It’s not that I’m biased because I’m from there,” Charlize Theron says of South Africa. Although for more than two decades the Oscar winner has been one of Hollywood’s most successful actresses and producers, her heart remains in her home country. “It is one of those places that’s truly, truly special,” she says. “You can ask anybody who has ever been. I’ve never not heard somebody talk that way about the country.”
Yet growing up there in the 1980s, amid the onset of the AIDS epidemic—which still grips the country today—was also traumatic for her. “I was around 10 years old, and people around me were dying and scared,” she recalls. “We now know that it was HIV and AIDS, but not a lot of people had that information then. It left an impression on me from a young age that has always been hard to shake.”
After Theron moved to the U.S. in the 1990s, her acting career skyrocketed following breakout roles in 2 Days in the Valley and The Devil’s Advocate. Yet, she says, “I wanted to still be a part of my country in a proactive way, and so I was looking at how I could be of service.”
In 2007 she founded the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Program. Among the organization’s earliest initiatives was the dispatching of mobile health clinics in South Africa, in partnership with Oprah’s Angel Network, that offered HIV prevention programs to young people. These mobile units were a start, but Theron says she quickly realized that they were “a drop in the bucket.” Many factors were driving the AIDS pandemic; she and her colleagues would need to expand CTAOP’s mission to include wider education and health initiatives.
Denne historien er fra November 2023-utgaven av Town & Country US.
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Denne historien er fra November 2023-utgaven av Town & Country US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Jersey, JE ΤΙΜΕ
Nearly 50 years ago a museum opened in Paris.
THE HUNGER GAMES
Two former bons amis grew up in the same expensive suburb and cut their teeth together in the Paris nightclub scene. Then they launched competing restaurant empires, and the gloves came off. Now one of them is facing a suspended prison sentence and a huge fine. Welcome to the city's most delicious grudge match.
HIDDEN in Plain Sight
T&C was invited into the private archives and secret workshops of Paris, to glimpse the treasures that have made this city famous for its style and craftsmanship. It's a reputation worth fighting for.
GUARDIAN of Objects
Laura Kugel is the go-to art dealer for the world's most discerning clients, but her family's Paris wonderland is open to all. Come inside, won't you?
Ecole! Elysée! SCANDALE!
The path to the French White House requires a political education at one of the country's elite universities. As controversy swirls around Sciences Po-class treason, #MeToo à la française, creeping le wokisme-will its grip on power finally slip?
Are There Still Mysteries in Paris?
Surely not, in the world's most visited city! And yet: Why is the Louvre called the Louvre? Why do the upper stories of its 17th-century buildings tilt in? Why do even familiar streets feel so enticing, unknown? One thing is clear: So many of us return because the City of Light is really one of mesmerizing shadows.
High SEAS
How seductive is a cruise on an ultraluxury ship (yes, that's a category) like the new Regent Seven Seas Grandeur? So much so that a 132-day sailing sold out in three hours. It was time to investigate.
The Cruise Cure
One definition of bliss at sea is padding down a ship's hallway from your suite to the spa in a robe and slippers. Here's what awaits.
Only a Day to Spare?
These hotel spas-mini-me's of destination, health retreats punch way above their weight. So, if you're in the neighborhood...
So, Where Do You Ride in Paris?
A fancy equestrian's guide to the best of Gallic galloping.