Theron came to international prominence in the 1990s by playing the leading lady in the Hollywood film, The Devil's Advocate (1997)
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Theron starred as a safe and vault technician in the 2003 heist film The Italian Job, the film was a box office success, grossing US$176 million worldwide.
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In Monster (2003), Theron portrayed serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a former prostitute who was executed in Florida in 2002 for killing six men.
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For her portrayal, Theron was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Golden Globe Award.
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After wining an Oscar for Best Actress, she was listed 7th in the list of highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, earning up to US$10 million for a film.
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Since the early 2000s, Theron has ventured into film production with her company Denver and Delilah Productions.
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For her voice-over work in the Aeon Flux video game, she received a Spike Video Game Award for Best Performance by a Human Female.
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The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) was created in 2007 by Theron, who the following year was named a UN Messenger of Peace.
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In 2008, Theron was named the Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year, and was asked to be a UN Messenger of Peace.