She witnessed her mom killing her abusive father – she later moved to Hollywood and became an Oscar-winning actress

Her classmates mocked everything from her glasses to her hairstyle and clothes.

“I got a lot of the mean girl stuff from the ages of 7 to 12,” Theron said. “I was pretty much a mess in primary school.”

Fortunately, she says those experiences became easier once she reached high school, where she gradually grew more confident and less affected by other people’s opinions.

Far more difficult than school, however, was life at home.

Theron’s father struggled with alcoholism, and she has described him as a man who could be loving and funny but whose addiction brought volatility into their household. Although she has said he never physically abused her, she has spoken about the emotional impact of living with an alcoholic parent and the verbal abuse that often accompanied his drinking.

Everything changed forever on June 21, 1991.

Charlize was just 15 years old when her father returned home intoxicated and enraged. Earlier that evening, a family member had called to warn them that he appeared especially agitated. Theron later said she instinctively felt something terrible was about to happen.

As her father grew increasingly violent, Charlize and her mother, Gerda, retreated to a bedroom and pushed against the door, trying to keep him from entering.

“He took a step back and just shot through the door three times,” Theron later recalled.

Miraculously, none of the bullets struck either of them.