Charlize Theron spoke openly about the night her mother killed her father in self-defense.
In an interview with NPR, the actress recounted the events of June 1991 when her father, Charles Theron, threatened her mother, Gerda. Charlize was 15 at the time.
"Dad was so drunk he couldn't walk when he got home with a gun in his hand," Charlize said. "Mom and I were in the bedroom pressing on the door because he insisted on going in."
She continued: ?We were both holding the door shut so that he would not enter. Dad took a few steps back and shot the door three times. "
?None of the bullets caught us. It was a miracle, ?the actress added.
To save herself and her daughter, Gerda shot her husband.
"To protect herself, she put an end to the threat," Charlize said. For this reason, her mother was neither charged nor convicted by law.
The scary event marked Charlize's life, which said, "Domestic violence, this kind of domestic violence, is something that I and many others have experienced."
"I'm not ashamed to talk about it because I think the more we talk about such topics, the clearer it becomes that we're not the only ones suffering. For me, this event best defines what it is like to grow up from a dependent and what addiction does to someone. ?
Charlize described her father as "a sick man" and "an alcoholic."
"I only knew him as an alcoholic," she said. ?It was a hopeless situation. Our family had stuck with him [...] We were a very unhealthy family, and I think what happened was, it signaled to us. Of course, I wish it had never happened that night, but unfortunately, such situations are inevitable when it does not solve the root problem. "
Charlize has been open about her past, about her father's murder, and the impact her mother has had on her life.
In October 2018, she thanked Gerda for making her a strong woman. "I'm lucky to have a mom who taught me to be strong and brave," she said at an Elle event.
"I don't know what I would have done without her."
