UNITED NATIONS, Nov 15: Oscar-winning South African-born actress Charlize Theron was named on Friday as a United Nations messenger of peace, with a special focus on ending violence against women.

Messengers of peace, of which there will now be 10, are celebrities mainly from the fields of film, literature and sport who are charged with promoting UN activities and ideals through public appearances and media contacts.

Theron, 33, won an Academy Award for her role in the 2003 movie “Monster,” in which she played serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who came from a background of violence and abuse and was executed in Florida in 2002.

In the 2005 film, “North Country” she played a woman who fights back against sexual harassment. She has been in dramas like “The Cider House Rules,” thrillers such as “The Italian Job” and the special-effects filled “AEon Flux.”

Theron, named by Esquire magazine last year as its “Sexiest Woman Alive,” has also been involved in charitable mobile health clinics in rural areas.

—Reuters