Charlize Theron rose to prominence in the 1990s and since then has established herself among the leading ladies in Hollywood. Given that she has always been in the spotlight with tons of successful projects in her name, one might be unaware of the fact that she has gone through some unfortunate events during her childhood.

South African-American actress, Charlize Theron

While she has not kept her story off the spotlight since it’s a part of her life, she has also treaded it lightly given the fact that it also links with her mother.

Charlize Theron Got Candid About Her Family Situation

Childhood photograph of Charlize Theron with her parents

The 47-year-old actress Charlize Theron in a 2004 appearance on ABC News told Diane Sawyer about her tragic childhood. Back when the young star was 15 years old, she found herself in a complicated situation as she shared that her parents’ marriage was quite troublesome.

Speaking of her father, she stated,

“My dad was a big guy, tall, skinny legs, big belly.”

She continued,

“[He] could be very serious but loved to laugh as well, and enjoyed life. He also had a disease. He was an alcoholic.”

While her father never abused the actress, she added that he was a “verbal abuser” which made her family’s situation quite unhealthy. His alcohol addiction once went quite far as he tried to hurt his family.

Charlize Theron Shared About The Night When Her Mother Killed Her Father

Charlize Theron with her mother, Gerda [left]

On the night of June 21, 1991, Theron’s father, Charles Theron was returning home after a drinking session which was quite intense as her aunt called her mother, Gerda to warn about his condition.

The Oscar-winning actress told the outlet,

“Nature gives you instinct. And I knew something bad was going to happen.”

After his arrival, her father tried to hurt the duo as he began shooting. As per her mother’s testimony, he angrily banged at the Bombshell star’s bedroom stating,

“Tonight I’m going to kill you both with the shotgun.”

The Fast X actress stated,

“The terrible thing is that everybody in South Africa has a gun… You know, but that’s just the lifestyle there. And those things are handy; terrible things happen.”

After the threat, her father fired the gun into her room which was enough for a mother to protect her daughter. She then grabbed her handgun and acted in “self-defense.”

Her father was shot and dead but the actress knew the gravity of that situation which is why she stated,

 “And I know that if my daughter was in the same situation, I would do the same thing.”

As her mother’s act was self-defense, she did not face any charges after the investigation.