Charlize Theron is an Oscar-winning actress named by Time magazine as one of the “Most 100 Influential People in the World” in 2016. Theron played the leading lady in the 1990s film The Devil’s Advocate, although true crime buffs likely recognize her as serial kil*ler Aileen Wournos in the 2003 movie, Monster.
Theron had a real-life monster friend who she called dad.
She was born in Benoni, South Africa, to Gerda (née Maritz) and Charles Theron. She grew up in the Transvaal Province on the family farm.
Charles Shoots at Charlize & Greda
Charles, who was drunk, made threats against Charlize, then a teenager, and her mother on June 21, 1991. He, his brother, and another man stood outside their bedroom door and yelled, “I’m going to ki*ll you all!”
Charlize and Gerda leaned against the door because they were scared Charles would hurt them. Then it took place. Charles fired his gun into the bedroom. The shot missed both women, which was lucky, but Charles would not be so lucky.
After getting a gun from her nightstand, Gerda shot Charles, hi*tting him and ki*lling him. As Gerda fired, she hit Charles’ brother as well, but he lived.
The shooting was ruled to have been self-defense, so Gerda was not charged with a crime.
She told her mother that her father was very sick and that she knew her mother had shot him to protect her own family. For all her life, she said, her dad was an alc*oholic; that was all she knew about him.
She also said that she is not ashamed of what happened in her life or that terrible night, and that she uses it to help other people who are going through the same thing.
“This family violence, this kind of violence that happens within the family, is something that I share with a lot of people. I’m not ashamed to talk about it, because I do think that the more we talk about these things, the more we realize we are not alone in any of it. I think, for me, it’s just always been that this story is about growing up with addicts and what that does to a person.”
Life Goes On
After two years, Gerda and Charlize moved to the United States. Charlize moved to Los Angeles in 1994 and lived in a motel on a $300-a-week budget. She sometimes went from paycheck to paycheck and stole bread to eat.
An agent named John Crosby was in queue behind her at a bank and would become her big break as an actress. The bank wouldn’t cash the cheque, but Crosby was kind enough to do it and gave Theron his business card.
Her first role was in the 1995 movie Children of the Corn.
Charlize and her mom have grown closer over the years, currently residing 5-minutes from one another in Los Angeles. They both have fish tattoos that match.
