Charlize Theron

By Sara Templeton & Ines Mendoza

With World Cup fevers sweeping the nation, we thought it was only natural to honour one of South Africa's greatest exports - the beautiful Charlize Theron! Oscar-winning actor Charlize Theron is many things if not honest. In one of many candid interviews she was quoted as saying "I think of myself as a highly sexual creature."

And it's understandable - have you seen these photos? The South African-born thespian is arguably one of the sexiest women in the world today, and she somehow manages to combine elegance in amongst all that sexiness.

But before I get carried away with all this talk of sexuality and sexiness, let's take it from the top.

Born in the small farming community of Benoni (South Africa) on August 7, 1975, to French and German Afrikaan parents, Charlize lived on the homestead and was a keen ballet dancer. She helped out on the farm, feeding and looking after the livestock, but tragedy struck when she was 15.

Her father, Charles, threatened to kill Charlize and her mother (Gerda) after drinking too much alcohol.

Gerda shot dead her husband in self defence.

After this incredibly traumatic experience, Charlize moved on by concentrating on her dancing. At one event in Johannesburg she was stopped by a model scout and quizzed about her future. She decided to give the fashion industry a go and at 16 years old was modeling in Italy.

Whether her modeling work was boring, or didn't suit her personality, or perhaps didn't reward her in the way she imagined, Charlize gave the fashion industry the flick after 12 months of service.

Her modeling contracts had taken her to New York and it was here that she settled in and applied for enrolment at the Joffrey Ballet School in NYC. But her fresh lease on life in America was short-lived as a knee injury ended her ballet career prematurely. Looking back, many may say this was fate, but Charlize was now without job or income.

She turned to her mother for support, and decided to stay in America. She travelled to the west coast of the country and, in a bizarre turn of events, she was spotted by an actor scout in 1994 in L.A. when she made a 'scene' at a bank after it refused to cash her cheque.

John Crosby then took Charlize under his wing and was responsible for persuading her to give acting a try. She first countered her native South African accent by watching American television, and was almost cast as one of the leading strippers in the movie Showgirls.

As her confidence grew, she attended more casting sessions and auditions, and in 1996 she got her first role playing Helga Svelgen in 2 Days in The Valley alongside the likes of Danny Aiello, Jeff Daniels, James Spader and Eric Stoltz. After getting her first big break, she was then cast in Tom Hank's That Thing You Do!, and appeared in a number of other feature films throughout the late 90s.

The turning point between being just another respected actor in Hollywood, to being a highly sought-after celebrity, was the Oscar-winning film The Cider House Rules, also starring Tobey Maguire and Michael Caine, an emotive piece that tackled many issues, including the subject of abortion.

Following humdrum movies like Reindeer Games, Men of Honor and The Legend of Bagger Vance, Charlize appeared in the romantic feature Sweet November alongside Keanu Reeves, looking simply amazing. She put an incredibly charismatic turn in Woody Allen's The Curse of the Jade Scorpion in 2001 which was followed by Trapped in 2002, also starring her current squeeze Stuart Townsend.

2003 saw Charlize don her driving goggle for the release of The Italian Job, a largely commercialised, but entertaining remake co-starring Edward Norton and Mark Wahlberg.

Charlize Theron completed Monster in 2003, where she put on 15kg (30lbs) of weight to emulate the look of serial killer Aileen Wuornos.

As a result of uglifying herself (see image), something the Academy awards voters seem to like, she was awarded her first Oscar in a lead role, solidifying herself as one of Hollywood's powerhouse beauties alongside Halle Berry and Nicole Kidman.

From the trauma of seeing her mother shoot dead her father, and the highs and lows and awards and criticisms that being an entertaining, a dancer and a model can bring, Charlize Theron is nothing if not a strong willed woman. 

She's won an Oscar and cemented her place in show business, and has been on the front of as many glossy magazines as most top models, so there's not really a lot left for the stunning 5'9" tall blonde to prove.

But even while she may have achieved so much so early in her career, we can't wait to see how she tackles her next few projects, and who knows, maybe she'll even return to ballet dancing...?