‘It’s Insane’: Charlize Theron on Why Her Mom Shot Her DadIshika MishraMon, April 20, 2026 at 2:25 PM UTC

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Disclaimer: This article discusses domestic violence and death. Reader discretion is advised.

Charlize Theron recently opened up about the most painful night of her childhood related to her mother, admitting why the actor refuses to treat it like a secret. In a raw interview with The New York Times, the Oscar winner, now 50, reflected on the 1991 incident in which her mother, Gerda Jacoba Aletta Martiz, fatally shot Theron’s father, Charles Theron, in what was later ruled self-defense. Theron said she once believed no one else lived through experiences like hers, and she wants that to change.

Charlize Theron on traumatic family incident: ‘These things should be talked about’

Speaking to The New York Times about why her mother shot her dad, Charlize Theron said, “I never knew about a story like that. When this happened to us, I thought we were the only people.” However, she admitted it does not terrify her anymore.

Theron said that the night began after she and her mother went to a movie and then stopped by her uncle’s home. She recalled upsetting her father when she ran inside to use the bathroom without greeting everyone first, because she “had to pee really badly” — but respect for elders mattered deeply in their culture. And so, her father “just spiraled.”

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Theron, who was 15 back then, said, “I went into my room, I turned my lights off, and I was scared,” describing how she “knew something bad was going to happen” from the way he drove into the driveway.

Theron said her father “broke into the house,” shooting “through the steel doors to get in,” and threatening “that he was going to kill us.” She recalled her mother going to get her gun and returning to her bedroom, where “The two of us were holding the door with our bodies because there wasn’t a lock on it,” saying it was “crazy” that “Not one bullet hit us.”

Afterward, Theron said her mother “sent me to school,” and “She was just like, ‘We’re going to move on.’” Gerda faced no charges, and the shooting was ruled self-defense.

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