The actor is celebrating her 50th birthday. Let's take a trip down memory lane with 10 of the best photos of Charlize Theron from her younger years.

It's a big day for <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/charlize-theron-movie-transformations-bombshell-prometheus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Charlize Theron</a>, as the South African actress is celebrating her 50th birthday. Theron has made an unforgettable impact on Hollywood, from her <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/experimental-red-carpet-looks-oscars-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Academy Award</a>-winning performance in the 2003 film Monster&nbsp;to her box office success in <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/charlize-theron-required-security-on-set-filming-mad-max-fury-road-tom-hardy-fight" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mad Max: Fury Road</a>. Most of Theron's adult life has been spent in the film industry, and we're revisiting some of the best photos from her early career.
Theron has an incredible success story, as she flew on a one-way ticket to Hollywood with almost no money to her name and built her career from the ground up. Her childhood was far from smooth, growing up as an only child on a farm outside of Johannesburg, with a father who struggled with alcoholism. On one occasion, he attacked Theron and her mother, and her mother killed him to save their lives. The court ruled the killing an act of self-defense, and Theron's mom, Gerda, has remained by her side ever since. It was she who helped Theron move to Los Angeles to pursue acting after a knee injury prevented her from chasing her initial dream of becoming a dancer.&nbsp;
The&nbsp;Fast and Furious&nbsp;actor is now a girl mom, after adopting her two daughters Jackson and August in 2012 and 2015. Theron has continually thanked her mother for her incredible support, and has proven to be a similar force in Jackson and August's lives, as a single mother herself. But the remarkable lineage of mothers is not what Theron is most recognized for.
Her talent has won her an Oscar for Best Actress in 2004, as well as two other nominations in the category in 2006 and 2020. This puts her in a premier class of actresses with some of the greats, from <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/the-princess-diaries-3-details-cast-trailer-anne-hathaway-julie-andrews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Julie Andrews</a> to <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/julianne-moore-female-relationships-december-2024-issue-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Julianne Moore</a>, who also have three Academy Award nominations themselves. Theron was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005 and has continued to impress audiences far and wide with her unforgettable screen presence.&nbsp;
Charlize Theron has not slowed down, as the fresh 50-year-old actor recently starred in The Old Guard 2,&nbsp;which was released July 2 on Netflix. She is also slated to star in Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated take on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/odyssey-film-christopher-nolan-cast-plot-release-date" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Odyssey</a>, which is set to premiere in July 2026. But for now, let's look back at some of the greatest moments from Theron's career, before she became the legend we know her to be.&nbsp;

Charlize Theron in her hometown in 1992. Getty Images.

Charlize Theron at the 1992 premiere of 'Tomorrow Never Dies.' Getty Images.

Charlize Theron at the 1996 premiere of 'Two Days in the Valley.' Getty Images.

Young Photos of Charlize Theron

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