Collin County Living Well Magazine July/August 2017 | Page 11

Hollywood Siren
Charlize Theron is fearless and fabulous at 41.
S
By Nadine Bubeck
he’s a South African-American bombshell, known for an enticing, magnetic on-air charisma
and charm. Charlize Theron is an all-around winner, having scored Academy Awards, Golden
Globes, and Screen Actor Guild Awards. The adoptive mother of two resides in Los Angeles,
balancing Hollywood and motherhood to perfection. And her upbringing comes straight from
a movie.
Theron was born in Benoni, in the then Transvaal Province of South Africa. She was an only
child of Dutch, French, and German decent, and grew up on her parents’ farm near Johan-
nesburg.
According to reports, in 1991, her father, an alleged alcoholic, physically attacked her mother
and threatened their family while drunk. As a result, her mother shot and killed him. She didn’t
face charges because the killing was deemed self-defense.
When asked about the incident, Theron commented: “I was always Mama’s girl, and I always
felt like her protector.”
After admittedly not “fitting in” in primary school, Theron was sent to boarding school and
began her studies at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg. While being groomed
in English, her first language was Afrikaans.
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