Charlize Theron is a South African and American actress and producer who made her film debut in an uncredited role as a follower of a cult in the 1995 horror film Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest. Theron followed this with appearances as a hitman's girlfriend in 2 Days in the Valley, a waitress in the romantic comedy Trial and Error (1997), and a woman plagued with demonic visions in the mystery thriller The Devil's Advocate (1997) with Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino. She appeared in the science fiction thriller The Astronaut's Wife with Johnny Depp, and Lasse Hallström's The Cider House Rules (both in 1999). For her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the crime drama Monster (2003), Theron received the Academy Award for Best Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. The following year, she played Swedish entertainer Britt Ekland in the biographical film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.
Theron played the eponymous rebel assassin in the science fiction action film Æon Flux, and a miner fighting sexual harassment in the drama North Country (both in 2005). The latter role earned her a nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards and the BAFTAs. In the same year, she voiced Æon Flux in the tie-in video game adaptation to the film for which she received the Best Performance by a Female award at the Spike Video Game Awards. Three years later, Theron starred in the superhero film Hancock with Will Smith. The film grossed over $624 million at the worldwide box office. She received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for her role as an alcoholic writer in the comedy-drama Young Adult (2011). The following year, Theron appeared in the action adventure film Snow White and the Huntsman and Ridley Scott's science fiction film Prometheus. In 2015, she played Imperator Furiosa in George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road. Two years later, Theron appeared as criminal mastermind Cipher in the action film The Fate of the Furious (2017), a role she would reprise in F9 (2021), Fast X (2023), and Fast Forever (2028). Theron followed this with acclaimed performances in the comedy-drama Tully (2018), the romantic comedy Long Shot (2019), and the biographical drama Bombshell (2019), the lattermost of which earned her a third Academy Award nomination.
Film Year Title Role Notes 1995 Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest Eli's Follower Uncredited; Direct-to-video 1996 2 Days in the Valley That Thing You Do! 1997 Trial and Error 1998 Celebrity Supermodel Mighty Joe Young 1999 2000 Reindeer Games Men of Honor 2001 Sweet November 15 Minutes Uncredited 2002 Trapped Waking Up in Reno 2003 Monster Also producer 2004 Head in the Clouds 2005 North Country Æon Flux 2007 In the Valley of Elah Battle in Seattle Ella 2008 Sleepwalking Also producer Hancock Sylvia Also executive producer 2009 Wife Astro Boy Narrator Voice 2011 Young Adult 2012 Snow White and the Huntsman Prometheus 2014 Anna 2015 Dark Places Also producer Mad Max: Fury Road 2016 Kubo and the Two Strings Sariatu / Monkey Voice 2017 Atomic Blonde Lorraine Broughton Also producer Cipher 2018 Tully Marlo Also producer Gringo Elaine Markinson 2019 Long Shot Charlotte Field Voice; also executive producer Bombshell Megyn Kelly Also producer 2020 Andromache "Andy" of Scythia 2021 F9 Cipher Morticia Addams Voice 2022 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Clea Cameo; post-credits scene 2023 Fast X Cipher 2025 The Old Guard 2 Andromache "Andy" of Scythia Also producer 2026 Apex Sasha The Odyssey Calypso TBA Filming; Also producer
Television YearTitleRole(s) Notes 1997 Hollywood Confidential Sally Bowen Television film 2000 Saturday Night Live Host Episode: "Charlize Theron / Paul Simon" 2004 Britt Ekland Television film 2005 Arrested Development Rita Leeds 5 episodes 2006 Robot Chicken Daniel's Mom / Mother / Waitress Voice; episode: "Book of Corrine" 2014 Saturday Night Live Host Episode: "Charlize Theron / The Black Keys" 2017 Pria Lavesque Episode: "Pria" 2020 Home Movie: The Princess Bride Fezzik Episode: "Chapter Nine: Have Fun Storming the Castle!" 2022 Herself playing Stormfront Cameo; episode: "Payback" 2024 RuPaul's Drag Race Guest Judge Season 16; episode: "Rate-A-Queen" 2025 Herself Episode: "The Promotion"; Cameo
Production credits Year TitleWork Notes Producer 2006 East of Havana Documentary 2012 Hatfields & McCoys Television pilot only 2016 Brain on Fire Feature film 2017 Girlboss 13 episodes 2017–2019 Mindhunter 19 episodes 2018 A Private War Feature film 2019 Murder Mystery Hyperdrive 10 episodes 2023 Murder Mystery 2 Feature film Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York 4 episodes 2024 Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter 2 episodes
Music videos Year Title Role Artist 2010CrossfireHeroineBrandon Flowers2026Love & TearsGener8ion, Yannis Philippakis
Video games YearTitleVoice role2005Æon FluxÆon Flux
Web YearTitleRole2009Between Two Ferns with Zach GalifianakisHerself2012Charlize Theron Got Hacked201710 Ways to Drive Him Wild (ft. Charlize Theron)
See also List of accolades received by Charlize Theron
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