As a young girl, she experienced a devastating and transformative event — her mother shot her abusive father in self-defense, resulting in his death.
Despite this traumatic background, she overcame her challenges and eventually made her way to Hollywood, where she not only established a thriving career but also achieved the prestigious honor of winning an Academy Award.
An unimaginable tragedy
Hollywood is filled with stars who have risen from humble beginnings, defying expectations and proving skeptics wrong. Many top actors didn’t have the advantage of wealth or connections; instead, they relied on determination to secure their place among the elite.
Actress Charlize Theron was destined to be more than just a pretty face. Hollywood often pigeonholed women like her as mere eye candy — silent and easily replaceable. However, she refused to conform to that stereotype, having already endured challenges that most could hardly fathom.
Charlize Theron is a South African-American actress and producer, recognized as one of the highest-paid stars in the industry. With an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a feature on Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world, she has crafted a career that is truly exceptional.
Yet, before her rise to fame and success, her life was overshadowed by an unimaginable tragedy.
Charlize Theron was born on August 7, 1975, in Benoni, South Africa, into a distinguished Afrikaner family. Her heritage includes Dutch, French, and German roots, with her French ancestors being some of the early Huguenots who settled in South Africa.
Her parents, Charles Theron and Gerda Maritz, were involved in road construction, but her family lineage extends further, as she is also related to Danie Theron, a notable military figure from the Second Boer War.
Although Charlize is now fluent in English, Afrikaans was her first language. Her upbringing in South Africa was marked by a mix of privilege and significant challenges, setting the stage for her future success in Hollywood.
Experiences of Bullying in School
As a child, Charlize Theron often felt out of place, particularly in her interactions with boys.
“I wore really nerdy glasses because I was completely blind, and the boys didn’t like me,” she shared in a recent interview with PEOPLE in New York. “I didn’t have any boyfriends, just a lot of crushes.”
She faced rejection from a boy she admired and, despite her desire to be part of the popular group, resorted to some “crazy things” to gain acceptance.
“I wasn’t part of the in-crowd. There was this incredibly popular girl at school whom I was obsessed with. Honestly, you could get in trouble for that kind of stuff today,” Theron chuckled. “I remember crying one day because I couldn’t sit next to her.”
Her peers made her experience even tougher, teasing her about her glasses, hair, and clothing.
“I dealt with a lot of mean girl behavior from ages 7 to 12. I was pretty much a mess in primary school,” she confessed. “But by the time I reached high school, I had moved past all of that and became more resilient to it.”
Her father struggled with alcoholism and had a violent temper.
Charlize Theron spent her childhood on her parents’ farm in Benoni, located just outside Johannesburg—a place that should have been serene but instead became the backdrop for a life-altering night.
On June 21, 1991, her father returned home in a furious drunken state. This incident was more intense than any before. Anticipating trouble, an aunt reached out to alert the family that Charles was in a volatile mood.
At just 15 years old, Theron remembered the unsettling sense of foreboding that enveloped her.
“Nature gives you instinct. And I knew something bad was going to happen,” she reflected.
When her father returned home, he was uncontrollable, unleashing threats towards Charlize and her mother, his rage escalating into violence. In a fit of fury, he grabbed a gun.
“My mom and I were in my bedroom, pressing against the door to keep him from breaking in,” Charlize recounted to NPR. She continued, “We were both pushing against the door from the inside, trying to hold him back. Then he stepped back and fired three shots through the door.”
“None of the bullets struck us, which feels like a miracle,” Charlize remarked.
As he shot at them, Charlize’s mother, Gerda, had no option but to defend herself. She reached for her own gun, fired, and hit her husband in an act of survival.
The court deemed it self-defense, and Gerda faced no legal repercussions, but the trauma from that night would haunt Charlize for the rest of her life.
Charlize once characterized her father as a tall figure with “skinny legs and a big belly.” He had a serious side but also possessed a profound appreciation for humor and life.
She did, however, recognize his battle with alcoholism.
“My dad was a large man, tall with skinny legs and a big belly,” Theron shared. “[He] could be quite serious but also loved to laugh and enjoy life. He struggled with a disease—he was an alcoholic.”
While she made it clear that he never physically harmed her, she confessed, “he was verbally abusive.”
The traumatic event in 1991 profoundly affected her. It left a significant mark on the Oscar-winning actress, who reflected,
“This kind of family violence is something I know many people experience.”
“I’m not embarrassed to discuss it because I believe that the more we share these stories, the more we understand we’re not alone,” she added. “For me, this narrative revolves around growing up with addicts and the impact it has on a person.”
Rather than breaking her spirit, the trauma ignited a fierce determination within her.
“I survived that, and I take pride in it. I’ve put in a lot of effort to get here,” Theron told The New York Times. “I’m not afraid of it. I find the darkness intriguing because it offers insights into human nature and behavior.”
How Hollywood Found Her
Charlize Theron shared that her true challenges began after filming. “That was my whole childhood. My trauma stemmed from that,” she confessed, indicating that the lingering effects were even more distressing than the original experience.
At the age of 19, Charlize made her way to Los Angeles with just a suitcase and an unwavering ambition. Lacking connections or support, she relied solely on her innate talent and a strong desire to succeed. During a heated exchange with a bank teller over a bounced check, a talent agent happened to overhear her. This serendipitous moment opened the gates to Hollywood, but Charlize understood that she had to earn every chance that came her way.
Her breakthrough role arrived with The Devil’s Advocate (1997), where she held her own alongside Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves, catching Hollywood’s attention. However, it was in 2003 that she truly astonished everyone. For her role in Monster, she dramatically altered her appearance, gaining weight and shedding her glamorous persona to portray serial killer Aileen Wuornos. This raw and powerful performance earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Charlize had established her credibility, but she was not one to play it safe.
She has played a variety of killers throughout her career, which may come as a surprise considering her background. One of her most notable roles was as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster.
Continuing to break new ground, she embraced diverse roles in action, drama, and comedy. She emerged as one of Hollywood’s most influential women, making her mark both in front of the camera and behind the scenes by producing films and championing better opportunities for women.
In 2015, at the age of 40—an age when many actresses find themselves overlooked—Charlize reinvented herself yet again. As Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road, she captivated audiences and solidified her legacy not only as an actress but also as a formidable force in Hollywood.
Aileen Wuornos, a former sex worker, was executed in Florida in 2002 for the murders of six men, although she was never tried for a seventh killing. Her story, which took place in the late 1980s and early 1990s, inspired the film Monster.
Film critic Roger Ebert praised Charlize Theron’s performance, calling it “one of the greatest performances in the history of cinema.”
In an interview with The New York Times, Theron expressed, “Individuals like Aileen Wuornos are often simply labeled and overlooked, with few taking the time to understand their circumstances. People rarely ask, ‘What led to this?’ I find the ‘why’ fascinating. In many ways, my presence here today is a result of that very question.”