Charlize Theron was born in Benoni, a city in the Johannesburg area of South Africa. She grew up on her parents’ farm outside the city, dreaming of being a ballet dancer. At the age of 16, Theron spent a year modeling throughout Europe. After that, she and her mother moved to the US.

Theron became a US citizen in 2007, but she kept her South African citizenship. Her first language is Afrikaans, although, she’s also fluent in English as fans already know.