3Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron witnessed her mother kill her father.
Born in a South African farming community, at 15 she saw her mother shoot and kill her alcoholic father in self-defense after he threatened to murder them both. For most of us, that trauma would have immobilized any ambition, but Theron channelled her energy into making a name for herself.
A year later, Charlize moved to Milan to model, having won a contest her mother had entered her in. When 18-year-old Charlize Theron arrived in Hollywood in 1994, she had a single, tattered suitcase, $400, and a very big dream—to find her way in the movie business.
Just ten years later, Charlize was walking across a stage to accept the Academy Award® for Best Actress.
