Charlize Theron grew up on a farm outside Benoni, South Africa, as an only child. A talented ballerina, she left home as a teenager to model in Europe then to dance in the Joffrey Ballet in New York City. A knee injury, however, prematurely ended her dance career.
At 18, she moved to Los Angeles to break into the movie business. Just two weeks later, she was famously discovered by an agent while shouting at a bank teller for refusing to cash an out-of-state cheque. She enrolled in acting lessons and, after eight months, she was cast as a young mother in a B-film, a non-speaking role with three seconds of screen time.
Her next role was as Helga in 2 Days in the Valley (1996), which led to the role of Tina in That Thing You Do! (1996). Since then, she has starred in a handful of A-list movies, including The Devil's Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), The Cider House Rules (1999), The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) and The Italian Job (2003). A career highlight arrived on February 29, 2004, when she won her first Academy Award for Best Actress for her outstanding performance as serial killer Eileen Wuornos in Monster (2003).
