Oscar-Winner ‘Not Ashamed' To Talk About Her Mother Killing Her Father

Charlize Theron is not afraid of opening up the darkest chapter of her life that affected her most as a child. The South African actress says she's "not ashamed" to talk about the moment her mother shot and killed her father in self-defense. The incident took place in June 1991, when her father tried to harm Theron and her mother.

Charlize grew up on a farm near Johannesburg in South Africa with her parents. She described her dad as a "very sick man" and living with an alcoholic was a "hopeless situation".

Charles, who was an alcoholic, had come home drunk with a gun that he fired through a door at Charlize and her mother before Maritz retrieved a handgun and fatally shot him in an incident that was ruled out as self-defense by the authorities.

Charlize says the violence she experienced within her family is something that she shares with many people. She added, "The more we talk about these things, the more we realize we are not alone in any of it."

The Oscar-winner also spoke about the time a film director wrongly touched her during the audition at his home. She said she was the one who said sorry to him before leaving.

The theme of sexual harassment is one that she acts in her latest film Bombshell - in which she plays a real TV presenter called Megyn Kelly.

She said the film explores the "grey area of sexual harassment". "It's not always physical assault. It's not always rape," she added.

"There's psychological harm that happens for women in the everyday casualness of language, touch or threat of losing your job."