In '' Monster '' ( 2003 ) , Theron portrayed serial killer Aileen Wuornos , a former prostitute who was executed in Florida in 2002 for killing six men ( she was not tried for a seventh murder ) in the late 1980s and early 1990s ; film critic Roger Ebert felt that Theron gave " one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema " . For her portrayal , she was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 76th Academy Awards in February 2004 , as well as the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Golden Globe Award . She is the first South African to win an Oscar for Best Actress . The Oscar win pushed her to '' The Hollywood Reporter 's '' 2006 list of highest-paid actresses in Hollywood , earning up to US$ 10 million for a film ; she ranked seventh . '' AskMen '' also named her the number one most desirable woman of 2003
76th Academy Awards
76th Academy Awards
Charlize Theron