Charlize Theron Throughout the Years

Charlize Theron is once again headlining at the movies this time as a MI-6 agent in Cold War era spy thriller, Atomic Blonde. Charlize for obvious reasons is often typecast as blonde, icy bombshells in such films as 2 Days in the Valley, Prometheus, and The Fate of the Furious. But her career has been surprisingly diverse.  Consider some of her following roles.

The Cider House Rules (1999) In this Academy award winning picture, Charlize starred as the lovely Candy Walker who becomes the heart of a love triangle between main protagonist Homer (Toby Maguire) and apple orchard heir and WWII soldier Lt. Wally Worthington (Paul Rudd).

Monster (2003) In the title role of female serial killer Aileen Wuornos, Theron was quite simply both unrecognizable and revelatory. She gained 30 pounds for the role, shaved her eyebrows and wore prosthetic teeth.  Her performance garnered her universal critical acclaim, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Golden Globe Award, and the Oscar.

The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004) Theron starred as famed Swedish actress and singer Britt Eklund opposite Geoffrey Rush as Peter Sellers in a turn that got her nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe Award.

North Country (2005) As divorced mom Josey Aimes, who finds work as a coal miner and then files a ground-breaking class action suit for sexual harassment, Theron garnered another Academy Award nomination.

Young Adult (2011) Theron’s turn as the narcissistic, emotionally stunted, divorcee young adult author Mavis was by turns both compelling and repulsive. The movie garnered an 80% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes and Theron yet another Golden Globe Award.  The fact that the Academy did NOT nominate her that year was a highly contested decision that many considered an outrageous snub.

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) As the Evil Queen Ravenna, Charlize appeared to be having the time of her life here-certainly more fun than Kristen Stewart as the titled lead. Audiences and critics alike considered her by far the best part of the movie which is why she got her own sequel.

Mad Max-Fury Road (2015) As fierce one armed solder Imperator Furiosa, of the shaved head Charlize stole the whole show from right under Tom Hardy and was widely credited for much of the movie’s critical acclaim and box office success.

Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) This time Theron stretched out into a highly new genre; animation. In this stop-motion 3-D animated picture, she voiced the mother of young Kubo the hero-who’s then reincarnated into a little Japanese snow monkey after being killed.

Bigstock Photo: Charlize Theron at the “Atomic Blonde” Los Angeles Premiere at The Theatre at Ace Hotel on July 24, 2017 in Los Angeles, CA

About Winnefred Ann Frolik (155 Articles)
Winnefred Ann Frolik (Winnie for short) was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She completed the International Baccleareate program at Schenley High School and then attended the University of Pittsburgh where she completed a double major in English Literature and Creative Writing. After graduation she spent a number of years working in the non-profit sector and it was during that phase in her life she moved to D.C.  Winnie co-wrote a book on women in the U.S. Senate with Billy Herzig.  She enrolled in a baking program in culinary school and worked in food services for a while. She currently works in personal services while writing for Woman Around Town and doing other freelance writing projects including feeble personal attempts at fiction. Her brother is a reporter in Dayton, Ohio so clearly there are strong writing genes in the family.  She lives in Pittsburgh, PA, with two demanding cats.