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LOS ANGELES - Charlize Theron seems to have it all: beauty, brains, a high-earning Hollywood career and an Oscar in her hands. Now, the actress has added another coveted description: Sexiest Woman Alive.
Men's magazine Esquire on Wednesday bestowed its annual honor on the South African actress who
is currently starring in war film, In the Valley of Elah.
"She combines unbelievable beauty with a smart mind and this attitude like she's almost one of the guys - like you could hang out and have a beer with - and all of that adds up to sexy," said Esquire articles editor Ryan D'Agostino.
In its November issue, which hits newsstands on October 16, Theron, 32, talks about her new movie, politics, being from South Africa and her feelings about the United States, where she recently earned dual citizenship.
The long-legged, blonde beauty also shows a penchant for drinking, cussing and smoking, and she tears up when talking about the recent death of her dog.
The issue annually is one of Esquire's most widely read, and it generates debate among readers, D'Agostino said.
He added that every year the Sexiest Woman exudes some sense of individuality, and that there is no set of criteria or rules by which the magazine's editors, writers and other contributors pick the titleholder.
D'Agostino did say the magazine likes to choose someone based on how current they are in pop culture.
After taking time off following 2005 film North Country, Theron is back with two movies, Elah and Battle in Seattle, this year and has several others set for release next year and beyond.
Theron follows a long line of actresses and others claiming the Sexiest Woman title at the 74 year-old magazine. Last year's titleholder was Scarlett Johansson and the year before her, Jessica Biel.
Unlike the others Theron has won the Oscar, the world's top film award, for her role playing a lesbian serial killer in 2003 film, Monster.
She has also shown a range of talent, working in serious dramas like The Cider House Rules, thrillers such as The Italian Job and special-effects filled AEon Flux.
Beyond work, the actress is involved in charitable causes working in her home country, for instance, to put mobile health clinics in rural areas where access to care is limited.
And sorry men, this year's Sexiest Woman is taken. Theron's boyfriend is actor Stuart Townsend.
- REUTERS