Charlize Theron was an only child who was born and raised on a farm outside Benoni, South Africa. Her early career in showbiz was as a ballet dancer and she danced for a local production of The Swan Lake and the Nutcracker. South Africa seemed to offer little in the way of advancing her career so she traveled through Europe and settled in New York, U.S. where she got a job at the Joffrey Ballet. She also found work as a model there. However, a knee injury put a halt to her dancing career.

At the age of 18 Charlize was forced to put away her ballet slippers and decided, along with her mothers encouragement, to move to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. After just two weeks of being in Los Angeles she landed herself an agent…quite by mistake. She recalls, "I remember getting a check in from New York and going to a bank, and (my roommate) was double-parked outside. I ran inside and they wouldn't cash the check. I threw a little tantrum, and a gentleman behind me tried to help me, and said, 'By the way, are you an actress?' I was so angry at the time that I think I just barked at him. He gave me his card and I ran outside and I jumped in my friend's car, and I said, ' Oh my God, look! A manager!' and she said, 'Throw it away, because everybody on Hollywood Boulevard will try to make you a star.' And the card stayed in her car until somebody saw it and knew who he was and that he was legit. And I had a meeting with him and he's my manager now, still today."

Since then Charlize has starred in over a dozen movies, including "Hollywood Confidential," " The Devil's Advocate" and "Mighty Joe Young." Her most recent release was in "The Cider House Rules," a film made from the best-selling novel by John Irving. The film is set in the 1940's and stars Michael Caine, who won an Oscar at this years Academy Awards for his performance in the film. The film is quite controversial because of it's abortion content.

Last year, Theron returned to South Africa to tape a series of public service announcements denouncing rape and violence toward women. "South Africa is the rape capital of the world and there is untold violence toward women and children. The government refuses to acknowledge the problem, so it is up to celebrities to speak out," says Theron. However, she has a personal reason to become involved in the rape and battery ads. Her father was an abusive alcoholic. One night in a drunken rage, he attacked her mother, who shot and killed him. Her act was ruled self-defense. Charlize says, "the greater your celebrity, the greater the intrusions into your privacy. There are things people shouldn't be required to deal with publicly just because they are celebrities."