Throughout her career, Charlize Theron has embodied a number of unforgettable characters that have left a mark on viewers around the world, garnering a number of awards including a coveted Oscar. However, despite her fame and worldwide recognition of her, there has been one lingering element of her identity that has often been the subject of debate: the pronunciation of her name.
In a home video, Theron has addressed this issue head on to make it clear what the correct pronunciation of her first and last name is. And the way she pronounces it, it seems like everyone has been saying it wrong for a long time.
In this way, the award-winning actress has clarified that her name is pronounced as Shar-Lees Ther-ruhn in the Afrikaans language. Breaking down the pronunciation, Shar-Lees may sound somewhat familiar to English speakers, as she is similar to the standard pronunciation of Charlize in English. The use of sh at the beginning provides a softness and fluidity that differs from the harsher pronunciation of ch often used in variant English, but also used in Spain.
The surname, Ther-ruhn, also has interesting nuances. Here, the th is pronounced soft and strong in the e that follows. The last syllable ruhn sounds like run in English, but with a more relaxed vowel. So it is not worth pronouncing it in Spanish as if it were Therón.
This guide is not an isolated event in his career. The South African actress has kindly and respectfully corrected the pronunciation of her name numerous times in interviews and public appearances. However, despite her best efforts, it seems that few people manage to come up with the correct pronunciation.
