Charlize Theron recounts night her mother killed her father in self-defence: 'I'm not ashamed'
Oscar-winner was held at gunpoint by her father when she was just 15
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Charlize Theron has recounted the night her mother killed her father in self-defence.
In 1991, when the Oscar-winning star was 15, Theron and her mother Gerda were held at gunpoint at their farm near Johannesburg after Theron’s father came home drunk.
She recounted the experience to NPR, saying: “My father was so drunk that he shouldn’t have been able to walk when he came into the house with a gun.
“My mum and I were in my bedroom leaning against the door because he was trying to push through the door. So both of us were leaning against the door from the inside to have him not be able to push through.
“He took a step back and just shot through the door three times. ‘None of the bullets ever hit us, which is just a miracle.”
Theron’s mother then “ended the threat” by killing Charles. The shooting was ruled as self-defence meaning Gerda faced no charges.
The South African star, who appears as Megyn Kelly in new film Bombshell, added: “I’m not ashamed to talk about it, because I do think that the more we talk about these things, the more we realise we are not alone in any of it.
“I think, for me, it’s just always been that this story is about growing up with addicts and what that does to a person.”
Theron said she only ever “knew” her father “as an alcoholic”.
In the same interview, Theron opened up about her childhood growing up in apartheid-era South Africa and revealed she was sexually harassed by a famous film director.
Bombshell is released in UK cinemas on 24 January.
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