Oscar Winner Says She Was Berated for 15 Hours on Photo Shoot

Charlize Theron, 50, detailed her mistreatment by an industry professional during the early days of her Hollywood career.

The South African-born Mad Max: Fury Road star worked as a model before her break into acting in the ’90s. Before moving to the U.S., Theron built out her portfolio in Milan for a year as a teenager.

“I told my daughters the other day about a job I had,” she told AnOther, referring to her two children, Jackson, 12, and August, 9.

“I remember this photographer yelling at me, verbally abusing me for like 15 hours on a shoot,” Theron recalled, saying she did not “feel human” during the experience.

Although it’s been decades since Theron’s early modeling career, she said incidents like these aren’t uncommon—even today.

“It still happens. I recently worked with a photographer who would aggressively walk up to me and put his hands on me, tying my shirt,” Theron said. “I had to say something.”

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While she acknowledges that the industry has evolved, she believes meaningful change is unfolding far too slowly.

“The broad strokes are that it’s so incremental. I think that’s the most frustrating thing about it for women. It’s four steps forward and 20 steps back, but we’ve come a long way since I started, for sure.”

Theron’s career in Hollywood has spanned three decades. She won her first Oscar at 28 for her role as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster.

“You had to squeeze your way in,” she said of her early career. “And really, the only way to get in there was to be the trophy, sexy person.”

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“The alternative for me was to go back to South Africa, and I didn’t know what I was going to do,” Theron said, recalling the crossroads she faced in her early career.

“My parents had a road-construction company. Was I really going to do that?”

She recently made an appearance in the city when she gave a speech at the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games at the San Siro Stadium.

Theron, one of Hollywood’s most prominent advocates for equality and peace, was appointed United Nations Messenger of Peace after founding the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project in 2007.

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In her speech, she shared a “message of peace” from her “beloved countryman,” Nelson Mandela.

“Peace is not just the absence of conflict. Peace is the creation of an environment where all can flourish, regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, class, caste, or any other social markers of difference,” she quoted Mandela.

Adding, “Today, this message seems more relevant than ever. So let these Games be more than just sport. Let them be a reminder of our common humanity, our respect for one another, and a resounding call for peace everywhere.”