Spectacular welcome promised
2004-03-02 12:34
Johannesburg - South Africa's "golden girl" Charlize Theron hogged media headlines for a second day on Tuesday with newspapers promising a monumental welcome for the country's - and Africa's - first Best Actress Oscar winner.
President Thabo Mbeki, who said Theron was "pure gold," will roll out the red carpet for her when she returns next week, while South Africa's most famous son Nelson Mandela, will also meet her, media reports said.
Mbeki's spokesperson Bheki Khumalo said Theron would be received at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, adding: "It is becoming something of a tradition for the government to honour the great achievements of South Africans."
Mandela's spokesperson Zelda la Grange added: "Mr Mandela was overjoyed - however not surprised - to learn that Charlize won the title."
One paper, The Star, urged Theron to tie the marital knot in her home country.
In a story headlined "How about a wedding in SA, Charlize?", the daily asked the Oscar winner to marry her fiancé, Irish actor Stuart Townsend, in South Africa which "would be the perfect venue for a low-profile wedding.
"After all, the only thing that would make South Africans happier than having an Oscar winner is having an Oscar winner marry on home soil," The Star said, adding that "Madiba (Mandela's clan name) could act as the father of the bride."
As a child, Theron saw her mother shoot her drunken father dead in self-defence.
The Citizen thanked Theron for mentioning her home country in her acceptance speech.
"Her gushing reclamation of her roots has put this country on the artistic map in spectacular fashion," an editorial said.
"When Charlize brings her statuette here next week the country must be sure to give her a fitting welcome," it said. "After all she's the best actress in the world right now."
The Pretoria News declared: "Charlize owns the silver screen".
The 28-year-old stunner won the Oscar for her role in Monster in which she played a disturbed real-life American prostitute who turned serial killer.
Theron used heavy make-up, liquid resin and embarked on a doughnut diet to put on 14kg for her portrayal of Aileen Wuornos in Patty Jenkins' low-budget thriller.
Wuornos, a victim of abuse, was executed in Florida in 2002 after her lesbian lover turned her in.