Theron recalls the day her mother killed her father

London, March 13: Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron recalled a traumatic event in her life - when her mother killed her father. Theron was the only child and grew up on a farm outside Johannesburg in South Africa. On June 21, 1991, the 15-year-old Charlize witnessed her mother Gerda shooting her drunken abusive father in self defence, dailymail.co.uk reports.

Charlize had witnessed the event but had not spoken about it in public before. She recalled: "Everything changed for me the day my father died. Years ago I used to cover it all up and say he died in a car accident. I have now come to terms with it and have been able to move on. This was so long ago in my life and my life, my emotions and the pain are not stuck in this one event." Speaking about her mother, she said: "The greatest gift mum gave me was the encouragement to be individual and find my passion. I watched her put on her high heels and power suit to go into a business meeting with eight guys and she was running the show. My mother inspired me. When you think of that quintessential woman you want to be one day, she`s that for me." IANS