← Back to explore

Charlize Theron

Acting

Born August 7, 1975 · Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa

Also known as Sharliz Teron

Biography

Charlize Theron (/ʃɑːrˈliːz ˈθɛrən/ shar-LEEZ THERR-ən; Afrikaans: [ʃarˈlis ˈtrɔn]; born 7 August 1975) is a South African and American actress and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actresses, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 2016, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Theron came to international prominence in the 1990s by playing the leading lady in the Hollywood films The Devil's Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), and The Cider House Rules (1999). She received critical acclaim for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003), for which she won the Silver Bear and Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first South African to win an acting Oscar. She received another Academy Award nomination for playing a sexually abused woman seeking justice in the drama North Country (2005). Theron has starred in several commercially successful action films, including The Italian Job (2003), Hancock (2008), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), Prometheus (2012), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), Atomic Blonde (2017), The Old Guard (2020), F9 (2021), and Fast X (2023). She received praise for playing troubled women in Jason Reitman's comedy-dramas Young Adult (2011) and Tully (2018) and for portraying Megyn Kelly in the biographical drama Bombshell (2019), for which she received her third Academy Award nomination. Since the early 2000s, Theron has ventured into film production with her company Denver and Delilah Productions. She has produced numerous films, in many of which she had a starring role, including The Burning Plain (2008), Dark Places (2015), and Long Shot (2019). Theron became an American citizen in 2007, while retaining her South African citizenship. She has been honoured with a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Description above from the Wikipedia article Charlize Theron, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Awards & recognition

  • Great Immigrants Award · 2009
  • Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year · 2008
  • GLAAD Vanguard Award · 2006
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 2004
  • Jupiter Awards
Show all 10 awards →
  • Saturn AwardBest Actress
  • star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 2020 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 2006 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 2004 · nominated

Filmography50+ titles

The Boys

2019as 'Dawn of the Seven' Stormfront (uncredited)

MINDHUNTER

2017Executive Producer

The Grand Tour

2016as Self

Arrested Development

2003as Rita Leeds

Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter

2024Producer

The Studio

2025as Charlize Theron

The Orville

2017as Pria Lavesque

Kubo and the Two Strings

2016as Monkey / Mother (voice)

Mad Max: Fury Road

2015as Imperator Furiosa

RuPaul's Drag Race

2009as Self - Guest Judge

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis

2008as Self

Men of Honor

2000as Gwen Sunday

The Devil's Advocate

1997as Mary Ann Lomax

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

2022as Clea

The Graham Norton Show

2007as Self

North Country

2005as Josey Aimes

Monster

2003as Aileen Wuornos

The Old Guard

2020as Andromache of Scythia / Andy

Hot Ones

2015as Self

The Cider House Rules

1999as Candy Kendall

Fast X

2023as Cipher

The School for Good and Evil

2022as Lady Lesso

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

2022as Clea (archive footage) (uncredited)

F9: The Fast Saga

2021as Cipher

Hyperdrive

2019Executive Producer

Brain on Fire

2016Producer

The Road

2009as Mother

The Addams Family 2

2021as Morticia Addams (voice)

The Fate of the Furious

2017as Cipher

The Colbert Report

2005as Self (archive footage)

Sweet November

2001as Sara Deever

That Thing You Do!

1996as Tina

Saturday Night Live

1975as Self - Host

Apex

2026as Sasha

Bombshell

2019as Megyn Kelly

A Private War

2018Producer

Tully

2018as Marlo Moreau

In the Valley of Elah

2007as Detective Emily Sanders

The Italian Job

2003as Stella Bridger

Long Shot

2019as Charlotte Field

Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York

Executive Producer

The Addams Family

2019as Morticia Addams (voice)

Girlboss

2017Executive Producer

Prometheus

2012as Meredith Vickers

The Burning Plain

2008as Sylvia / Mariana

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion

2001as Laura Kensington

The Legend of Bagger Vance

2000as Adele Invergordon

Murder Mystery 2

2023Executive Producer

The Kelly Clarkson Show

2019as Self - Guest

Atomic Blonde

2017as Lorraine Broughton