CHARLIZE THERON’S MOVIE CAREER, JFK Jr. took a chance on Charlize Theron when she was an unknown starlet, a close personal and professional friend of the late political scion has revealed.
Matt Berman told the New York Post that he put the 5ft 10in blonde on the front of his now defunct magazine, George, in 1998 long before she was a household name. Mr Berman served as creative director for the publication at the time.
Previous cover stars of the monthly celebrity-cum-political glossy included Cindy Crawford and George Clooney but JFK Jr. apparently opted for the then 23-year-old Ms Theron because 'he wanted something unusual that people hadn’t seen before.
Indeed, even photographer Ellen von Unwerth who was assigned to the job, apparently had no idea who she was either.
Mr Berman says Meryl Poster - the then head of production at Miramax Films - informed JFK Jr. about Ms Theron. The aspiring actress was described as a 'beautiful model.'
John just knew all these people. He was really ahead of his time,' Mr Berman added. A short-haired Ms Theron appeared on the August 1998 issue of George dressed in a cleavage-enhancing corset and a navy blue Admiral's Hat with strings of pearls wrapped around her neck.
Black eyeliner, rouged lips and a beauty spot completed her 'sexy Martha Washington' transformation. A lipstick kiss above her left breast was also added for 'effect'.
The cover line read: 'American Dream: Charlize Theron's rise from milkmaid to movie star.' Recalling the photo shoot Mr Berman said: 'We picked Charlize up at her apartment. This fun girl just jumps in the van . . . we drove to Central Park [and shot her].'
Ms Theron, an only child, from Benoni, South Africa, started her career in front of the camera aged 16 after winning a local model contest.
The win came the same year she witnessed her mother, Gerda Maritz, killing her alcoholic father Charles in self-defence.
Modeling jobs took her to Europe and at 19, she bought a one-way ticked to LA which is when acting career started to develop.
When she fronted George she had starred in a few box office successes including The Devil's Advocate, but was still relatively unknown.
However, a year after her debut in JFK Jr.'s magazine she landed covers with Vanity Fair and Playboy, and scored a run of career-making movie roles.
In 2013 she was revealed as Hollywood's sixth highest paid actress cashing in a tidy $15million.
George, which was founded in September 1995, was bought out by Hachette Filipacchi Magazines in 1999 after JFK Jr. was killed in an air crash with his wife, Carolyn, and sister-in-law.
The magazine continued for over a year but with falling advertising sales finally ceased publication in early 2001.
Mr Berman, who worked at George from day one and is now the creative director for Lucky Brand, says he still misses his former boss.
'It was hard to be intimidated by John,' he says. 'He had this informality about him that put people at ease.
'At a party, he’d find the shyest person in the room, go up to them and ask them something easy to answer. He would find a way to relate to whomever was standing in front of him.'
He reveals more moments from their time together in his memoir JFK Jr., George, & Me, released in April.
Matt Berman told the New York Post that he put the 5ft 10in blonde on the front of his now defunct magazine, George, in 1998 long before she was a household name. Mr Berman served as creative director for the publication at the time.
Previous cover stars of the monthly celebrity-cum-political glossy included Cindy Crawford and George Clooney but JFK Jr. apparently opted for the then 23-year-old Ms Theron because 'he wanted something unusual that people hadn’t seen before.
Indeed, even photographer Ellen von Unwerth who was assigned to the job, apparently had no idea who she was either.
Mr Berman says Meryl Poster - the then head of production at Miramax Films - informed JFK Jr. about Ms Theron. The aspiring actress was described as a 'beautiful model.'
John just knew all these people. He was really ahead of his time,' Mr Berman added. A short-haired Ms Theron appeared on the August 1998 issue of George dressed in a cleavage-enhancing corset and a navy blue Admiral's Hat with strings of pearls wrapped around her neck.
Black eyeliner, rouged lips and a beauty spot completed her 'sexy Martha Washington' transformation. A lipstick kiss above her left breast was also added for 'effect'.
The cover line read: 'American Dream: Charlize Theron's rise from milkmaid to movie star.' Recalling the photo shoot Mr Berman said: 'We picked Charlize up at her apartment. This fun girl just jumps in the van . . . we drove to Central Park [and shot her].'
Ms Theron, an only child, from Benoni, South Africa, started her career in front of the camera aged 16 after winning a local model contest.
The win came the same year she witnessed her mother, Gerda Maritz, killing her alcoholic father Charles in self-defence.
Modeling jobs took her to Europe and at 19, she bought a one-way ticked to LA which is when acting career started to develop.
When she fronted George she had starred in a few box office successes including The Devil's Advocate, but was still relatively unknown.
However, a year after her debut in JFK Jr.'s magazine she landed covers with Vanity Fair and Playboy, and scored a run of career-making movie roles.
In 2013 she was revealed as Hollywood's sixth highest paid actress cashing in a tidy $15million.
George, which was founded in September 1995, was bought out by Hachette Filipacchi Magazines in 1999 after JFK Jr. was killed in an air crash with his wife, Carolyn, and sister-in-law.
The magazine continued for over a year but with falling advertising sales finally ceased publication in early 2001.
Mr Berman, who worked at George from day one and is now the creative director for Lucky Brand, says he still misses his former boss.
'It was hard to be intimidated by John,' he says. 'He had this informality about him that put people at ease.
'At a party, he’d find the shyest person in the room, go up to them and ask them something easy to answer. He would find a way to relate to whomever was standing in front of him.'
He reveals more moments from their time together in his memoir JFK Jr., George, & Me, released in April.
