Charlize Theron recounts night her mother fatally shot her father in self-defense

Charlize Theron has opened up about the night her mother shot and killed her father in self-defense when the actress was 15. 

Theron grew up in South Africa and shared a house with her parents, mother Gerda and father Charles. 

In an interview with The New York Times Magazine, published on April 18, Theron, now 50, spoke about how her mother had a habit of taking her to the movies. 

"When I was older, I realized she was trying to get me out of the house," Theron said.

On the night of the incident, she and her mother returned from the movie only to discover that her father had taken the key to their front steel door. 

According to Theron, steel doors in homes were common in South Africa because, back then, the country was on the brink of civil war. "That's the kind of violence that we were living in," she said.

They went to Charles' brother's house, which was just a few streets away, to retrieve the key, since it was her father's usual hangout when not at home. 

They found the two men drunk. 

"I had to pee really badly, so I ran into the house to get to the toilet. And he took that as me being really rude because I didn't stop and say hello to everybody," Theron said, adding that respect for elders was a big deal in South Africa. 

Charles' temper erupted. He asked Theron, "Why didn't you stop?" "Who do you think you are?"

"I just knew that that was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back for him," Theron recalled. "I felt like something was different. I sat down with my mom and said, 'I think you should separate from him'." 

Back home, Theron, wanting to avoid a confrontation with her father, asked her mother Gerda to tell Charles that she was asleep. She turned off the lights in her room and lay in bed. 

Eventually, Charles came home, accompanied by his brother. 

"[My father] shot through the steel doors to get into the house, making it very clear that he was gonna kill us," Theron recalled. "By the time he broke into the first gate, my mom ran to the safe to get her gun. She came into my bedroom. And this is, again, [is] one of those crazy things. The two of us were holding the door with our bodies because there...wasn't a lock on it. And he just stepped back and started shooting through the door." 

"Not one bullet hit us. It's insane when you think about it that way," Theron said.

Per PEOPLE's report, Charles then "walked to the safe, and [Theron's] mom pulled the door open while the brother was still standing there." 

As the brother ran down the hallway, Gerda followed him with a shot that "ricocheted seven times and shot him in the hand. It's stuff you can't explain," Theron said. 

Gerda then walked to where Charles was "opening the safe to get more weapons, and she shot him."

"Unfortunately, not an isolated story," said Theron, who is an outspoken advocate for female victims of domestic violence. 

A 2008 United Nations Messenger of Peace, she began using her platform to fight for the eradication of violence against women. In 2020, she helped launch Together For Her, a movement that campaigned for funds and resources to ease domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"[Domestic violence is] prevalent in a lot of families' homes. And I feel like women really get a very, very unfair shake," said Theron. "I feel...in this country, nobody takes it seriously, the situation [women are] in. And I don't think anybody took my mom seriously."

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If you are, or if you personally know someone experiencing domestic violence, don’t hesitate to seek help to stop the abuse.

The Philippine Commission on Women has shared important contact details if such abuses were to occur:

POLICE/INVESTIGATION ASSISTANCE

PNP Hotline: 177
Aleng Pulis Hotline: 0919 777 7377
PNP Women and Children Protection Center
24/7 AVAWCD Office: (02) 8532-6690
Email address: wcpc_pnp@yahoo.com / wcpc_vawcd@yahoo.com / avawcd.wcpc@pnp.gov.ph

LEGAL ASSISTANCE

Public Attorney’s Office (PAO)
Hotline: (02) 8929-9436 local 106, 107, or 159 (local “0” for operator)
(+62) 9393233665
Email address: pao_executive@yahoo.com

REFERRAL SERVICES

Inter-Agency Council on Violence Against Women and their
Children
Mobile numbers: 09178671907 | 09178748961
Email address: iacvawc@pcw.gov.ph