Charlize Theron talks about her ‘badass’ mother in Netflix’s ‘Into the Fire’ (exclusive)

When Cathy Terkanian gave her baby up for adoption in 1974 at the age of 17, it was one of the most painful things she ever had to do.

The 66-year-old nurse, who is now retired, says she made the difficult decision because she believed it would give her little girl, whom she named Alexis, a better life.

Any hopes and dreams she had for Alexis were shattered in 2010 when officials contacted her and asked for a DNA sample to determine if the remains found in Wisconsin were those of her daughter.

She was shocked to learn that Alexis, who was renamed Aundria Bowman by her adoptive parents Dennis and Brenda Bowman of Hamilton, Michigan, had been missing since 1989, when she was just 14 years old.

So began her quest to find out what happened to Alexis, no matter what. “I saw the fire and I went right into it,” she says in the trailer.

The more Terkanian learned about her daughter's life, the stronger her gut feeling became that something had gone terribly wrong.

“There's the story they tell you,” Terkanian says in the trailer. “And then there's the probable story.”

She adds: “I could just feel it in my bones.”

Terkanian's ten-year search for the shocking truth about her daughter is detailed in the gripping new two-part Netflix documentary. Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter. The documentary is currently streaming. A trailer is shown below.

The two-part series, which will be released on Thursday, September 12, is produced by Oscar winner Charlize Theron and directed by Ryan White, the director of the Emmy-nominated 2023 Netflix documentary about Pamela Anderson. Pamela: A love story.

PEOPLE spoke to Theron via email about how she learned about Terkanian, how she began making a documentary about her tireless search for justice and what she hopes to achieve by telling Terkanian's heartbreaking story.

How did you hear about Cathy Terkanian?

I found Nile Cappello’s fantastic article in The Atavist as I scrolled through Apple News on my phone every night. The title and tagline caught my attention and when I started reading it, I was completely blown away. I immediately sent it to my partners at my production company and said, “We have to do this.” The next day, we started.

What fascinated you about Cathy’s incredible story?

Her determination, resilience and honestly how badass she was! She never let anyone say no to her, trusted her instincts and is a true embodiment of the power of motherhood.

Tell me how you came to tell this story to Ryan White and his team.

When we got the article, we made a shortlist of filmmakers we wanted to work with. And when I say “short,” it was pretty much just Ryan! We've been fans of his for years, so we took a chance and sent the article to his team. And thankfully, he and his producing partner Jessica Hargrave recognized the potential we saw in the story.

Why did you want to make a documentary about it?

There are so many true crime stories out there these days, and believe me, I love them, but this felt different. A story that explored the complexities of adoption, motherhood, and starting a family. You don't see that often in the genre – it felt fresh and much needed.

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How would you describe Cathy?

I think Sue Engweiler summed it up pretty well in our doc – she's a pit bull with lipstick! Tough and brave, yet kind and motherly. With Cathy you really get the best of both worlds.

Was making the documentary emotional for you in any way?

Absolutely. I had tears in my eyes at every cut. And not just at the obviously emotional moments, but Ryan's filmmaking does an incredible job of evoking so many different emotions. Whether it's a beautiful still of Cathy or a scene with Aundria's high school friends who had her back, every time I see it I'm surprised at which part really touches me.

What do you hope the audience will take away from Into the fire?

I hope they feel touched by Cathy's story and inspired by her resilience. And if this film can inspire people to take more action when they see injustice and prevent these things from happening in the first place, that would be incredible.

Do you plan to make more documentaries?

Much more! Anyone who knows me knows that I'm obsessed with documentaries and our production company Secret Menu is about to get heavily involved in that space. We have a handful of projects in early development right now and a really exciting one about to start shooting that we'll be announcing shortly!

Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter is currently streaming on Netflix.