The
only child of Afrikaaner parents who owned both a road construction
company and a farm, Charlize Theron was
born and raised in Benoni, South Africa, where she experienced
a thoroughly rural upbringing
that
included (naturally) getting up at the crack of dawn to milk the
cows. At age 6, young Charlize began studying ballet, a pursuit
that would command her attention throughout the next decade of
her life. Whenever she was out of toe-shoes, the agile youngster
devoted her free time to a consuming passion for American movies:
She first experienced them at a drive-in located a 45-minute drive
down the road from the family farm, and later cajoled her parents
into purchasing a VCR. "I screamed and I yelled and we got
one," she later recalled. "And this little video store
opened in town with, like, 20 videos. I saw everything about 50
times." A particular favorite was the Tom Hanks-Daryl Hannah
mermaid romance Splash, which caused the wide-eyed Charlize
Theron to develop a huge crush on the hunky
Hanks.
Eventually her study of ballet landed the
talented teen at a school for the performing arts in Johannesburg,
where she occasionally sat
in on drama classes. As a result of that casual interface, the striking
16-year-old stumbled upon a modeling contest, which she entered and
won. Just weeks before her wholly serendipitous introduction to the
world of modeling, Theron's father had passed away, and when an Italian
fashion scout informed her that there was a modeling contract awaiting
her in Milan, the unassuming South African farm girl was seized by
a sudden ambition to travel and try something new. Though a moderate
success on the runways, Theron was unable to land any major modeling
contracts or cover shots, and eventually the newness of her latest
endeavor wore thin. When an American magazine flew her to New York
for a photo shoot, she decided to stick around and make a new life
for herself in the States. As she later told one interviewer, "I
went, did the job, and never made it back to the airport. I was thrilled."
On her own in the Big Apple at age 18, Theron
worked modeling jobs whenever she could get them and swiped bread
from restaurants when
she couldn't. The cold, wet winters proved especially trying for
the South African expat, who was accustomed to much milder seasons,
and she found herself continually intimidated by the city's maze
of towering skyscrapers. New York's Joffrey Ballet provided a respite
from her woes, but the security of taking up her childhood passion
once again was abruptly withdrawn in 1995, when a career-ending knee
injury forced her to fall back on modeling. She confided her troubles
to her mother, who recalled Theron's childhood passion for cinema
and suggested her intrepid daughter go to Southern California and
try to break into movies. Mom sent her money for that one-way ticket
to the big city, and Theron booked a flight to "Hollywood," only
to discover, to her dismay, that her travel agent had put her on
a plane to "Los Angeles."
Once arrived at her destination, Charlize
Theron checked into a low-rent L.A. motel and spent the next two weeks blundering
around town attempting
to make connections. She eventually ended up in line at a bank with
the final check from her various employments in New York, and threw
an impressive tantrum when the teller refused to cash the check because
it was drawn on an out-of-state bank. Hollywood talent manager John
Crosby happened to be standing in line behind her, and, after helpfully
explaining that she could cash her out-of-state check at any post
office, asked if she were, perchance, an actress. Somewhat flustered,
Theron replied that she wasn't, but that she fully intended to become
one. Crosby, who earlier in his career had discovered Rene Russo
at a Rolling Stones concert, offered his card. Friends told Theron
she'd been taken in, but after asking around and discovering that
Crosby was entirely reputable, she got in touch with him, and he
agreed to take her on as a client.
Thereafter, Theron underwent countless auditions
for television commercials, but was unable to land a single gig;
as she later put
it to Interview magazine, "I could've sooner gotten arrested." Her
perseverance eventually resulted in her 2 Days role, which was immediately
followed by a chance to work with childhood crush Hanks on his directorial
debut, 1996's That Thing You Do! Hanks raved over her audition, blushed
when told of the bright young neophyte's youthful infatuation, and
eventually signed her for a small role as an all-American everygirl
who finds love with the dentist of her dreams after her drummer boyfriend
starts spending too much time with his bandmates. The following year,
Theron logged prominent roles in decidedly different lawyer flicks,
the Michael Richards farce Trial and Error and the Keanu Reeves-Al
Pacino thriller The Devil's Advocate. Though absent from theaters
during most of 1998, she turned heads with her bang-on portrayal
of a callow supermodel in Woody Allen's Celebrity that fall, and
made her debut in a starring role, opposite Bill Paxton, in Disney's
remake of Mighty Joe Young.
No stranger to the ups and downs of celebrity romance, Theron dated
actor Craig Bierko for two years before moving on to Third Eye Blind
vocalist Stephan Jenkins. Before 1999 was out, she starred opposite
a trio of Hollywood hotties: the New Line horror flick The Astronaut's
Wife paired her with Johnny Depp; she joined Tobey Maguire in an
adaptation of John Irving's The Cider House Rules; and she wrapped
the crime drama The Yards which matched her with Joaquin Phoenix.
She is currently starring once again with Keanu Reeves in the weepy
Sweet November. |
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Cate Blanchett Stars
in the Return of Indiana Jones
Everyone's favorite archeologist adventurer dusts off his hat and trusty whip
for yet another globetrotting trek as Indiana Jones returns to the big screen
nearly 20 years after racing for the Holy Grail alongside his father in Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Harrison Ford reprises his role as the iconic,
snake-loathing screen hero. View
Full Story |
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Cameron Diaz and Ashton
Kutcher in What Happens in Vegas
Two strangers find themselves
wed and in bed after a wild night of Las Vegas shenanigans in
this 20th Century Fox comedy.
When they both recover to find that one of them won a jackpot the night before,
the game is on as the two greedily vie for the loot, eventually discovering that
maybe this ill-planned love connection isn't quite as off the mark as they originally
believed. View the Movie Trailer
Cameron Diaz Bio and Photos |
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Sexy Kate
Hudson Stars in Fool's Gold
Ben "Finn" Finnegan
is a good-natured, surf bum-turned-treasure hunter who is obsessed
with finding the legendary 18th century Queen's Dowry--40 chests
of exotic treasure that was lost at sea in 1715. In his quest,
Finn has sunk everything he has, including his marriage to Tess
Finnegan and his more-rusty-than-trusty salvage boat, "Booty Calls."
Continued
in Movie News |
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Gwyneth Paltrow in Marvel's Iron Man
Gwyneth
Paltrow It
would only seem natural that this daughter of TV producer Bruce
Paltrow and stage and screen actress Blythe Danner would chose
to follow a path in show business. Nevertheless, Gwyneth Paltrow's
parents tried to dissuade her from a career as an actress, but
she was determined Continued
in Movie News |
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Lindsay Lohan to
Portray Manson Cult Girl
US actress Lindsay Lohan is to portray one of the cult followers
loyal to convicted murderer Charles Manson, in a new
movie called "Manson Girls," US media reported on Thursday. E! News said it had
learned Lohan, 21, would star as Nancy Pitman in the movie, produced by Brad
Wyman of Junction Films. Full Article |
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Beautiful Blake Lively from Gossip
Girl
Blake Lively started
out in film with a bit role in Sandman in 1998. In 2005, Lively
played Bridget in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, for which
she received a Teen Choice Award nomination for "Choice Movie
Breakout - Female". Full
Bio on Blake Lively |
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Jennifer Lopez Gives
Birth to Twins
NEW YORK (AP) — Jennifer Lopez gave birth to twins early Friday,
making the singer and husband Marc Anthony the parents of a boy and a girl after
one of pop music's most closely watched pregnancies. Lopez representative Simon
Fields told People magazine the babies were born shortly after midnight on New
York's Long Island, with the 5-pound, 7-ounce girl arriving first, followed by
her 6-pound brother minutes later. Full Article |
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Carrie Underwood to
Join Grand Ole Opry
NASHVILLE (Billboard)
Country superstar Carrie Underwood, who once told Billboard
that if she hadn't won American Idol in 2005, "I probably wouldn't have pursued
music much further at all," has been invited to join the Grand Ole Opry. The
invitation was extended March 15 by Opry member Randy Travis Full article |
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Elisha Cuthbert Returns to TV in CBS
Drama
Former "24" heroine Elisha
Cuthbert is returning to television as the female lead
in CBS' drama pilot "Ny-Lon." Cuthbert will play a New York literacy
teacher/record store clerk who embarks on a transatlantic romance
with a London stock broker. The project is based on a British
series starring Rashida Jones and Steven Moyer. After her breakthrough
role as Kiefer Sutherland's daughter in the first three seasons
of Fox's "24," the Canadian actress focused on movies. Her upcoming
features include "My Sassy Girl" and "The Six Lives of Henry
Lefay. |
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Mariah
Carey to Rule U.S. Singles Charts
Mariah Carey is on
track to collect her 18th No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles
chart
next
week. "Touch
My Body," the
first single from her upcoming album, dipped one place to No.
15 on the latest survey, issued Thursday. But the fresh availability
of a digital download should send the song hurtling to the
top next week. Full article |
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