Charlize comes home triumphant
2004-03-06 22:27
Johannesburg - Charlize Theron has landed to a red carpet welcome after becoming the first African to win the Best Actress Oscar award.
The glamorous 28-year-old blonde and her entourage flew in free on national carrier South African Airways (SAA), just the start of many honours due to come the way of the country's "golden girl".
SAA deputy chief executive Oyama Mabandla said after she arrived in Johannesburg, she was "presented with the highest honours SAA accords its passengers: The Platinum Elect Card - reserved for world leaders, cabinet ministers and a select group of top clients".
Meeting Mbeki and Mandela
Theron is due to meet President Thabo Mbeki on Monday and is also scheduled to be feted by Nelson Mandela during her triumphant return home.
The former dancer, who hails from Benoni, east of Johannesburg, won the Oscar for her role in Monster, for which she embarked on a doughnut diet to put on 14kg to portray a disturbed real-life American prostitute who turned serial killer.
National icon
Her victory has turned her into a national icon and in just a week she has become the role model for many young South Africans.
Mbeki said Theron, who as a teenager witnessed her mother shoot her father dead in self-defence, said her life represented "a grand metaphor of South Africa's move from agony to achievement".
Meanwhile, a Johannesburg-based jeweller has named a newly discovered semi-precious stone after her.
Steven Fine, a marketing manager for the jeweller, said the "Star of Charlize" will be presented to Theron during her stay here.
The new variety of amazonite with a quartz grain is being turned into jewellery and once cut and polished, will be aquamarine-turquoise with fine grey-blue stripes.