Charlize Theron Says Her Beauty ‘Was Never Emphasized’ Growing up
It’s easy to get the impression that a celebrity renowned for their beauty like Charlize Theron would have spent their life receiving compliments supporting this. But the action star says that’s not the case. While Theron has been known to take on roles where she’s clearly a bombshell — and often a powerful one at that — the star makes it clear that she grew up in a house where what she could do was emphasized far more than the way she looked.
Charlize Theron became an actor after a rocky start
Today, Charlize Theron is an A-list celebrity and Oscar-winning actor known for her impressive range. She came to this dazzling career through a very rough path. Born in 1975 in South Africa, Theron grew up living in South Africa during apartheid, and she’s been open about carrying trauma from the experience. By 16, she was traveling Europe as a model.
Once she and her mother moved to the United States, Theron began training as a ballet dancer. When Theron packed up and headed to Hollywood, she ran into trouble trying to cash her last modeling paycheck.
Theron desperately needed the money, but the bank wouldn’t cash an out-of-state check. While she was arguing with the teller, she caught the eye of acting manager John Crosby, who handed her his card. That fateful meeting turned into a flourishing career that has left Theron one of Hollywood’s top stars.
Beauty ‘was never emphasized’ in Charlize Theron’s childhood
Speaking with Oprah, Theron revealed more about her childhood and her mother’s support. Oprah Winfrey complimented Theron by saying, “When I first walked in, I thought, ‘You are as beautiful as beauty gets.'” Theron downplayed the comment, but Winfrey insisted. Theron dug deeper into how beauty was (or, rather, was not) valued in her upbringing.
“That was never emphasized in the house I was raised in,” she explained. “I don’t think my mom ever said, ‘Isn’t she a pretty girl?’ She’d say, ‘You should hear her sing. You should read this poem she wrote.’ The praise was always about what I’d done, not how I looked.”
Like everyone, Theron admitted that she sometimes looks in the mirror and thinks, “not so good.” But she ultimately said, “I really love myself. I’m comfortable in my skin.”
Charlize Theron has stepped behind the camera with recent projects
Theron’s confidence in her abilities has led her to branch out beyond acting. As her IMDb filmography shows, in addition to her 70 acting gigs, she’s racked up nearly two dozen producer credits.
She’s slated to both produce and star in a sequel to The Old Guard, a Netflix movie in which she’s at the center of a group of immortal mercenaries. Theron returns to another former role with Atomic Blonde 2, a follow-up in which she’ll produce and star as Lorraine Broughton, the main character in the Cold War spy thriller. Additionally, she once again joins the beloved action franchise in Fast X, which features Jason Momoa as a new villain.
Theron has built an acting legacy on her abilities, in addition to her beauty. The ambitious star has worked hard to build a body of work that showcases her many talents that reach far beyond her looks, and perhaps that’s a result of the childhood emphasis on skill over appearance.
