Denton County Living Well Magazine July/August 2017 | Page 12

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Theron was born with the stars on her side; at 16 years old, she scored a model-
ing contract and moved to Milan, Italy, with her mom. She spent a year living a
little girl’s dream: modeling throughout Europe before moving to New York City.
There, she pursued ballet, but that career was cut short due to injury.
As recalled in 2008: “I went to New York for three days
to model, and then I spent a winter in New York in a
friend’s windowless basement apartment. I was broke,
I was taking class at the Joffrey Ballet, and my knees
gave out. I realized I couldn’t dance anymore, and I went
into a major depression. My mom came over from South
Africa and said, ‘Either you figure out what to do next or
you come home, because you can sulk in South Africa.’”
Well put, mama. Theron did not choose the latter.
At 19, Charlize’s mom bought her a one-way ticket to La-
La land, and apparently Hollywood had their eyes on the
young blond. One day, she went to a bank to cash a check
her mother had sent to help with rent, and when the teller
refused to cash it, Theron threw a fit. Low and behold, talent
agent John Crosby had been waiting behind her, gave Theron
a business card, and subsequently introduced her to casting agents. While
Crosby was later fired, he was her first encounter with gaining stardom.
After a few months in Los Angeles, Charlize made her film debut with a non-
speaking role in Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest, followed by her first
speaking role (1996) in 2 Days in the Valley. Bigger roles then trickled in,
as her career exploded in hits like The Devil’s Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe
Young (1998) and The Cider House Rules (1999). She was deemed “White
Hot Venus” as cover model in the January 1999 issue of Vanity Fair, and also
appeared in Playboy.
The year 2000 was a busy one for the booming actress––she starred in: Rein-
deer Games, The Yards, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Men of Honor, and
Sweet November. She quickly became Hollywood’s “it girl” of the time.
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DENTON COUNTY Living Well Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2017