Charlize Theron was born on August 7, 1975 in Benoni, South Africa, meaning her first main language was Afrikaans, not English. During a public interview at a Bafta event, she told audience members: "When I go there I speak a lot. I speak Afrikaans every single day because my mom lives two minutes away from me. I just feel weird speaking English to her, like Im playing a character or something." Theron claims that she learned English by watching American and British television shows that were aired when she was just a child and now she is, of course, fully fluent in both languages.