STORY SO FAR: Charlize Theron

Charlize, 42, plays undercover MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton in Atomic Blonde (8pm, Sky Premiere). Here’s how the South African actor became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars…

Early life: She was born on August 7, 1975, in Benoni, near Johannesburg, and grew up on a farm with her parents, Gerda and Charles. When Charlize was 15, Gerda killed Charles – an abusive alcoholic – after he assaulted her. The shooting was deemed to have been self-defence, and Gerda faced no charges.

Born to dance: Within a year of her father’s death, Charlize had left South Africa, and was working as a model in Milan. After moving to New York, she trained at the Joffrey Ballet School, but at 19, a knee injury put an end to her dancing career, and she headed to Hollywood to try her hand at acting.

Breaking through: After she landed an agent, her first film role was as Helga Svelgen in 2 Days In The Valley (1996), leading to the part of Tina Powers in Tom Hanks’s That Thing You Do! (1996). Increasingly bigger roles followed, in The Devil’s Advocate (1997), The Cider House Rules (1999) and The Legend Of Bagger Vance (2000).

Oscar glory: For the 2003 drama Monster, she gained more than 30lbs to play the US serial killer Aileen Wuornos – and it won her the Best Actress Oscar. She was the first South African to claim that award. Established act: Charlize is now one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, with hits including Prometheus (2012), Snow

White And The Huntsman (2012) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). She can currently be seen in cinemas in comedy drama Tully.