Читать книгу Charlize - Chris Karsten - Страница 14

The judges of the Rooi Rose Model ’91 competition made their initial selection in June 1991 and compiled a shortlist from the more than 600 entries, based on the photographs that the girls had included. Retha Snyman, organiser of the competition and at the time also long-time organiser of the Miss South Africa beauty pageant, said that, on the photographs they studied, Charlize had a pretty face, but was nothing exceptional. There were more beautiful girls, many with modelling experience, and Charlize was very young. Still, it was decided to shortlist her for a personal interview, after which the finalists would be chosen.

According to Retha, the moment they met the participants on the short list, there had been no further doubt about Charlize. She was one of the youngest, but she had the confidence of someone much older than her fifteen years. When she walked into a room, every eye was on her. The combination of beauty, talent and natural grace was unique. It was clear that she had that special something essential for success.

Twelve days after her father’s death, Charlize heard that she was one of the ten finalists in the competition. Photographs of the finalists – a full-length shot in swimwear and a facial shot – were published on 3 July 1991. Charlize’s hair was long and it was styled wet, as if she had just come out of the water. The caption read: “Lovely Charlize Theron comes from the Benoni district. She is fifteen years old, 1,75 metres tall and her measurements are 84–65–91.”

On Friday evening, 2 August, six days before her sixteenth birthday, Charlize, with no previous modelling experience, was named the winner of the Model ’91 competition during a direct broadcast from Johannesburg. One of her prizes was the chance to take part in the international New Model Today competition in Italy. After she had received her prizes on stage, she asked whether she might say a few words. She thanked everyone with great confidence and charm. Joan Kruger, editor of Rooi Rose at the time, said the audience must have wondered whether Charlize could really be just a standard-eight girl. She made special mention of Charlize’s determination, which was immediately apparent when one spoke to her. She would even stick out her chin slightly, Joan said.

But now this beautiful teenager was on her way to Italy, and there had to be concerns about how vulnerable or strong she would be. And how did her mother feel? To have ambition for one’s daughter is nothing new, but to turn her over to potential predators at such a young age is a different story.

At a hotel in Johannesburg Joan conducted the very first magazine interview ever with Charlize on 3 August 1991, the morning after the crowning. Despite having slept for only fifteen minutes, Charlize arrived as fresh as a spring flower in her chic suit, with Gerda by her side.

As the editor of Rooi Rose, sponsor of the competition, and mother of a teenage daughter herself, Joan felt responsible for the young Charlize. (Her daughter attended ballet classes with Charlize and performed in shows with her.) In 2008 she revealed to me for the first time her serious reservations at the time about the Italian modelling company that was her magazine’s co-sponsor, especially after disturbing reports had been published in the Sunday Times about the pitfalls for young models in Italy.

All the girls were accommodated in apartments in Milan and had to pay their own expenses, so they often ended up deeply in debt and willing to do almost anything for money. Joan said that the South African consul general in Milan had told her personally how a desperate young girl had approached him for help.

During the interview with Charlize, Joan asked her directly: “Bad things are sometimes whispered about the modelling world. Do you think you’re mature enough to handle it?”

Charlize’s confident reply as it appeared in the magazine was not that of a typical fifteen-year-old: “I believe I’ll be able to handle the pressure. Otherwise I would not have entered. I believe in myself. I am positive. The negative things I’ll simply have to deal with. I have a capacity for being happy. My feet are firmly on the ground.”

And Gerda remarked: “After all, Benoni and Milan are just a flight apart.”

Joan remarked that those who knew about the great sadness she was hiding underneath that beautiful smile could only look at her with even greater respect. Gerda’s only comment on the tragedy was a shrug of the shoulders and a laconic: “It happened. We’re both still shaken by it, but we have to look at the future. It’s a baptism of fire for Charlize, but I have faith in my child.”

In August 2008, almost exactly seventeen years after that conversation with the two Theron women, Joan recalled their meeting. She described how she had experienced Charlize as a fifteen-year-old, barely seven weeks after her father’s death, and said that at the time she had had no inkling of how famous the child would one day become. She admitted that she had been worried about Charlize. Awful things had been said about what could await young models in Italy. And more vulnerable than she had been, you could hardly find.

Or so she had thought.

Joan had asked about her father. Charlize and Gerda had looked at each other for a split second, after which Charlize simply replied that her father had died in an accident.

(Their eyes were shiny and mother and daughter looked at each other in perfect understanding, Joan had stated in Rooi Rose at the time.)

Joan said that she had not understood the full significance of that meaningful glance then. Only later did she realise that, far from being defenceless, there was ice in Gerda and Charlize’s veins. After all, everyone at school had believed that she had been a princess in a previous life. Perhaps they had all just been too blind, or too stupid, said Joan, or they had seen only the fifteen-year-old and not the steel inside her.

Charlize had enormous self-discipline and determination, but not one of them had dreamed that she would go so far . . . perhaps as a model, yes, but never as a famous film star.

Even when Charlize went on to win the New Model Today competition in Italy, Joan’s fears were not appeased, though Charlize now had a modelling contract and was out of their hands. She said she later heard that Charlize had acted in an Italian film. But when she saw a portfolio with photos of Charlize in underwear, she was deeply concerned. As a mother herself, it was the last thing she wanted to see. Nowadays models of fourteen or fifteen are a common sight, Joan said, but not in those days. And especially not in a foreign country. She said she often spoke to Charlize’s mother about it, but Gerda said that Charlize was well taken care of. Perhaps she was . . .

Joan said she had agreed at the time to keep the secret of Charles Theron’s shooting and denied that there had been any likelihood of Charlize withdrawing from the competition. She was just too strong, her life carried on.

Later Rooi Rose severed its ties with the Italian modelling sponsor. (An Italian talent scout claimed that he had “discovered” Charlize in 1991.) In 2008, Gianfranco Iobbi was still coming to South Africa in search of young talent, but as far back as 1990, before Charlize was discovered, he had been surrounded by controversy for selecting an eleven-year-old girl from Cape Town to do a modelling course in Italy.

In 1990, Dawn Gardiner, whose daughter Margaret became a successful model and wore the Miss Universe crown, said that Margaret had only left at sixteen. They had been worried, though she was very mature for her age.

According to Lynette Fourie, mother of the successful South African and international top model, Tanya Fourie, such an opportunity is wonderful if a child’s mother can accompany her, but it is not as easy as it may sound. No work is guaranteed and even though a modelling agency might hire her, she still needs to be exposed to clients. She said that in Italy, Tanya had gone from door to door with her portfolio. A young girl must be strong to cope with the realities of modelling, the daily exposure to rejection. The child must have had a stable upbringing and she must have a very special personality.

On 31 August 1993 Iobbi was interviewed by the Johannesburg daily newspaper Beeld and gave guidelines to which young models had to conform if they were to succeed. Being tall or short, having blonde or dark hair, a short or a long nose, were unimportant, he said. What was important is what the industry was looking for at that moment, the right appearance in the right place at the right time.

But what made a model a winner in his opinion?

A successful model was almost like a successful athlete, he maintained. She had to decide whether she wanted to qualify for sprints or long-distance running. She had to have the right physical qualities, and then she had to have the determination to achieve her ideals. And the younger she was, the better her chances.

On 17 May 1994, thirteen-year-old Celesté Fourie of Bloemfontein was chosen as the winner of the New Model Today competition in Johannesburg, and Iobbi commented: “Fresh and innocent young faces with freckles are in. That’s why the current trend is to use younger and younger girls as models. They also have to be tall and slender, with an unspoilt appearance. When I saw Celesté for the first time, I immediately knew: Here is the winner.”

A month later this trend to recruit girls as young as eleven and thirteen as models was discussed by the TV presenter Felicia Mabuza-Suttle on the South African TV programme Top Level. One of the participants was a young girl of Johannesburg, simply known as Tracey, who maintained that she had been raped while modelling in Italy.

Retha Snyman, organiser of the Rooi Rose modelling competition, was also struck by the close bond between Charlize and her mother. But, Retha said, Gerda allowed Charlize to make her own decisions. Charlize had been keen to go, and her mother had given her the freedom to decide for herself. Retha thought that it had been extremely brave of Gerda to allow her daughter to go abroad at such a young age.

Retha also encountered the quality in Charlize that would later be so characteristic of her success: tenacity, a will to succeed in everything she tackled that almost bordered on obstinacy. Retha does not think that every young girl could follow the road Charlize chose to take. She was hardworking and punctual, a perfectionist. If there was a photo shoot, she would arrive ten minutes ahead of time, dressed and ready to work. And Retha remembers how worried she was about the pets she would have to leave behind when she went to Italy.

In the middle of August, Charlize left for Milan. Her first stop, however, was Casablanca in Morocco, where the first round of the New Model Today competition would be taking place. As assistant producer of the South African TV programme Top Billing, Aletta Alberts filmed an insert about Char-lize among 64 other aspiring models from all over the world. She remembers that Charlize was like a little girl, unaffected and very pretty. Her ballet training had made her very graceful. Her mother predicted that she would win.

In Morocco a video insert was filmed for the gala evening at which the New Model Today competition winner would be announced, and here Aletta came face to face with Charlize’s tenacity. Charlize fell off a camel, dislocating her jaw and injuring her thumb. Her jaw had to be realigned and her thumb treated in hospital. She got up out of her hospital bed and immediately asked to go back.

The photo shoot was completed, Aletta remembers. Charlize was motivated and knew exactly what she wanted. And she knew the winning recipe even then: discipline and an attitude of “the show must go on”.

On Friday evening, 20 September 1991, the young Charlize won the international modelling competition in Positano on the Amalfi coast in the south of Italy, where scenes would later be filmed for Under the Tuscan Sun (2003), with Diane Liane. Charlize won a year-long modelling contract, and suddenly her school career was over. Fashion shots of her appeared in magazines in South Africa, Italy and France, and she began to appear in TV commercials.

In November, Gianfranco Iobbi of Studio di Milano announced that Charlize would be playing the role of a German female spy in war-torn Italy in an Italian film.

In December 1991 she returned to South Africa to spend the holidays with her mother, her suitcases bulging with clothes. They spent Christmas in Mauritius. She told Rooi Rose magazine that she had never been so busy in her life. It sounded like an exaggeration, she said, but she had no time for herself. She didn’t even have time to do ballet, which she had always loved so much.

She was excited about her first taste of life as a model for the Italian agency and spoke of the gymnasium that she and the other models had at their disposal to keep themselves fit and supple. She said competition among the models was severe. And she proved again how adaptable she was to new surroundings. Just as it would not take her long to get a grip on the workings of Hollywood, she quickly got the gist of a model’s life. All the models were great friends outside working hours, she said, but when they went to work, they did it alone, because they had to make a good impression on their own. You could never allow prospective clients to suspect that you had a chink in your armour, a soft spot, she said. That gave them a chance to exploit you. Charlize refused to pose topless or in the nude, and the clients just had to accept it.

In this interview in December 1991, the sixteen-year-old Charlize made it perfectly clear that she had her mind set on acting. She did not want to be a model, not even a ballerina, as she later claimed. About her role in the Italian film she said that it was what she really wanted to do. She wanted to taste the fame and glamour of Hollywood. She thought that the opportunities for acting were very limited in South Africa. When you have made a name for yourself in America, the entire world knows about you, she said, and added that she would continue to model for the next few years. As long as she could be close to the world of film.

About the possibility that there might be negative experiences in store for her during the time of her modelling contract, she said that she had grown up fast during the past few months in Italy, and she was no longer so emotional.

It was clear that another strong young Theron woman was finding her feet. And stumbling blocks on her way did not make her vulnerable; it brought out her innate toughness. The tragedy of a father’s death can break a child’s spirit; Charlize found strength in tragedy. Joan Kruger had noticed mother and daughter sharing a fleeting glance. If she had interpreted it as a moment of weakness, it was because no one had suspected the steel under Charlize’s wholesome charm.

And the show had to go on.

After their return from Mauritius in January 1992, a newspaper reported as follows:

“Charlize Theron (16) of Benoni will exchange her school desk for the international fashion world this year. Last year the long-legged schoolgirl won one of the most coveted international modelling competitions in Italy. Charlize snapped up the New Model Today title in September from under the noses of sixty other young models from across the globe.”

In 1992, on the brink of an international modelling career, she wrote a letter to her primary-school alma mater, addressed “to everyone at Putfontein Primary School”. The letter, translated into English, reads as follows:

In 1981 I walked into my grade-one class for the first time. Proudly my mother stood next to me and said: “This is your new teacher and all your new friends.” But all I kept telling her was not to forget to fetch me at twelve. To be honest, in the end I enjoyed the day so much that my teacher, whom I called “tannie” [auntie] the entire time, had to come and tell me that my mother was waiting for me. That day was only one of the numerous wonderful days I spent at Putfontein.

I definitely believe in a future for everyone, that is probably why I have such faith in the youth of SA and the entire world. I hope one day everyone will be able to see how important children are, and give them a good education and fill them with knowledge. I can say from my own experience that the seven years of primary school are probably the most important of a child’s growing-up years. There must be teamwork between parents and school to develop good discipline and moral values. The child and his or her friends will continue with the mischief that has been part of their lives since they were very young. I was always too talkative, as every staff member can tell you and, of course, I had way too much energy.

My school work was done with the help of friendly and highly qualified staff. These teachers built a large part of my personality, and I am definitely responsible for a few of the grey hairs they acquired during the years I spent there. I thank my Saviour for the wonderful people they are.

Since I was young I have had a great love of many things, probably too many, but for this I thank my mother. Ballet, sport, music and drama. You name it, and I did it. All these things helped me to get where I am today. I now spend most of my time overseas, where I do modelling and television work for months on end, something I enjoy thoroughly. It is sometimes difficult to be far from home but it’s made easier by having a mom who raised me with love, and who always comforted me with the words: “Remember, I believe in you and stand by you, no matter how far you are from me; don’t forget, I love you very much!” Parents, love your children, they are our future.

To all the learners: Your lives lie ahead of you, make certain that you live each day fully, with true meaning and happiness. Enjoy the good and avoid the bad, be grateful and always be humble. It is wonderful to be young, so enjoy every moment and never stop believing in your dream!

Much love, Charlize Theron.

Conspicuous in this letter, and also in the others kept by her grandmother, are Charlize’s repeated declarations of love (“Remember I love you very very much” – to her grandmother), her reference to her mother, who had always assured her of her love (“I love you very much”), her insistence that parents should love their children. This echoes the habit of Bettie’s own children, even as adults, to end every conversation with “I love you, Mommy.”

This letter is still displayed on a board at the school in honour of Charlize. It is set among primary-school class photos, a large, autographed portrait and a photograph of her, holding her Oscar. Gert Kachelhoffer, who later became headmaster of Putfontein Primary School, says that the letter serves as an inspiration to the pupils. The school is so proud of their former pupil that articles about her life are often used as comprehension tests in class.

True to the advice she gave to the children of Putfontein Primary, Charlize herself decided at a young age never to stop believing in her dreams. These were not the pipe dreams that usually fill the heads of young people. In 1992, when she left for her modelling contract in Italy, she had her eyes on a specific dream.

There has often been speculation about whether Charlize would have become a full-time model at sixteen if her father had still been alive. The question is academic, but in 2008 she expressed the following opinion in GQ: “If circumstances were different maybe I could have waited, finished high school. But this was my chance, my only chance.”

She had understood at the time that those shots fired in her parental home had changed everything irrevocably. Her childish innocence was gone, just like her father. Reality had taken the place of fantasy. She could not delay, she had to grab hold of her dream and live it.