Charlize Theron is a South African and American actress, producer, director, and fashion model. Her career jump started in the 1990s, appearing in the films The Devil's Advocate, Mighty Joe Young and The Cider House Rules.
Photo courtesy of Famous/ACE/INFphoto.com
For her role as Aileen Wuornos in Monster, Theron won the Silver Bear, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Academy Award for Best Actress among several other accolades. Theron has also transitioned into the field of producing, both in television and film, with Monster, East of Havana, Sleepwalking, The Burning Plain and Dark Places.
For her performance in North Country in 2005, she received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations. She also received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance in Young Adult in 2011. In 2012, she appeared in Snow White & the Huntsman and Prometheus, both of which did very well in the box office.
Theron became a U.S. citizen in 2007, while retaining her South African citizenship. She can be seen in Seth MacFarlane's A Million Ways to Die in the West, in theaters now.
Here are the top 10 films of Charlize Theron.
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10. Prometheus
Prometheus, a science-fiction horror film, is set in the late 21st century. It follows a crew of the spaceship Prometheus as it locates a star map discovered among the artifacts of several ancient Earth cultures. Searching for the origins of human life, the crew arrives on a distant world and discovers a threat that could cause the extinction of the human race.
Theron plays the strict Meredith Vickers, who is assigned to monitor the crew. The film was praised for its visual effects, and Theron's role, as well as Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace's roles, were highly praised. The film was successful in the box office, and received numerous nominations for its special effects.
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9. Mighty Joe Young
Mighty Joe Young is the story of a 15 feet tall mountain gorilla named Joe, who is taken to an animal sanctuary in California by a zoologist (Bill Paxton) and a young woman named Jill (Theron), who he grew up with. A poacher from Joe's past comes back to seek vengeance against him.
Theron was praised for her engaging performance. Overall, the film received good reviews for the acting and its magical enchantment that both kids and adults will love.
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8. The Devil's Advocate
A lawyer (Keanu Reeves) moves to New York with his wife (Theron) when he gets a job opportunity. Things start off great but turns south when temptations start to interfere with his life, not to mention his boss (Al Pacino) may in fact be the devil.
Theron has a minor but memorable role in this film. Though the film overall was not well received by critics, Theron was praised for her ability to portray a struggling wife of a husband who is becoming more famous and powerful.
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7. The Italian Job
The Italian Job is an American remake of the 1969 British film of the same name. It follows a team of thieves who plan to steal gold from a former associate who double-crossed them.
The film was praised for its reinvention of the original's premise, but paying great homage to it. The acting as well as the action were also praised.
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6. Snow White and the Huntsman
Snow White and the Huntsman is a dark fantasy action film based on the German fairy tale Snow White, compiled by the Brothers Grimm. In the film, a Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) is ordered to bring Snow White (Kristen Stewart) to the Evil Queen (Theron) so she can receive beauty and immortality. The Huntsman however becomes Snow White's protector and mentor and set off on a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.
The film was highly praised for it's visual effects, but was criticized for its weak script. Theron was praised for her role as the Evil Queen, with critics saying she brought just the right amount of anger and theatrics into her character.
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5. The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules tells the story of a young man (Toby Maguire), raised in an orphanage and trained to be a doctor there, who decides to leave to see the world, and begins an affair with Candy Kendall (Theron).
The film won two Academy Awards, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with four other nominations. Both the film and the acting were highly praised by critics.
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4. Young Adult
Young Adult tells the story of a fiction writer (Theron) who returns to her home in small-town Minnesota, looking to rekindle a romance with her ex-boyfriend, who is now happily married and has a newborn daughter.
The film received positive reviews, and Theron was praised for her convincing performance. Theron earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.
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3. The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers is a British/American film about the life of the English comedy actor Peter Sellers, and is based on Roger Lewis's book of the same name.
Theron earned Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actress nominations for her role as Sellers' secong wife, Britt Ekland.
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2. North Country
North Country is a drama film directed by Niki Caro, and was inspired by the 2002 book Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler. The film tells a fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States, where a woman who endured a range of abuse while working as a miner, filed and won the 1984 lawsuit, Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines.
The film was highly praised, and Theron received Academy Award, Golden Globe, and SAG award nominations for Best Actress.
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1. Monster
Monster is a drama film based on the life of serial killer Aileen Wuornos (Theron), a former prostitute who was executed in Florida in 2002 for killing six men in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Theron received great critical acclaim for her role, winning an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and SAG award for Best Actress, including 14 other accolades. Theron's role has been cited as one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema.