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Theatre goers were introduced to the seductive charm of Charlize Theron in her feature film debut, MGM's 2 Days in the Valley. Starring with James Spader, Eric Stoltz, and Jeff Daniels, it was the bizarre story of what happens to the lives of ten people in the San Fernando Valley who cross paths over a period 48 hours. Charlize Theron played Helga, Spader's partner and love interest, who can't get enough of the danger that surrounds her. Even among an ensemble cast, CharlizeTheron gave a outstanding performance.

Charlize Theron was discovered by her future agent while fighting with a bank manager on Hollywood Boulevard. Eighteen and starving, Theron purportedly got into the argument after the manager refused to cash her check. The outburst caught the agent's attention, and eight months later Theron got her first acting job. She subsequently went on to become one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood, thanks to a fortuitous combination of talent and the blonde, statuesque good looks so fervently adored by the camera.

In early 1997, Theron starred in Jonathan Lynn's Trial and Error for New Line Cinema opposite Michael Richards and, 2 Days in the Valley co-star, Jeff Daniels. In the fall of the same year, she appeared on the big screen once again co-starring with Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves in the Warner Brothers thriller, Devil's Advocate.

Born August 7, 1975, CharlizeTheron was raised on a farm in Benoni, South Africa. Trained as a ballet dancer, she was sent to Milan at 16 to become a model following the death of her father (which, it was later revealed, occurred after he was shot by Charlize Theron's mother, who was defending herself from his drunken abuse). After tiring of modeling, Charlize Theron returned to her first love, dancing, which resulted in a move to New York to dance with the Joffrey Ballet. Unfortunately, her career was halted by a knee injury, which led Charlize Theron -- at her mother's behest -- to travel to Los Angeles to try her luck with acting. After a long, unprofitable struggle, fate smiled upon Theron in the form of the aforementioned bank encounter.

Following an inauspicious bit part in 1994's Children of the Corn III, Theron won her first dose of recognition with Charlize's 2 Days in the Valley (1996). The film wasn't particularly successful, but it did give her both much-needed exposure and critical praise. The film also served as the stepping stone to her first leading role, that of Keanu Reeves' embattled wife in The Devil's Advocate (1997). The film drew poor reviews, but Charlize Theron managed to win widespread praise for her performance. Her next project, Trial and Error (1997), surfaced briefly before disappearing with nary a trace, but the subsequent Mighty Joe Young (1998) netted Charlize Theron more positive notices. Her ascent was confirmed with her casting in Celebrity, Woody Allen's 1998 cameo-fest that also featured turns from everyone from Kenneth Branagh to Winona Ryder to Leonardo DiCaprio to Isaac Mizrahi. In her portrayal of a perpetually aroused supermodel, Charlize Theron shone in a role seemingly designed to allow her to flaunt her natural attributes and little else. Charlize was rewarded with more substantial -- not to mention multilayered -- work in The Cider House Rules (1999), Lasse Hallström's Oscar-winning adaptation of John Irving's novel. As a troubled young woman with secrets to hide, Charlize Theron received star billing alongside Michael Caine and Tobey Maguire.

Extraordinary talent was all Tom Hanks needed to see to cast Charlize Theron in his directorial debut, That Thing You Do!. The two time Academy Award-winning actor brought this story to film from the script he authored. It told the tale of a small town rock band, "The Wonders" and the hit song that brings them fame. Theron portrayed Tina, Guy's (Tom Everett Scott) hometown girlfriend who is less than dazzled by "The Wonders" overnight success.

Charlize Theron has risen to the top in the wake of The Cider House Rules came a few highly publicized but ultimately disappointing projects, including John Frankenheimer's Reindeer Games (2000), Robert Redford's The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), and Sweet November (2001), the last of which reunited her with erstwhile co-star Keanu Reeves. Theron was also reunited with Woody Allen in his The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001), another widely anticipated film that, despite a high-profile cast and stylish period design, was both a critical and commercial underacheiver. Challenge of a variety of roles in a rather short period of time. This incredibly talented actress began her career as a model in her native South Africa. She worked extensively in fashion capitols such as Milan and Paris before coming to the U.S.

Audiences saw Charlize Theron star in Woody Allen's Celebrity for which she received rave reviews and Mighty Joe Young opposite Bill Paxton for Disney. She starred opposite Johnny Depp in New Line Cinema's The Astronaut's Wife.

Theron played Candy Kendall in the widely acclaimed and Oscar- nominated The Cider House Rules by Miramax, which was based on the novel by John Irving. The same year she starred in John Frankenheimer's Reindeer Games with Ben Affleck. Next, Theron played Adelle in Robert Redford's The Legend of Bagger Vance with Will Smith and Matt Damon.

Other roles for Charlize Theron include Fox 2000's Navy Diver with Robert DeNiro and Cuba Gooding, Jr., directed by George Tillman, Jr. In 2001, Theron was seen in The Yards, directed by James Grey. The drama starred Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, James Caan and Faye Dunaway. Also released in 2001, were Sweet November, 24 Hours and Miramax's Waking Up In Reno.

Charlize Theron (born August 7, 1975) is a South African-born American actress and former fashion model. She is well-known for her portrayal of the serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the film Monster, for which Charlize Theron won an Academy Award.

Early life

Charlize Theron was born in Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa. Her father, Charles Theron, was a construction company owner of French Huguenot[citation needed] descent. Her mother, Gerda, is of German descent and took over her husband's business after his death. Theron's first language is Afrikaans. She is also fluent in English and speaks some Xhosa. "Theron" is a French surname (originally spelt Théron) pronounced in Afrikaans as "Tronn", although she has said that she prefers the pronunciation "Thrown". The pronunciation commonly used in the United States involves two syllables, with stress on the first.

Charlize Theron grew up as the only child on her parents' farm near Johannesburg (Benoni). At the age of thirteen, Theron was sent to boarding school and began her studies at the National School Of The Arts in Johannesburg. At fifteen, Charlize Theron witnessed the death of her father, an abusive alcoholic; her mother shot him in self-defense when he attacked her. The police laid no charges against her.

Acting career

At the age of sixteen, Charlize Theron traveled to Milan, Italy, on a one-year modeling contract, after winning a local competition. She went to New York with Pauline's Model Management. She decided to remain in NY after her contract ended, attending the Joffrey Ballet School, where Charlize Theron trained as a ballet dancer. A knee injury closed this career path when Theron was nineteen.

Unable to dance, Charlize Theron flew to Los Angeles on a one-way ticket her mother bought her. During her early months there, she went to a bank to cash a check her mother had sent her to help with the rent. When the teller refused to cash it, Theron immediately started into a shouting match with her. Afterwards, a talent agent in line behind her handed her his business card and subsequently introduced her to some casting agents and also an acting school.

After eight months in the city, Charlize Theron was cast in her first film part, a non-speaking role in the direct-to-video film Children of the Corn III. Larger roles in widely released Hollywood films followed, and her career skyrocketed in the late 1990s with box office successes like The Devil's Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), and The Cider House Rules (1999).

After appearing in a few notable films, Charlize Theron starred as the lesbian serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003). Film critic Roger Ebert called it "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema". For this role, Charlize Theron won the Best Actress Oscar at the 76th Academy Awards in February 2004,[8] as well as the SAG Award and the Golden Globe Award. She is the first South African to win an Oscar for Best Actress. The Oscar win pushed her to The Hollywood Reporter's 2006 list of highest-paid actresses in Hollywood; earning $10,000,000 for both her subsequent films, North Country and Æon Flux, she ranked seventh, behind Halle Berry, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Renée Zellweger, Reese Witherspoon, and Nicole Kidman.

Charlize Theron on September 30, 2005, Theron received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the same year, she starred in the financially unsuccessful science fiction thriller Æon Flux, for which she received positive reviews.[citation needed] Additionally, Theron received Best Actress Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for her lead performance in the drama North Country. Ms. Magazine also honored her for this performance with a feature article in its Fall 2005 issue.

In 2005, Charlize Theron portrayed Rita, Michael Bluth's (Jason Bateman) love interest, on the third season of FOX's critically-acclaimed television series Arrested Development.Charlize Theron also received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for her role of Britt Ekland in the 2004 HBO movie The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.

In 2008, Charlize Theron was named the Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year, preceded by others such as Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball and Julia Roberts.

[edit] Other notable appearances

The May 1999 issue of Playboy published nude photos of Charlize Theron, taken during the early years of her modeling career. Claiming they had been "for private use", Charlize Theron ended up suing photographer Guido Argentini.[citation needed]

Having signed a deal with John Galliano in 2004, Theron replaced Estonian model Tiiu Kuik as the spokeswoman in the J'ADORE advertisements by Christian Dior.[14] From October 2005 to December 2006, Theron endorsed Raymond Weil watches. In February 2006, she was sued by Weil for breach of contract.

In May 2006, Maxim magazine named Theron #25 in its annual "Hot 100" issue.

In October 2007, Esquire magazine named Theron The Sexiest Woman Alive in its annual issue.

Theron dated the lead singer of Third Eye Blind, Stephan Jenkins, from January 1998 to July 2001. They broke up after Jenkins failed to take her requests of marriage seriously. Theron now resides in Los Angeles in the home of late 1930's actress Helen Twelvetrees, with her long-time boyfriend Stuart Townsend, with whom she starred in the 2004 film Head in the Clouds, as well as in the 2002 film Trapped; she has said that they will not marry until same-sex couples are able to have their marriages recognized. Townsend recently stated he considers himself and Charlize Theron to be husband and wife. "We didn't have a ceremony," he said. "I don't need a certificate or the state or the church to say otherwise. So no there's no big official story on a wedding, but we are married. ... I consider her my wife and she considers me her husband".

While filming Æon Flux in Berlin, Germany, Theron had suffered a herniated disc in her neck, specifically the disc between the third and fourth vertebrae, which occurred as a result of her suffering a fall while filming a series of back handsprings.

Charlize Theron is also involved in women's rights organizations. In 2006, Theron won GLAAD's Vanguard Award at the GLAAD Media Awards for increasing "visibility and understanding". Theron is a supporter of animal rights and active member of PETA. She recently appeared in a PETA ad for their anti-fur campaign.[23]

In a 2008 interview, Charlize Theron continuously mixed up two European cities, Budapest and Istanbul. The deputy mayor of Budapest responded by inviting her to spend a luxurious weekend in the Hungarian capital in order to get to know the city.

Charlize Theron became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 2007.