name	Sol Kerzner
birth date	August 23, 1935
birth place	Troyeville, Johannesburg
occupation	Accountant and Businessman
networth	$450 million
alma mater	University of Natal, University of Witwatersrand
website	www.kerzner.com
spouse	Maureen Adler Shirley Bestbier (deceased)Anneline Kriel (1974-1979) Heather Kerzner née Murphy(2000-Present)
children	2 sons (1 deceased), 3 daughters, 1 stepdaughter, 1 stepson
salary	}}

Solomon (Sol) Kerzner (born 23 August 1935) is a South African accountant and business magnate with an estimated net worth of $450 million.

Background and career

Kerzner was born in Troyeville, Johannesburg, the youngest of four children to Jewish Russian immigrants. His family started a hotel chain; after Kerzner graduated as a Chartered Accountant, he took over the running of the group and went on to create the most successful hotel group in South Africa, Sun International. His first five star hotel was Sun City which he later sold. He is now the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Kerzner International and his career spans more than 45 years in the resort industry. He founded both of South Africa’s largest hotel groups and has played a pivotal role in the development of the tourism industries of South Africa, Mauritius, The Maldives, Dubai and The Bahamas.

Kerzner’s career in hospitality began in 1962 with the purchase of the Astra Hotel in Durban. Following the success of that property, Kerzner built South Africa’s first five star graded hotel in a village north of Durban. He opened this resort in December 1964 which he named the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Following the Beverly Hills, Kerzner built the 450-room Elangeni Hotel, overlooking Durban’s beachfront and, in 1969, in partnership with South African Breweries, he established the chain of Southern Sun Hotels, which by 1983 operated 30 luxury hotels with more than 7,000 rooms. In 1975, Kerzner opened his first hotel outside South Africa on the Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius which he named Le Saint Géran.

In 1979 Kerzner developed Sun City, the most ambitious resort project in Africa. Over a period of ten years he built four hotels, a man-made lake, two Gary Player golf courses and entertainment center with an indoor 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena in which he presented many superstars including Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Shirley Bassey and which was also the venue of many World Title fights promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank organization. During 1985, Kerzner's Sun City, South Africa resort was the topic of anti-Apartheid rock album titled Sun City by a group of rock musicians calling themselves Artists United Against Apartheid.

In 1994, following the first democratic elections in South Africa, Kerzner was asked by incumbent President Nelson Mandela to arrange the VIP function at the Presidential Inauguration which was attended by approximately 1000 people including many of the World’s leaders and Heads of State.

In 1996, Kerzner opened the hugely successful Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut in the USA and in 2000 opened the second phase of the project including a 1,200 room hotel through a joint venture with the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut called Trading Cove Associates. TCA relinquished its management of the resort in 2002 but Kerzner through his company will still receive a 5% dividend on the gross revenue generated by Mohegan Sun until 2014. The property is one of the largest gaming and entertainment complexes in the United States.

As a result of the success of the Sun City resort with its Gary Player designed championship golf course, he got involved in international hotel, leisure and gambling resorts; most notable is his role as the innovative developer behind the well-known Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. In late 1994, Kerzner made his first major acquisition outside Africa through the purchase of the Paradise Island Resort in The Bahamas. After acquiring the resort, Kerzner launched a major re-development and expansion program which transformed Atlantis, Paradise Island into a 2,300-room resort that included one of the world’s largest man-made marine habitats and the Caribbean’s biggest casino. Now Kerzner is struggling to pay off a 3.6 billion debt tied to the Atlantis Bahamas resort.

In 2002, Kerzner launched One&Only; Resorts which currently operates seven properties in The Bahamas, Mexico, Mauritius, The Maldives, South Africa and Dubai.

In early 2007, Kerzner expanded Atlantis, Paradise Island with new hotels The Cove and The Reef which added 1,100 new rooms to the property. This expansion included 21 retail outlets and new restaurants by celebrity chefs Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Nobu Matsuhisa and Bobby Flay. Kerzner extended the Atlantis brand globally with the development of Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai. This multi-billion dollar water-themed resort opened in late-September 2008 on The Palm Jumeirah with the largest display of fireworks in history.

Sol's son, Howard (Butch) Kerzner died on 11 October 2006 when the helicopter he was travelling in, crashed near Sosua, in the Puerto Plata province of the Dominican Republic.

Kerzner has been married four times and is currently married to Heather Kerzner née Murphy. During a lengthy period in the 1990s, he dated the model Christina Estrada, got engaged, but never married her. Instead, Sol married Heather Murphy, in 2000. From this marriage, he now has two stepchildren.

References

The Telegraph Jan 31, 2007 reference is incorrect. There is an article about Sol Kerzner, but none of that article is in the Wiki page. Here is the article, see for yourself: Kerzner is favourite to hit jackpot at super casino

By Harry Wallop

12:01AM GMT 31 Jan 2007

CommentsComment

Comment: Lobbyists' loss proves to be Manchester's gain

Kerzner International, founded by South African tycoon Sol Kerzner, is in the driving seat to become the biggest winner from the shock decision to award Manchester the right to host Britain's only super casino.

Manchester awarded a provisional contract back in 2004 to Kerzner, along with Ask and Artisan, two small local development companies, to create a £260m casino and leisure complex in the east of the city.

Yesterday, Tom Russell, the chief executive of New East Manchester - the regeneration quango in charge of redeveloping the area - said: "Kerzner's bid had a quality design, which jumped out at us. They also made substantial commitments to local employment."

Under the 2005 Gambling Act the winning council has to hold a fresh competitive auction to decide which companies will develop and operate the casino - a stipulation that Mr Russell acknowledged.

"It will go out to competitive tender and we will accept casino proposals from other developers."

However, senior casino executives said they were unlikely to bid against Kerzner. "Manchester had a complete tie-up with Kerzner. I just don't see the point of bidding against them again," said the head of one leading American gambling firm.

Not all his rivals were so downbeat, however. Ladbrokes, which has only just re-entered the casino market, said it was "not ruling itself out by any means. The Government has been very clear that it has to be an open auction".

A source close to Gala Coral insisted it too stood a chance. "Watch this space," he said.

However, Gala Coral, along with Rank, stands to be the biggest loser from yesterday's decision. Alongside Manchester, 16 locations for large and small new-generation casinos were announced. Eleven of these venues are in areas where there are existing casinos.

Rank already has a casino in the centre of Manchester, while Gala has venues in both Hull and Leeds - two of the locations chosen for new large casinos.

Gala Coral is considering taking legal action because the new casinos will be able to offer substantially more appealing games and jackpots to punters.

Viscountess Cobham, the chief executive of the British Casino Association, said: "The existing operators are a bit like corner shops trying to compete with a new large Tesco in town."

She warned that the existing 138 casinos, opened under the restrictive 1968 Gaming Act, could be hit hard. "However successful these operators are at winning new licences they have 40 years of intensive investment that could be severely damaged."

Ian Burke, Rank's chief executive, said he would vigorously lobby the Government to ensure the existing casinos enjoyed the same status as the new ones.

Kerzner International was listed on the New York Stock exchange until last year when it was taken private in a $3.8bn (£1.94bn) deal led by Mr Kerzner, backed by Goldman Sachs and a Dubai government investment vehicle.

Ask is a small Manchester development company that was set up by former Amec director Ken Knott and has pop star Mick Hucknall as a 17pc shareholder. Last year the management sold a 25pc stake to Morgan Stanley for about £15m.

External links

Kerzner website

Category:1935 births Category:Living people Category:People from Johannesburg Category:South African businesspeople Category:South African Jews Category:White South African people

af:Sol Kerzner de:Sol Kerzner es:Sol Kerzner fr:Sol Kerzner pt:Sol Kerzner

alt	A mid-twenties African American man wearing a sequined military jacket and dark sunglasses. He is walking while waving his right hand, which is adorned with a white glove. His left hand is bare.
background	solo_singer
birth name	Michael Joseph Jackson
alias	King of Pop, MJ, Michael Joe Jackson
birth date	August 29, 1958
birth place	Gary, Indiana, U.S.
death date	June 25, 2009
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
instrument	Vocals
genre	R&B;, pop, rock, soul, dance, funk, disco, new jack swing
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, dancer, choreographer, record producer, actor, businessman, philanthropist
years active	1964–2009
label	Motown, Epic, Legacy, MJJ Productions
associated acts	The Jackson 5 150pxMichael Jackson's Signature
relatives	Janet Jackson (sister)
website	}}

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.

In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. With videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" he continued to be highly visible on MTV in the 1990s, and also began to forge a reputation as a touring artist. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B;, pop and rock artists.

Jackson's 1982 album ''Thriller'' is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including ''Off the Wall'' (1979), ''Bad'' (1987), ''Dangerous'' (1991), and ''HIStory'' (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which made him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of popular music.

Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled out of court and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury found him not guilty on all counts. While preparing for his concert series titled ''This Is It'', Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as one billion people around the world reportedly watched his public memorial service on live television. In March 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed the largest music contract with Jackson's estate of $250 million deal to retain distribution rights to his recordings until 2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following his death.

Life and career

Early life and The Jackson 5 (1958–1975)

Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children in an African American working-class family who lived in a small 3-room house in Gary, Indiana, an industrial city near Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, was a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B; band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy. A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.

Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe.

The group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input. Although they scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5 disco single "Dancing Machine" and the top 20 hit "I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.

Move to Epic and ''Off the Wall'' (1975–81)

In June 1975, the Jackson 5 signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Younger brother Randy formally joined the band around this time, while Jermaine left to pursue a solo career. In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B; Album, Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B; Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". That year, he also won Billboard Year-End for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance, also for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". Jackson again won at the American Music Awards in 1981 for Favorite Soul/R&B; Album and Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist. Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt ''Off the Wall'' should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.

''Thriller'' and ''Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever'' (1982–83)

left|thumb|250px|Michael Jackson's revolutionary music video [[Michael Jackson's Thriller|Thriller gained worldwide attention from TV networks such as MTV and VH1.]]In 1982, Jackson contributed the song "Someone In the Dark" to the storybook for the film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''; the record won a Grammy for Best Recording for Children in 1984. In the same year he won another seven Grammys and eight American Music Awards (including the Award of Merit, the youngest artist to win it), making him the most awarded in one night for both award shows. The album topped the ''Billboard'' 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to have seven ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". ''Thriller'' was certified for 29 million shipments by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond status in the United States. The album won also another Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical in 1984, awarding Bruce Swedien for his work. Wearing a distinctive black sequin jacket and golf glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his signature dance move, the moonwalk, which former Soul Train dancer and Shalamar member Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years before. The Jacksons' performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and The Beatles' appearances on ''The Ed Sullivan Show''. Anna Kisselgoff of ''The New York Times'' later wrote, "The moonwalk that he made famous is an apt metaphor for his dance style. How does he do it? As a technician, he is a great illusionist, a genuine mime. His ability to keep one leg straight as he glides while the other bends and seems to walk requires perfect timing."

Pepsi, "We Are the World" and business career (1984–85)

On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi Cola commercial, overseen by executive Phil Dusenberry, from ad agency BBDO and Pepsi's Worldwide Creative Director, Alan Pottasch at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. In front of a full house of fans during a simulated concert, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire. He suffered second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars on his scalp, and he also had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter. Thanks to the ''Bad'' album, Bruce Swedien and Humberto Gatica won one Grammy in 1988 for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and Michael Jackson won one Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone" in 1989. ''HIStory'' received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. However, the sales for ''Invincible'' were lower than those of his previous releases, due in part to a lack of promotion, no supporting world tour and the label dispute. The album also came out at a bad time for the music industry in general. Jackson rehearsed in Los Angeles in the weeks leading up to the tour under the direction of choreographer Kenny Ortega. Most of these rehearsals took place at the Staples Center, which was owned by AEG. The memorial service was one of the most watched events in online streaming history. The U.S. audience was estimated by Nielsen to be 31.1 million, an amount comparable to the estimated that watched the 2004 burial of former president Ronald Reagan, and the estimated Americans who watched the 1997 funeral for Princess Diana.

Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, John Mayer, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Jermaine Jackson, and Shaheen Jafargholi performed at the event. Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson gave eulogies, while Queen Latifah read "We had him", a poem written for the occasion by Maya Angelou. The Reverend Al Sharpton received a standing ovation with cheers when he told Jackson's children, "Wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with. But he dealt with it anyway." Jackson's 11-year-old daughter, Paris Katherine, cried as she told the crowd, "Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine ... I just wanted to say I love him ... so much." Reverend Lucious Smith provided a closing prayer. On August 24, several news outlets quoted anonymous sources as stating that the Los Angeles coroner had decided to treat Jackson's death as a homicide; this was later confirmed by the coroner on August 28. Jackson also became the first artist in history to have four of the top 20 best selling albums in a single year in the United States. Following this surge in sales, Sony announced that they had extended their relationship with his material. The distribution rights held by Sony Music were due to expire in 2015. On March 16, 2010, Sony Music Entertainment, in a move spearheaded by its Columbia/Epic Label Group division, signed a new deal with the Jackson estate to extend their distribution rights to his back catalogue until at least 2017, as well as to obtain permission to release ten new albums with previously unreleased material and new collections of released work. On November 4, 2010 Sony announced the release of ''Michael'', the first posthumous album set to be released on December 14, with the promotional single released to the radios on November 8, titled "Breaking News". The deal was unprecedented in the music industry as it is the most expensive music contract pertaining to a single artist in history; it reportedly involved Sony Music paying for the deal, with the Jackson estate getting the full sum as well as its share of royalties for all works released. Video game developer Ubisoft announced it would release a new dancing-and-singing game featuring Michael Jackson for the 2010 holiday season. The game titled ''Michael Jackson: The Experience'' will be among the first to use Kinect and PlayStation Move, the respective motion-detecting camera systems for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 due out later that year.

Michael Jackson was reported to be one of the largest owners of property on the moon. In 2005, he bought a 1,200 acre plot in the Lake of Dreams and owned a smaller parcel in the Sea of Vapours. After his death, a crater on the moon was renamed Michael Joseph Jackson by The Lunar Republic Society in Jackson's honor. The crater was previously named Posidonius J and is located on an area of the moon known as the Lake of Dreams, or Lacus Somniorum. The crater is 22 kilometers across and is situated near Jackson's owned land. A spokesman for the society said: "The official designation of a Lunar crater is a singular honour bestowed upon only a select few luminaries. "Among those receiving this rare tribute over the past century are Leonardo da Vinci, Christopher Columbus, Sir Isaac Newton, Julius Caesar and Jules Verne."

On November 3, 2010, the theatrical performing company Cirque du Soleil announced that it would launch "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour" in October 2011 in Montreal, while a permanent show will reside in Las Vegas. With ''Thriller'', Christopher Connelly of ''Rolling Stone'' commented that Jackson developed his long association with the subliminal theme of paranoia and darker imagery. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted this is evident on the songs "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". In "Billie Jean", Jackson sings about an obsessive fan who alleges he has fathered a child of hers. In "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" he argues against gossip and the media. "Beat It" decried gang violence in an homage to ''West Side Story'', and was Jackson's first successful rock cross-over piece, according to Huey. He also observed that the title track "Thriller" began Jackson's interest with the theme of the supernatural, a topic he revisited in subsequent years. In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity anthem "We Are the World"; humanitarian themes later became a recurring theme in his lyrics and public persona. ;Bibliography

George, Nelson (2004). ''Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection'' booklet. Sony BMG.

Further reading

External links

Michael Jackson at MTV

FBI file on Michael Jackson

Category:1958 births Category:2009 deaths Category:African American dancers Category:African American male singers Category:African American record producers Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:American beatboxers Category:American businesspeople Category:American child singers Category:American choreographers Category:American dance musicians Category:American dancers Category:American disco musicians Category:American boogie musicians Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American rock singers Category:American soul singers Category:American tenors Category:American vegetarians Category:Boy sopranos Category:Brit Award winners Category:Midwest hip hop musicians Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Category:Child pop musicians Category:Drug-related deaths in California Category:Epic Records artists Category:Former Jehovah's Witnesses Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Legend Award Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Michael Jackson Category:Manslaughter victims Category:Motown artists Category:Musicians from Indiana Category:People acquitted of sex crimes Category:People from Gary, Indiana Category:People from Santa Barbara County, California Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Songwriters from Indiana Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Michael Jackson Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Young Artist Award winners

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birth date	August 07, 1975
birth place	Benoni, Transvaal Province, South Africa
occupation	Actress, producer, director, fashion model
nationality	South African
years active	1995–present
partner	Stuart Townsend (2001–2010)
children	1
website	}}

Charlize Theron (American English pronunciation: ; Afrikaans pronunciation: ; born 7 August 1975) is a South African actress. She started her acting career in the United States and rose to fame in the late 1990s following roles in ''The Devil's Advocate'' (1997), ''Mighty Joe Young'' (1998), and ''The Cider House Rules'' (1999). Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in ''Monster'' (2003), becoming the first African to win an Academy Award in a major acting category. She received another Academy Award nomination for her performance in ''North Country'' (2005). Theron became a US citizen in 2007, while retaining her South African citizenship.

Early life

Theron was born in Benoni, in the then Transvaal Province of South Africa, the only child of Gerda Jacoba Aletta Maritz (who has also called herself Gerta) and Charles Jacobus Theron (born 27 November 1947). Her mother is of German descent and her father was of Occitan (French) and Dutch ancestry; Theron is descended from early Huguenot settlers, and Boer War figure Danie Theron was her great-great uncle. "Theron" is an Occitan surname (originally spelled Théron) pronounced in Afrikaans as , although she has said that the way she pronounces it in South Africa is [θron]. She changed the pronunciation when she moved to the U.S. to give it a more "American" sound.

She grew up on her parents' farm in Benoni, near Johannesburg. Her father died on 21 June 1991, after he was shot by Theron's mother. Theron's father, an alcoholic, physically attacked her mother and threatened both women while drunk. The shooting was legally adjudged to have been self-defense and her mother faced no charges.

Theron attended Putfontein Primary School (Laerskool Putfontein), a period she later characterised as not "fitting in". At 13, Theron was sent to boarding school and began her studies at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg. Although Theron became fluent in English (which she speaks with a General American accent) around age nineteen, her first language is Afrikaans.

Career

Though seeing herself as a dancer, Theron at 16 won a one-year modeling contract at a local competition in Salerno , and with her mother moved to Milan, Italy. After Theron spent a year modeling throughout Europe, she and her mother moved to New York City and Miami, Florida. In New York, she attended the Joffrey Ballet School, where she trained as a ballet dancer until a knee injury closed this career path at 19. As Theron recalled in 2008,

Intending now to work in movies, Theron flew to Los Angeles, California, on a one-way ticket her mother bought her. During her early months there, she went to a Hollywood Boulevard bank to cash a cheque her mother had sent her to help with the rent. When the teller refused to cash it, Theron engaged in a shouting match with her. Upon seeing this, talent agent John Crosby, in line behind her, handed her his business card and subsequently introduced her to casting agents and also an acting school. She later fired him as her manager after he kept sending her scripts for films similar to ''Showgirls'' and ''Species''. After several months in the city, she was cast in her first film part, a non-speaking role in the direct-to-video film ''Children of the Corn III'' (1995). Her first speaking role was a supporting but significant part in ''2 Days in the Valley''. Larger roles in widely released Hollywood films followed, and her career expanded in the late 1990s with box-office successes like ''The Devil's Advocate'' (1997), ''Mighty Joe Young'' (1998), and ''The Cider House Rules'' (1999). She was on the cover of the January 1999 issue of ''Vanity Fair'' as the "White Hot Venus". AskMen named her the number one most desirable woman of 2003.

After appearing in other films, Theron starred as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in ''Monster'' (2003). Film critic Roger Ebert called it "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema". For this role, Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 76th Academy Awards in February 2004, as well as the SAG Award and the Golden Globe Award. She is the first South African to win an Oscar for Best Actress. The Oscar win pushed her to ''The Hollywood Reporter's'' 2006 list of highest-paid actresses in Hollywood; earning US$10 million for both her subsequent films, ''North Country'' and ''Æon Flux'', she ranked seventh, behind Halle Berry, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Renée Zellweger, Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman.

In 2005 Theron portrayed Rita, Michael Bluth's (Jason Bateman) love interest, on the third season of Fox's critically acclaimed television series ''Arrested Development''. She also received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for her role of Britt Ekland in the 2004 HBO film ''The Life and Death of Peter Sellers''. On 30 September, Theron received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the same year, she starred in the financially unsuccessful science fiction thriller ''Æon Flux''. She also received the 2005 Spike Video Game Award for Best Performance by a Human Female for her voiceover work in the Æon Flux video game.

Theron received Best Actress Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for her lead performance in the drama ''North Country''. ''Ms.'' magazine also honoured her for this performance with a feature article in its Fall 2005 issue. She was supposed to star in the screen adaption of the short story ''The Ice at the Bottom of the World'' by Mark Richard, and it was to be directed by Kimberly Peirce and produced by Theron's company Denver and Delilah Films (Theron's two dog's names). Theron has owned the rights for many years. She was also supposed to star in a movie adaption of the graphic novel ''Jinx'', but both projects have not been produced as of yet.

In 2008, Theron was named the Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year. That year she also starred with Will Smith in the superhero film ''Hancock'', and in late 2008 she was asked to be a UN Messenger of Peace by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

In October 2009, Theron was cast to star in a sequel to the ''Mad Max'' films, titled ''Mad Max: Fury Road''.

On 4 December 2009, Theron co-presented the draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa, accompanied by several other celebrities of South African origin. During rehearsals she drew an Ireland ball instead of France as a joke at the expense of FIFA, referring to Thierry Henry's handball controversy in the play off match between France and Ireland. The stunt alarmed FIFA enough for it to fear she might do it again in front of a live global audience.

Following a three-year hiatus from the big screen, Theron returned to the spotlight in 2011 with ''Young Adult''. Directed by Jason Reitman, the film earned critical acclaim especially for Theron's performance. She was nominated for a Golden Globe and several other high profile awards.

Theron plays the Wicked Queen in the film ''Snow White & the Huntsman'', in production in 2011.

In 2011, she described her process for becoming the characters in her film: }}

Personal life

Theron has a son, Jackson, whose adoption was announced in March 2012. She lives in Los Angeles, California. Theron became a naturalised citizen of the United States in May 2007, while retaining her South African citizenship.

From 1997 to 2001, she dated Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins. Theron then began a relationship with Irish actor Stuart Townsend, with whom she starred in ''Trapped'' (2002) and ''Head in the Clouds'' (2004). Theron and Townsend separated in January 2010 after nearly nine years together.

Health concerns

While filming ''Æon Flux'' in Berlin, Germany, Theron suffered a herniated disc in her neck, which occurred as a result of her suffering a fall while filming a series of back handsprings. This required her to wear a neck collar for a month. In July 2009, Theron was diagnosed with a serious stomach virus, thought to be contracted while travelling outside the United States. She was hospitalised at Cedars-Sinai Hospital and she finished convalescing in her own home. When filming ''The Road,'' Theron injured her vocal cords during the labor screaming scenes.

Promotional deals

Having signed a deal with John Galliano in 2004, Theron replaced Estonian model Tiiu Kuik as the spokeswoman in the "J'adore" advertisements by Christian Dior.

From October 2005 to December 2006, Theron earned US$3 million for the use of her image in a worldwide print media advertising campaign for Raymond Weil watches. In February 2006, she and her loan-out corporation were sued by Weil for breach of contract. The lawsuit was settled on 4 November 2008.

Activism

Theron is involved in women's rights organisations, and has marched in pro-choice rallies.

Theron also is a supporter of animal rights and active member of PETA. She appeared in a PETA ad for its anti-fur campaign. She is a supporter of marriage equality and attended a march to support that in Fresno, California, on 30 May 2009.

In July 2009, Theron's Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) announced a coalition with LAFC Soccer Club to give soccer fields to rural areas in South Africa. The US youth soccer club LAFC Chelsea made a three-year commitment to help build a community-wide soccer program for the schools in the Umkhanyakude district, encompassing uniforms, equipment, professional training for local coaches, referees and administrators, and health education.

In December 2009, CTAOP and TOMS Shoes partnered to create a limited edition unisex shoe. The shoe was made from vegan materials and inspired by the African baobab tree, the silhouette of which was embroidered on blue and orange canvas. Ten-thousand pairs were given to destitute children, and a portion of the proceeds went to CTAOP.

Filmography

+ Films
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1995	''Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest''	Young Woman	Uncredited
1996	''2 Days in the Valley''	Helga Svelgen
1996	''That Thing You Do!''	Tina Powers
1997	''Hollywood Confidential''	Sally	TV film
1997		Billie Tyler
1997	''''	Mary Ann Lomax
1998		Supermodel
1998		Jill Young	Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
1999	''''	Jillian Armacost
1999	''''	Candy Kendall
2000	''Reindeer Games''	Ashley Mercer
2000	''''	Erica Stoltz
2000	''''	Adele Invergordon
2000	''Men of Honor''	Gwen Sunday
2001		Sara Deever
2001	''''	Laura Kensington
2001	''15 Minutes''	Rose Heam
2002		Karen Jennings
2002	''Waking Up in Reno''	Candy Kirkendall
2003	''''	Stella Bridger
2003		Aileen Wuornos	Academy Award for Best ActressBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressDallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture DramaIndependent Spirit Award for Best First FeatureIndependent Spirit Award for Best Lead FemaleNational Board of Review of Motion Pictures
2004	''''	[[Britt Ekland	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionNominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Miniseries or a MovieNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2004	''Head in the Clouds''	Gilda Bessé
2005		Josey Aimes
2005	''''	Æon Flux
2005	''Æon Flux (video game)''	Æon Flux	Voice
2007	''In the Valley of Elah''	Det. Emily Sanders
2008		Joleen	Also producer
2008		Mary Embrey	Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
2008	''Battle in Seattle''	Ella	Stuart Townsend directing
2009	''''	Sylvia	Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress
2009	''''	Wife
2009		Narrator
2011		Mavis Gary	Palm Springs International Film Festival Vanguard Award for Creative EnsembleVariety's Indie Impact AwardNominated – Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated – Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated – Detroit Film Critics Society
2012	''[[Snow White & the Huntsman''		Post-production
2012		Meredith Vickers	Post-production
2013	''Mad Max Fury Road''	Furiosa	Pre-production

+ Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2005		Rita (Mr.F)	5 episodes
2006	''Robot Chicken''	Daniel's Mom / Mother / Waitress	1 episode

+ Music Videos
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2010		Mysterious and dangerous rescuer	Song by Brandon Flowers

+ Producer
! Year	! Title	Notes
2003		Also actress
2006	''East of Havana''	Documentary
2008		Also actress
2008	''The Burning Plain''	Executive, also actress
2011		Also actress

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Charlize Theron at Who's Who Southern Africa

Charlize Theron at AskMen

Charlize Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP)

Charlize Theron at Emmys.com

Category:1975 births Category:Afrikaner people Category:American film actors Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners Category:Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:GLAAD Media Award winners Category:Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead winners Category:Living people Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Benoni Category:South African activists Category:South African emigrants to the United States Category:South African female models Category:South African film actors Category:South African people of Dutch descent Category:South African people of German descent Category:South African people of Huguenot descent Category:United Nations Messengers of Peace Category:White South African people

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Ian Gabriel is a South African film and commercials director, based in Cape Town, South Africa.

He directed the film, ''Forgiveness'', that starred Arnold Vosloo, and which treats the theme of forgiveness in post-apartheid South Africa.

References

Category:South African film directors Category:Living people