South Africa Praises Theron

South African President Thabo Mbeki has led his country's euphoria as Charlize Theron became the first African to win an Oscar for best actress.

Mbeki said she embodied "South Africa's move from agony to achievement".

"No less than the Nobel prizes for peace and literature that the free South Africa has previously taken from the honours-shelves of the world, the award of the best actress Oscar to Charlize Theron is a triumph of new South African opportunity," he eulogised.

Mbeki said the 28-year-old blonde stunner - who gained two stones (14kg) to portray a disturbed real-life American prostitute turned serial killer in Monster - had forsaken her looks for her profession.

He said: "Theron, who is able to command all of the cosmetic glamour and hype that naturally go with Hollywood stardom, has fittingly won this great prize for her performance...that demonstrates her far more profound qualities."

"Ms Theron, in her own personal life, represents a grand metaphor of South Africa's move from agony to achievement."

Charlene Berger, the principal of Theron's school, said: "We're very proud of her, we're all very excited."

And the mayor of the Ekukhuleni municipality of Benoni, the Johannesburg suburb where Theron grew up, said: "This small girl from Benoni has done it again."

But there's resentment, too, in Theron's hometown the film's distributor has deemed Monster too "upmarket" for Benoni, saying: "It caters for a particular niche."