LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron's childhood was marked by tragedy when her mother, Gerda, shot and killed her father, Charles, in self-defense in 1991. Theron was just 15 years old at the time, and the traumatic incident had a profound impact on her life.
Despite the tragic circumstances of her upbringing, Theron has gone on to become a successful actress, winning an Academy Award for her role in 'Monster' and earning critical acclaim for her performances in films such as 'Mad Max: Fury Road' and 'Bombshell'. Theron has been open about her difficult childhood and the impact it has had on her life, using her platform to raise awareness about the importance of mental health and seeking help when needed.
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Charlize Theron admits that she has her share of 'bad days' and says her kids can be 'a--holes' too
Refusing to give in to challenges is not new for Theron. During a 2017 interview, Theron discussed one of the most devastating moments in her life - the night her mother defended herself by killing her father. Theron typically avoids discussing this topic while doing interviews, but she provided some insight into the event and how her family managed to recover from it.
'I survived that'
"I survived that, and I'm proud of that," Theron said, per BI. "I've worked hard for that, too. And I am not scared of that. I am not fearful of the darkness. If anything, I am intrigued by it, because I think it explains human nature and people better." According to Theron, her father, who was an abusive alcoholic, came home one night after drinking heavily and threatened her mother with a gun. He then started shooting, prompting Theron's mother to grab her own gun and shoot back, killing Theron's father and wounding his brother. The police later concluded that it was an act of self-defense.
For Theron, the aftermath of the shooting was even more challenging than the incident itself. Her family life was in complete turmoil, which made the situation much more difficult for the teenager. Despite the challenges, Theron and her family managed to rebound from the tragedy. "That was my entire childhood," Theron said. "My trauma was all of that." Theron rarely discusses the shooting incident with the media, but she has shared her story with many people in her personal life. "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," she said, according to Stylist.
'I had a great mom who made me brave'
The actress, 47, opened up about her mother Gerda, and how she has found strength over the years, "I think we all have to find our own footing. None of us are born knowing how to navigate life and difficult decisions — especially for young girls," Theron told Extra at an event. "No matter who you are or where you come from, the struggle is maybe a little bit different, but all interconnects. I am lucky enough that I had a great mom who really kind of made me brave and always told me to be brave. I don’t know who I might have been without that."
Charlize Theron got sexually harassed in the industry at age 15
Early in her career, in 1994, Theron experienced sexual harassment from an unnamed movie director. The director had invited her to an audition at his home, where he was drinking and wearing pajamas. During the audition, he touched her leg inappropriately. In an interview with Guardian, Theron said, "You don’t [know what to do] … if you haven’t experienced it, it’s a very difficult thing to wrap your head around. I wasn’t even fully convinced this was sexual harassment until later in my career. I put a lot of blame on myself ... that I didn’t say all the right things, and that I didn’t tell him to take a hike, and that I didn’t do all of those things that we so want to believe we’ll do in those situations."
How Charlize Theron picks her roles
Charlize Theron's acting career has been marked by her versatility, taking on a range of roles from playing a real-life serial killer, Aileen Wuornos, in 'Monster' to portraying Megyn Kelly in the film 'Bombshell'. "There's something pure that happens when you read material that you know nothing about and something just clicks for you," she told ET. "It's not necessarily a switch that says, 'Yes, I should do this.' It's usually a switch that says, ‘What the f--k? This is scary. I don't know about this,' and you can't stop thinking about it. The fear is really what drives it. I love that feeling. Most of my jobs have come to me that way. Now that I have kids, that other element of the logistics gets thrown in. Where is it shooting? What does that look like for my family?"
Theron also admitted she was "s--t scared" to play Kelly, especially because the news anchor is "incredibly well known." "We worked with the greatest [special effects makeup artist], Kazu Hiro," Theron said. "It's really hard to get him to do new stuff. But I did a lot of begging and he came on and designed eight [prosthetic] pieces for me. Two of them basically covered my entire eyelids. It was very intricate work. Intricate work where you still need to be able to do what you need to do, like blink."