, dashing any hopes of a ballet career.

Harvard Universitys Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year.

On March 12, 2008, she announced on the "Late Show with David Letterman" that she is now a U.S. citizen.

Ranked #11 on Maxim magazines Hot 100 Women of 2008 list.

Was considered for the role of Vickie Kittrie in Mercy , which went to Peta Wilson.

Was considered for the role of Satine in Moulin Rouge! but Nicole Kidman , who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.

Replaced Angelina Jolie in the role of Dagny Taggart in Atlas Shrugged: Part I before being replaced by Taylor Schilling.

Was originally cast as Gerda Wegener in The Danish Girl but after dropping out of the project when production was delayed she was replaced by Gwyneth Paltrow , who in turn was replaced by Alicia Vikander.

She is good friends with her North Country co-star, Jeremy Renner.

Was in consideration for the role of Helen Gandy in J. Edgar , but Naomi Watts was cast instead.

Named the "Sexiest Woman Alive" by Esquire magazine.

Received the "Decade of Hotness" award from Spike TV (Guys Choice).

Ranked #24 on the 2007 Ask men Australia top 99 "most desirable" women list. She was ranked #6 the previous year in 2006.

Ranked #3 in Ask mens top 99 "most desirable" women of 2005.

Ranked #1 in Ask mens top 99 "most desirable" women of 2003.

Ranked #20 in the 2011 FHM Australia list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".

Always speaks Afrikaans with her mother, who lives two minutes from her in Los Angeles. They have matching fish tattoos.

Suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) to the extent that, if renting a house/hotel room during a movie shoot, cannot relax until she has explored every closet, locker and drawer in the premises.

The correct pronunciation of her name: Sharleese Ti-ron. The "Ti" pronounced as in till. The surname is a well-known Afrikaans surname which originated from France, coming to South Africa by way of the immigration of the French Huguenots.

Is involved in womens rights organizations, and has marched in pro-choice rallies.

Is a supporter of animal rights and appeared in a PETA ad for its anti-fur campaign.

Has her own charity called the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, which is committed to reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and sexual violence among African youth.

Named "Sexiest Actress" by Victorias Secret What Is Sexy list.

On April 24, 2012, she received Americas National Association of Theatre Owners - Distinguished Decade of Achievement in Film Award, at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.

Returned to work four months after adopting her son Jackson in order to begin filming Mad Max: Fury Road .

Ranked one of the "most desirable" women on Ask mens top 99 "most desirable" women of 2013.

United Nations Messenger of Peace.

Ranked #5 on the list of "Hollywoods Top-Earning Actresses in 2012" by Forbes magazine. Her income between May 2011 and May 2012 was estimated to be $18 million.

Was the 125th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Actress Oscar for Monster at The 76th Annual Academy Awards on February 29, 2004.

Ranked #24 on Maxim magazines Hot 100 Women of 2014 list.

Her first language is Afrikaans and she did not become fluent in English until she came to the US. Consequently, American is her natural accent in English.

Has two adopted children: a son named Jackson Theron (b. November 2011, adopted March 2012) and a daughter named August Theron (adopted July 2015).

Has appeared in two different movies about post-apocalyptic dystopias that contain the word "road" in the title: The Road and Mad Max: Fury Road .

Shaved her head for the role of Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road .

Has been in three movies with Eddie Marsan : Hancock , Snow White and the Huntsman and Atomic Blonde .

Was introduced to the UFC by a friend and became obsessed with it.

Her last name Theron is correctly pronounced as one syllable.

Seventh highest paid actress of 2017 with $14 million.

[on her mother shooting her father, who was in a drunken rage, which was,ruled self-defense] You know, people drank. Some people drank more, but,it was never considered that this might be a problem. It was just the,way it was then.

Just appalling. The real lady that this happened to is still in therapy,and on medication. When you meet her, you understand that this has,taken a real toll on her.

There were a lot of pros to winning the Oscar, but a lot of cons, too.

Suddenly, it all became about transformation. Every movie I did after,Monster (2003) was jumped upon as yet another transformation.

Even when I only had dirt on my face, like in,North Country (2005) it was transformation.

[when asked if beauty is a problem for her] No. But it seems to be a,problem for journalists.

[on her weak teeth in the 1980s from jaundice, during a 2012 interview],My early childhood was quite devastating. I had no teeth until I was,11. I had these fangs because I had jaundice when I was a kid and I was,put on so many antibiotics that my teeth rotted. They cut them out. So,I never had milk teeth. That was tough, you know, being in school,having photos taken while I was pretending I had teeth. It was hideous.

[in 2016, on her mother Gerda] I am the product of the mother who raised,me. My mom would wake up every morning, get me ready for school, make,my food, get me on the bus and then go run the third largest road,construction business in South Africa--and do it in style, wearing,suede boots, knee-high boots. I was so impressed by that.

My mom has made it possible for me to be who I am. Our family is everything. Her greatest skill was encouraging me to find my own person and own independence.

I think today women are very scared to celebrate themselves, because then they just get labeled.

I grew up in South Africa and I would look at maps and we were at the bottom of the world. There was this whole thing up there. I was always reading encyclopedias about the world. So travel was something I was always attracted to.