Halle Maria Berry was born on August 14, 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio. She is an Emmy, Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning American actress and former fashion model and beauty queen. In 2002, Berry won Best Actress at the Academy Awards for her role in Monster's Ball.

Biography

Early Life And Career

Berry's parents selected her first name from that of Halle's Department Store, which was then a local landmark in her birthplace of Cleveland, Ohio. She is the daughter of Judith Ann Hawkins, a Liverpudlian, and Jerome J. Berry, who was African American. Berry's maternal grandmother, Nellie Dicken, was born in Sawley, Derbyshire, England, while her maternal grandfather, Earl Ellsworth Hawkins, was born in Ohio. Berry's parents divorced when she was 4 years old and she subsequently was raised by her mother, a psychiatric nurse. Her father was an orderly in the same psychiatric ward where her mother worked. Berry has an older sister, Heidi who was born seven years before her.It was at this age that Halle was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes, which dampened her family life.

Berry was a popular student at Bedford High School and was a cheerleader, honor society member, editor of the school newspaper, class president and prom queen. She worked in the children's department at Higbee's Department store. She subsequently attended Cuyahoga Community College.

Before becoming an actress, she entered and won several beauty contests, including Miss Ohio USA, Miss Teen All-American, Miss USA (was first runner-up in 1986 to Christy Fichtner of Texas), and Miss World 1986 (as "Miss United States World", she placed sixth in a contest won by Trinidad & Tobago's Giselle Laronde). In the Miss USA 1986 pageant interview competition, she said she hoped to become an entertainer, or to have something to do with the media or newspaper. Her interview was awarded the highest score by the judges.

Hollywood Career

In the late 1980s, she went to Chicago, to pursue a modeling career as well as acting. One of her first acting projects was a television series for local cable by Gordon Lake Productions called "Chicago Force."

Berry auditioned for a role in an updated Charlie's Angels television series by producer Aaron Spelling. At the time, Spelling wanted one of the "Angels" to be an African American woman. She did not get the role (because the project never materialized) but she impressed Spelling with her skills, who encouraged her to continue perfecting her craft.

In 1989, Berry landed the role of brainy Emily Franklin in the short-lived ABC television series Living Dolls (a spin-off of Who's the Boss?). Her breakthrough feature film role was in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever in which she played a drug addict named Vivian. Her first co-starring role was in the film Strictly Business. Another early role Berry played was the villain/friend in the Flintstones movie as "Sharon Stone", in a part rumored to have been intended for Sharon Stone (Berry would later co-star alongside Stone in Catwoman). In 1996, she played the role of Sandra Beecher in Race the Sun, which was based on a true story. The year before, Berry really caught the public's attention with her portrayal as a female biracial slave in the TV adaption of Queen: The Story of an American Family, by Alex Haley.

Berry is also known by many comic book fans for her portrayal of the regal mutant Storm in the movie adaptation of the popular comic book series X-Men (2000) and its successful sequels X2: X-Men United (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).

In late 2001, Berry appeared as Leticia Musgrove, the wife of an executed murderer, in the film Monster's Ball. The role earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress.

As Bond Girl Jinx in 2002's Die Another Day she famously re-created the scene from Dr. No, bursting from the surf - scantily clad - to be greeted by James Bond, as Ursula Andress did 40 years earlier.

In late 2003, Berry starred in the psychological thriller Gothika opposite Charles S. Dutton, which was the first film that she "carried," i.e., her role was the most important one in the film. Her next lead role was in the film Catwoman, for which she was awarded a "worst actress" Razzie award in 2005, which she actually accepted in person with a sense of humour and recognition that "to be at the top, you must experience the rock bottom".

She has recently wrapped (2006) filming the thriller Perfect Stranger with Bruce Willis and is next set to star in Things We Lost in the Fire with Benicio Del Toro.

Berry is also making a transition to behind the scenes work in film and television. She is working with author Angela Nissel to executive produce a comedy series based on Nissel's two memoirs, The Broke Diaries and Mixed: My Life in Black and White.

Berry has served many years as the face of Revlon cosmetics and was recently named the new face of Versace. She is featured in Maxim magazine's Girls of Maxim gallery. She is also one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood, commanding $14 million each for Gothika and Catwoman.

Personal Life

Berry has been married twice. Her first marriage in 1992 to pro baseball player David Justice ended in a 1996 divorce due to alleged infidelity and incompatibility. Her second marriage in 2001 to musician Eric Benét has resulted in a 2004 separation (and 2005 divorce) allegedly due to Benét's infidelity. In 2004, after their separation, Berry stated "I want love, and I will find it, hopefully". She also briefly dated actor Rey-Phillip Santos. She also dated actor Michael Ealy.

As of 2006, she is currently dating Canadian model Gabriel Aubry, who is nine years her junior. The couple met at a Versace photoshoot. After six months with Aubry, she stated in an interview "I'm really happy in my personal life, which is a novelty to me. You know I'm not the girl that has the best relationships".

Berry recently revealed to Extra that she plans to adopt children. "I will adopt if it doesn't happen for me naturally", she said. "I will definitely adopt. And I probably will adopt even if it does happen naturally". It has since been speculated that Aubry, who lived in five foster families between the ages of 3 and 18, possibly inspired Berry's interest in adoption.

When speaking on the likelihood of future marriage, Berry stated "I want a relationship because I am a relationship oriented person. I just no longer need to do it the traditional way...That paper isn't as important as it used to be". Later, she stated "I never want to be married again. I guess you could say I have bad taste in men. But I no longer feel the need to be someone's wife. I don't feel like I need to be validated by being in a marriage."

When speaking on the subject of having her own biological child, Berry has recently indicated that she has given thought to Aubry being the father, but that it is too early for that level of commitment involving a biological child between them. She stated that they both share the same feelings against the need to be married, and she indicated this to be one of she and Aubry's many strong bonds with one another. She stated that both feel the need to commit to one person emotionally and physically, but neither feels the obligation to marry in order to make that commitment official.

Film Awards

Berry won the best actress Oscar in 2002 for Monster's Ball, becoming the first African American woman to win this award. She won the award despite the fact that she had won far fewer critics awards than her main competitor that year, Sissy Spacek.
Berry won an Emmy and a Golden Globe in 1999 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her portrayal of Dorothy Dandridge in the HBO movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Interestingly, Dorothy Dandridge was the first African American woman to be nominated for a best actress Academy Award. Another similarity the two women shared was being born in the same hospital.

Berry "won" a Razzie for her infamously poor performance in 2004's Catwoman. She made headlines by accepting her award in person, an unusual gesture that was last performed by Tom Green in 2001. Berry accepted her award with dignity, saying, "When I was a kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a good loser, then there's no way you could be a good winner" but adding "I hope to God I never see these people again!" shortly afterward. At the podium, she appeared with her Razzie in one hand, and her 2002 Oscar in the other (see e.g. BBC News).

Halle Berry won The Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year Award for year 2006.

Controversy

In February 2000, she was involved in a car accident when she struck another vehicle after running a red light and left the scene before the police arrived. Berry, who had sustained a head injury, later stated she had no recollection of the accident and pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge. She paid a fine, made restitution to the other driver, performed community services, and was placed on three years’ probation.

Berry's portrayal of Storm in the X-Men films has provoked some criticism and controversy from fans of the series as well as critics. Some fans of the character of Storm refer to Berry as "HalleStorm" or "movie Storm". Furthermore, there was a rumor that Berry had said that because of a lack of roles for black actors, she was "reduced to" playing a comic book character. Berry and co-star Ian McKellen maintain that she was misquoted.

One of the controversies with Halle's Oscar winning role in Monster's Ball was other Hollywood stars' reaction to it. Angela Bassett stated in Newsweek that she declined the role of Leticia saying that "Film is forever. It's about putting something out there you can be proud of 10 years later." Later Halle Berry would tell Vogue that "I haven't spoken to her about it. I don't know what she said, what she meant, if she said it, if she didn't....It didn't really affect me in the way it affected a lot of other people." Finally in 2006 Bassett told the Times that she spoke with Berry and that "She was hurt, but not only did it hurt her, it hurt me. We talked it through."

Halle Berry self-identifies as African-American due to the ignorance of many American's views on race (even though she is bi-racial). She is quoted as saying, "If people would just learn to look at everyone equally and stop trying to label one another the issue of what we are all made of would be null and void...We are all members of the same race, the HUMAN RACE!...I have realized that by being viewed as only BLACK I am in a wonderful position. I can continue to blaze a trail for black women in film and television and help open the minds of those who have been victims of the racist teachings of the past. If through my life I can help obliterate the negative images of black people and help to abolish the negative stereotypes associated with black people...then when I die I will know my life had real purpose."

Trivia

In 2003, Berry was named No. 1 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll.

In 2005, She was No.1 on VH1's top 50 Sexiest Bodies countdown.

She was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1989.

Channel 4 reported in 2006 that Berry has 6 toes on her right foot. However, she has since debunked that as the most unusual, and untrue, rumor circulating about her. (Interviewed on the WB11 Morning News, May 22, 2006)

She had a kissing scene with Limp Bizkit frontman, Fred Durst, in the "Behind Blue Eyes" music video which was the theme song for the movie Gothika.

She almost kissed Britney Spears (referred to the 2003 MTV VMA 'kiss' performance) when they did teaser commercial for Saturday Night Live. Both of them appeared on the show later that night.

Filmography

Jungle Fever (1991)
Strictly Business (1991)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Boomerang (1992)
CB4 (1993) (Cameo)
Father Hood (1993)
The Program (1993)
Losing Isaiah (1995)
The Flintstones (1995)
Executive Decision (1996)
Race the Sun (1996)
Girl 6 (1996) (Cameo)
The Rich Man's Wife (1996)
B*A*P*S (1997)
Bulworth (1998)
Why Do Fools Fall In Love (1998)
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)
X-Men (2000)
Welcome to Hollywood (2000) (documentary)
Swordfish (2001)
Monster's Ball (2001)
Die Another Day (2002)
X2 (2003)
Gothika (2003)
Catwoman (2004)
Robots (2005) (voice)
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Perfect Stranger (2007)
Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)

TV Work

Living Dolls (1989) (cancelled after 13 episodes)
Knots Landing (cast member in 1991)
Queen: The Story of an American Family (1993) (miniseries)
Solomon & Sheba (1996)
The Wedding* (1997)
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999) (also executive producer)
Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005)