Charlize Theron recalls night her mother SHOT father dead: 'He was going to kill us'

Oscar-winning actor Charlize Theron opened up like never before about the night her mother shot her father after he allegedly tried to kill them.


In a recent interview with The New York Times, published on Saturday, the actress spoke candidly about the traumatic incident. Opening up about the reason behind telling her story, she said, "I think these things should be talked about because it makes other people not feel alone. When this happened to us, I thought we were the only people. I’m not haunted by this stuff anymore."

Charlize Theron recalls shooting incident

Theron, now 50, recalled the incident that occured when she was just 15. She said that her mother, Gerda Jacoba Aletta Martiz, had returned home after visiting a relative when tensions with her father, Charles Theron, escalated. Narrating the chain of events that led to the shooting at her home, she said that she “just knew something bad was going to happen.”

Charlize Theron says father was going to kill them

According to Theron, her father “broke into the house,” shooting “through the steel doors to get in, making it very clear that he was going to kill us.”




“The messaging was very clear: ‘I’m going to kill you tonight. You think I can’t come into this door? Watch me. I’m going to go to the safe. I’m going to get the shotgun,’” she said.

Charlize Theron recalls her mother shooting father dead

The actor also described the moment her mother responded, stating that both her father and another man present were shot. “The brother ran down the hallway, and she shot one bullet down the hallway that ricocheted seven times and shot him in the hand. It’s stuff you can’t explain. And then she followed my father, who was by then opening the safe to get more weapons out, and she shot him.”

Authorities ultimately ruled the shooting as an act of self-defence, and Gerda Martiz faced no charges.

Following the shooting, Theron said that her mother sent her to school the next morning. "She was just like, ‘We’re going to move on.’ Not necessarily the healthiest thing, but it worked for us."Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”