Originally a model, Charlize Theron lived in Milan and New York before deciding to pursue ballet instead, but a knee injury ended her dreams at 18. Instead she moved to Hollywood, beginning her career in Children of the Corn III and getting her first big role as bombshell Helga Svelgen in 1994’s Three Days in the Valley. After a string of unpromising roles in Mighty Joe Young, The Astronaut’s Wife and Reindeer Games, it was an unpretty, gritty indie turn as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster that swept away critics and won her a Best Actress Academy Award in 2003. Her rougher portrayals in indie movies continue to earn her acclaim, like 2005’s North Country, while her big-budget movies like Aeon Flux have tended to bomb. Recently, Theron was seen on the big screen starring in two 2007 films: In the Valley of Elah and Battle in Seattle.