1975
August 7, a healthy baby girl is born in Benoni, SA, to Charles and Gerda Theron, co-owners of a road construction company.
Little-known fact: Theron is an Occitan name and is pronounced Tronn. Occitan is a language spoken in Occitania, located in the Occitan valleys of Italy, southern France and Monaco, and the Aran valley of Spain.
1987
Charlize, who has grown up on a working farm doing chores like tending livestock, is sent away to the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg after her parents recognise her passion for ballet. She is 12 years old.
Little-known fact: Charlize's ballet teacher, Bernice Lloyd, said Theron had a vivid imagination - to the extent that she had fellow classmates believing she was a princess in a past life.
1991
Charlize's mother fatally shoots her father in an act that is judged to be self-defence. Charlize is 15 years old.
Little-known fact: Charlize's uncle, Danie, was also shot (through the fingers) by Gerda that night.
1992
At 16, Charlize wins a one-year modelling contract in a Rooi Rose magazine competition and moves with her mother to Milan, Italy, after which she joins the Joffrey Ballet School in New York.
Little-known fact: She stopped dancing at 18 when a knee injury put paid to her dancing career.
1994
Charlize buys a one-way ticket to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career and is noticed by Hollywood manager John Crosby throwing a tantrum in a bank.
Little-known fact: Within months, she made her acting debut in a small role in Children of the Corn III (1995)
1997
Charlize scores a break-out role opposite Keanu Reeves in The Devil's Advocate, which also stars Al Pacino.
Little-known fact: In 2001 Charlize had a small role in 15 Minutes in which she played a New York brothel madam who speaks Afrikaans.
2003
Charlize stars in Monster about serial killer Aileen Wuornos and wins an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.
Little-known fact: Charlize gained 18kg to play the role of the killer and immersed herself in Wuornos's letters in preparation.
2005
Charlize stars alongside Sissy Spacek and Frances McDormand in North Country, a movie about a female miner battling sexual harassment. Her performance earns her another Academy Award nomination for best actress.
Little-known fact: In the same year Charlize made multiple guest appearances on the award-winning television comedy Arrested Development.
2011
Charlize shows a different side of her acting talent with the dramatic comedy Young Adult in which she stars with Patton Oswalt. She receives a Golden Globe nod for her portrayal of a struggling writer.
2012
Charlize adopts her first child, Jackson, who identifies as female.
2015
Charlize splits with actor Sean Penn, with whom she has been involved since 2013. She returns to blockbuster territory alongside Tom Hardy in Mad Max: Fury Road, in which she plays formidable desert warrior Furiosa.
Little-known fact: Charlize was directed by Penn in a political drama, The Last Face, in which she starred with Javier Bardem.
2015
Charlize adopts her second child, a little girl, August.
Little-known fact:  Charlize's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood (she received it in 2005).
2017
Charlize is the seventh-highest-paid actress in the world; she mades $14m (R199m) in 2017 alone. She typically makes $10m or more for each movie she stars in.
2019
Netflix will premiere her latest movie, a female-fronted action film, The Old Guard, based on the comic series about a group of immortal mercenaries. She stars in it alongside KiKi Layne.
Little-known fact: Charlize has her own charity, called the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, which is committed to reducing the prevalence of HIV/Aids and sexual violence among young people...