
Theron came to international prominence in the 1990s by playing the leading lady in the Hollywood films
The Devil's Advocate (1997),
Mighty Joe Young (1998), and
The Cider House Rules (1999). In 2003, she received critical acclaim for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in
Monster, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first South African to win an Oscar in an acting category