Charlize Theron's Most Dramatic Movie Transformations Over the Years

Happy birthday, Charlize Theron! The A-list actress and mom of two is turning 45 today, and we’re taking a moment to marvel at this beauty’s talent, charisma, and poise — and how incredibly she’s transformed herself over the years for her famous movie roles. It’s not just Theron’s tremendous acting that makes this South African beauty a star; it’s her willingness to let go of her own image and be consumed by whatever character she’s playing, from her buzz cut and combat boots in Mad Max: Fury Road to her eerily on-point Bombshell role as Megyn Kelly. Theron has no attachment to how she thinks she should appear on camera — which makes the actress herself all the more elusive, and all the more compelling in each of her roles.

Look, we get it — when you look like this, it’s hard to worry that the world will forget how beautiful you are, no matter how big a transformation you take on. Most famously, Theron gained 30 pounds, professionally thinned her hair, bleached and shaved her eyebrows, and wore color contacts for her Oscar-winning role as Aileen Wuornos in Monster. And here she is eight weeks after the movie came out, destroying the Golden Globes red carpet and serving old Hollywood glamour. Aileen who?

Theron doesn’t need to be a heartbreaker in every movie she plays, and the range of roles she’s taken on are dark, daring, vulnerable, and inspiring. With recent turns in Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, The Old Guard, and upcoming F9, Theron is slowly cementing herself as an action star too, teaching young girls that they too may one day grow up and be the strongest, most intimidating person in the room. With Hollywood’s long history of treating women as eye candy and nothing more, Theron made it clear from day one that she wasn’t there to sit still and look pretty.

Here are Charlize Theron’s most shocking transformations over the years.

A version of this article was originally published in July 2017.

2 Days in the Valley (1996)

Image Credit: MGM.

She was young, hot and blond à la Fatal Attraction. This role helped put her on the bombshell map.
Celebrity (1998)

Image Credit: Miramax.

Theron went high-fashion model with a sleek pixie cut for this Woody Allen film.
The Cider House Rules (1999)

Image Credit: Miramax.

The romantic lead, Theron went for a feminine bob and red lips in this film.
The Yards (2000)

Image Credit: Miramax.

A big departure from her signature blond, Theron went for dark and blunt in The Yards.
Monster (2003)

Image Credit: Media 8 Entertainment.

Arguably her biggest transformation ever, Monster earned Theron an Oscar for Best Actress.
Head in the Clouds (2004)

Image Credit: Sony Pictures.

Following Monster, Theron reminded us all of her flawlessness in Head in the Clouds.
North Country (2005)

Image Credit: Warner Bros.

In North Country, Theron played a miner who won a landmark sexual harassment lawsuit in 1984.
Aeon Flux (2005)

Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.

The dark hair returns! This time, Theron was all about the sleek badassery for her role as an assassin.
The Road (2009)

Image Credit: Dimension Films.

Charlize Theron took on her classic look for her role as Woman in The Road.
Young Adult (2011)

Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.

Charlize Theron’s perpetual sweatpants, messy hair, and Hello Kitty accessories are visual cues to how stuck she is in her teenage years.
Prometheus (2012)

Image Credit: Twentieth Century Fox,

Theron went sleek and blond for her role as the strict leader in Prometheus.
Snow White & the Huntsman (2012)

Image Credit: Universal Pictures.

In one of her most glamorous roles, Theron played the evil Ravenna.
A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

Image Credit: Bluegrass Films.

Lightening up her résumé with this comedy, Theron complemented her blond locks with a cowboy hat.
Dark Places (2015)

Image Credit: Exclusive Media Group.

Another gritty role for Theron, she went a little rougher around the edges in Dark Places.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Image Credit: Warner Bros.

One of the greatest Theron transformations, she stole the show as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road.
Atomic Blonde (2017)

Image Credit: Focus Features.

For Atomic Blonde, which has been called a female John Wick, Theron has gone super-spy platinum.
Tully (2018)

Image Credit: Focus Features.

Theron put on fifty pounds to play exhausted mom Marlo in this comedic drama about motherhood.
Long Shot (2019)

Image Credit: Lionsgate.

Theron is sleek and stately, not a hair out of place, as presidential candidate Charlotte Field.
Bombshell (2019)

Image Credit: Lionsgate.

The makeup and hair teams worked overboard to transform Theron into Megyn Kelly’s double.
The Old Guard (2020)

Image Credit: Netflix.

Theron opted for jet-black hair and long, wiry muscles as centuries-old warrior Andy.