Charlize Theron

I was raised with the idea that you can feel sorry for yourself, but then, get over it, because it doesn't get you anywhere.

Charlize Theron (born August 7, 1975) is a South African-American actress and film producer. She received an Academy Award as best actress for her portrayal of Aileen Wuornos in the film Monster.

Quotes

• I was raised with the idea that you can feel sorry for yourself, but then, get over it, because it doesn't get you anywhere. … There was always this awareness that you have to be responsible for yourself in order to have what you want. And that meant "Be responsible with this little motorcycle that we're going to give you, because you're only five. If you're not, you're going to hurt yourself" -- which I did. My mom wasn't like, "Poor baby." She was like, "You do wheelies. That's what's going to happen." My mom's philosophy was, "If you get yourself in trouble, you've got to get yourself out of trouble."
  • Reader's Digest.com interview

• I grew up on a farm in South Africa, so I’ve always been surrounded by animals. I was raised by a mother who always had great compassion and respect toward animals. It was instilled in me. I grew up that way. So when I see dogs or other animals suffer, it’s just been something close to my heart.
  • "Charlize Theron Would Never Wear Her Dog", in peta2.com (18 July 2011)
• Marriage equality is about more than just marriage. It's about something greater. It's about acceptance.
• “At the end, the realization is that she had to get to a place in her life where she could drop her guard and make peace with the fact that whether she had a small amount of time, that she had to kind of live it completely through, instead of living by the rules.”[1]
• The greatest gift we can give ourselves is to accept and love who we are, with all of our imperfections.[2]
• I think the most important thing for any human being is to know yourself and your own potential, and to be able to pursue your dreams and goals with passion and determination.[3]
• I don’t think you can create anything interesting from a comfort zone. You have to work from a place of fear and failure.[4]
• I don’t think we should ever stop learning and growing as human beings. There’s always more to discover about ourselves and the world around us.[5]
• “I don’t try to kind of go for the overly sympathetic. I don’t really like sympathy; I don’t like it for myself. Sometimes sympathy you feel like, you’re kind of trying to victimize someone.”[6]
• I think the sexiest thing about a woman is confidence, but confidence in a humble way, not in an arrogant way.[7]
• I don’t believe in charmed lives. I think that tragedy is part of the lesson you learn to lift yourself up, to pick yourself up and to move on.[8]
• “I’ve always been very proud to be a South African and I’ve always been very honest to people about that. And whatever I can do in my power, I promise you, I will do. I don’t think it’s too much pressure. I think it’s our duty as citizens of this country. You don’t have to win an Oscar to do something good for your country. We all can do that. If I can be an encouragement for that I’ll be glad to be that.”[9]
• I think it’s important to be your own advocate and to stand up for what you believe in, even if it means going against the status quo.[10]
• I don’t have perfect teeth, I’m not stick thin. I want to be the person who feels great in her body and can say that she loves it and doesn’t want to change anything.[11]
• When a person lives a very happy life they become beautiful.[12]
• “We are raising a generation of young girls who realize that there is absolutely no shame in that game to be in relationship with yourself— to not fall into what society kind of predicts for us as what is socially acceptable: If you are not in a relationship, somehow you’re a failure.”[13]

External links

• Official Site
• Charlize Theron on IMDb