Charlize Theron has spoken about her struggle to heal after her mother fatally shot her alcoholic father in self-defence when she was just 15.
The actress, 49, spoke about the tragedy on the latest episode of Call Her Daddy with Alex Cooper, saying it wasn’t until her late thirties that she was able to “shake off the weight” of the experience.
Charles Theron drunkenly threatened her and her mother, Gerda, with a gun in 1991. He fired three times and miraculously missed his wife and daughter, but taking no chances Gerda grabbed her handgun and killed her now-late husband.
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Gerda faced no charges, as the shooting was ruled as self-defence.
Reflecting on growing up with an alcoholic father, the actress explained: “It was just years and years of this consistent… walking into the house, waking up and not knowing what I was walking into.
“That’s what a lot of people say about living with an alcoholic.”
Theron described her day-to-day life back then as “living at their whim”.
“Whatever they’re feeling that day or wherever they are, that’s what is going to be the vibe and the energy of the house,” she added.
“And that inconsistency I think was what affected me way more than just that one night.”
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Theron says that while everyone focuses on that one tragic night, this is certainly not an isolated incident.
“I wish that I could say it was only a one time occasion,” she continued. “This is something that happens in homes around the world more often than we want to admit.”
Theron said it took her “well into my late thirties to really be able to look at that and to actually shake off the weight that I felt that I carried for my father, for my mother”.
Theron explained after finding fame she didn’t share her experience because she didn’t want to hurt her mother’s feelings, but also needed to explain “her truth” and didn’t “want to have shame about it anymore.”
“My father was an alcoholic. He wasn’t healthy, and my mother stepped up and protected me,” she said.
“If that happened to me with my children today, I can tell you right now I would do the same thing.
“It doesn’t make it less unfortunate… it was a one night event in my life, I am still dealing with the everyday consistency of a lot of damage that I think I experienced as a young person.”
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Theron shared more details about the tragedy during an interview with NPR in 2019.
“My father was so drunk that he shouldn’t have been able to walk when he came into the house with a gun,” she said.
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“My [mother] and I were in my bedroom leaning against the door because he was trying to push through the door.
“So both of us were leaning against the door from the inside to have him not be able to push through. He took a step back and just shot through the door three times.
“None of the bullets ever hit us, which is just a miracle. But in self-defence, she ended the threat.”
Theron is now a proud single mother to two children; she adopted her daughter Jackson in 2012 and her daughter August in 2015.
If you or someone you know needs help, contact the National Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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