Halle Berry

Halle Berry
Berry visiting with sailors and Marines during the opening day of Fleet Week New York 2006
Born	Maria Halle Berry
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1989–present
Spouse(s)	David Justice (1992–1997) Eric Benét (2001–2005)
Partner(s)	Gabriel Aubry (2005–present) 1 child

Halle Berry (Template:Pron-en; born August 14, 1966) is an American actress, former fashion model, and beauty queen. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was also nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming the first and, as of 2009, only woman of African American descent to have won the award for Best Actress. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and also a Revlon spokeswoman. She has also been involved in the production side of several of her films.

Before becoming an actress, Berry entered several beauty contests, finishing runner-up in the Miss USA (1986), and winning the Miss USA World 1986 title. Her breakthrough feature film role was in the 1991 Jungle Fever. This led to roles in The Flintstones (1994), Bulworth (1998), X-Men (2000) and its sequels, and as Bond Girl Jinx in Die Another Day (2002). She also won a worst actress Razzie Award in 2005 for Catwoman and accepted the award in person.

Divorced from baseball player David Justice and musician Eric Benét, Berry has been dating French-Canadian model Gabriel Aubry since November 2005. Their first child, a girl named Nahla Ariela Aubry, was born on March 16, 2008.

Early life

Berry was born Maria Halle Berry, though her name was legally changed to Halle Maria Berry in 1971. Berry's parents selected her middle name from Halle's Department Store, which was then a local landmark in her birthplace of Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother, Judith Ann (née Hawkins), who is Caucasian, was a psychiatric nurse. Her father, Jerome Jesse Berry, was an African American hospital attendant in the same psychiatric ward where her mother worked; he later became a bus driver. 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 four years old; she and her older sister Heidi were raised exclusively by her mother. Berry has said in published reports that she has been estranged from her father since her childhood, noting in 1992, "I haven't heard from him since [he left]. Maybe he's not alive."

Berry graduated from Bedford High School, afterward working in the children's department at Higbee's Department store. She then studied at Cuyahoga Community College. In the 1980s, she entered several beauty contests, winning Miss Teen All-American in 1985 and Miss Ohio USA in 1986. She was the 1986 Miss USA first runner-up to Christy Fichtner of Texas. 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. Her interview was awarded the highest score by the judges. She was the first African-American Miss World entrant in 1986, where she finished sixth and Trinidad and Tobago's Giselle Laronde was crowned Miss World.

In 1989, during the taping of the short-lived television series Living Dolls, Berry lapsed into a coma and was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus type 1.

Acting career

Berry, as Miss Ohio USA 1987, preparing to embark on a USO tour with other Miss USA 1986 contestants

In the late 1980s, Berry went to Illinois 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. In 1989, Berry landed the role of Emily Franklin in the short-lived ABC television series Living Dolls (a spin-off of Who's the Boss?). She went on to have a recurring role on the long running serial Knots Landing. In 1992, Berry was cast as the love interest in the video for R. Kelly's seminal single, "Honey Love".

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 1991 film Strictly Business. In 1992, Berry portrayed a career woman who falls for Eddie Murphy in the romantic comedy Boomerang. That same year, she caught the public's attention as a headstrong biracial slave in the TV adaptation of Queen: The Story of an American Family, based on the book by Alex Haley. Berry was in the live-action Flintstones movie as "Sharon Stone", the sultry secretary who seduced Fred Flintstone.

Playing a former drug addict struggling to regain custody of her son in Losing Isaiah (1995), Berry tackled a more serious role, starring opposite co-star Jessica Lange. She portrayed Sandra Beecher in Race the Sun (1996), which was based on a true story, and co-starred alongside Kurt Russell in Executive Decision. From 1996 onwards, she was a Revlon spokeswoman for seven years and renewed her contract in 2004.

In 1998, Berry received praise for her role in Bulworth as an intelligent woman raised by activists who gives a politician (Warren Beatty) a new lease on life. The same year, she played the singer Zola Taylor, one of the three wives of pop singer Frankie Lymon, in the biopic Why Do Fools Fall in Love. In the 1999 HBO biopic Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, she portrayed the first black woman to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. Berry's performance was recognized with several awards, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

In 2001, Berry appeared as Leticia Musgrove, the wife of an executed murderer, in the film Monster's Ball. Her performance was awarded the National Board of Review and the Screen Actors Guild prizes, and in an interesting coincidence she became the first African-American woman to receive a Best Leading Actress Academy Award (earlier in her career she portrayed Dorothy Dandridge, the first African-American woman to be nominated for Best Actress). The NAACP issued the statement: "Congratulations to Halle Berry and Denzel Washington for giving us hope and making us proud. If this is a sign that Hollywood is finally ready to give opportunity and judge performance based on skill and not on skin color then it is a good thing." Her role also generated controversy. Berry's graphic, nude love scene with a racist character played by co-star Billy Bob Thornton was the subject of much media chatter and discussion among African-Americans. Many in the African-American community were critical of Berry for taking the part. Berry responded: "I don't really see a reason to ever go that far again. That was a unique movie. That scene was special and pivotal and needed to be there, and it would be a really special script that would require something like that again."

Berry signs autographs for US soldiers in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Berry asked for a higher fee for Revlon advertisements after winning the Academy Award, and Ron Perelman, the cosmetics firm's chief, congratulated her, saying how happy he was that she modeled for his company. She replied, "Of course, you'll have to pay me more." Perelman stalked off in a rage. Her win at the Academy Awards led to two famous "Oscar moments." In accepting her award, she gave an acceptance speech honoring previous black actresses who had never had the opportunity. She said, "This moment is so much bigger than me. This is for every nameless, faceless woman of colour who now has a chance tonight because this door has been opened." One year later, as she presented the Best Actor award, winner Adrien Brody ran on stage and, instead of giving her the standard peck on the cheek, planted a long kiss on Berry.

Berry portrayed the mutant superhero Storm in the film adaptation of the comic book series X-Men (2000) and its sequels, X2: X-Men United (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). In 2001, Berry appeared in the film Swordfish, which featured her first on-screen nude scene. At first, she refused to be filmed topless in a sunbathing scene, but she changed her mind when Warner Brothers raised her fee substantially. The brief flash of her breasts added $500,000 to her fee. Berry considered these stories to be rumors and was quick to deny them. After turning down numerous roles that required nudity, she said she decided to make Swordfish because her husband, Benét, supported her and encouraged her to take risks.

International success

Berry in Hamburg in 2004

As Bond girl Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson in the 2002 blockbuster Die Another Day, Berry recreated a scene from Dr. No, bursting from the surf to be greeted by James Bond as Ursula Andress had 40 years earlier. Lindy Hemming insisted that she wear a bikini and knife as an homage. Berry has said of the scene: "It's splashy", "exciting", "sexy", "provocative" and "it will keep me still out there after winning an Oscar." The bikini scene was shot in Cadiz, the location was reportedly cold and windy, and footage has been released of Berry wrapped in thick towels in between takes to avoid catching a chill. According to a ITV news poll, Jinx was voted the fourth toughest girl on screen of all time. Berry was hurt during filming when debris from a smoke grenade flew into her eye. It was removed in a 30-minute operation.

Because of winning the Academy Award, rewrites were commissioned to give Berry more screentime for X2. Berry stated during interviews for X2 that she would not return as Storm unless the character had a significant presence comparable to the comic-book version.

In November 2003, she starred in the psychological thriller Gothika opposite Robert Downey Jr., during which she broke her arm. Downey was supposed to grab her arm and twist but twisted too hard. Production was halted for eight weeks. It was a moderate hit at the United States box office, taking in $60 million; it earned another $80 million abroad. Berry appeared in the Limp Bizkit music video for "Behind Blue Eyes" for the motion picture soundtrack for the film. The same year, she was named #1 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll. In 2004 Berry was voted fourth of Empire magazine's 100 sexiest film stars of all time poll.

Berry received $12.5 million for the title role in the film Catwoman, a $100 million movie; it grossed $17 million on its first weekend. She was awarded a "worst actress" Razzie award in 2005 for this role. She appeared at the ceremony to accept the award in person (making her the third person, and second actor, to ever do so) with a sense of humor, considering it an experience of the "rock bottom" in order to be "at the top". Holding the Academy Award in one hand and the Razzie in the other she said, "I never in my life thought that I would be here, winning a Razzie. It's not like I ever aspired to be here, but thank you. 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." The Fund for Animals praised Berry's compassion towards cats and for squelching rumors that she was keeping a Bengal tiger from the sets of Catwoman as a "pet."

Berry next appeared in the Oprah Winfrey-produced ABC TV movie Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005), an adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's novel, in which Berry portrayed Janie Crawford, a free-spirited woman whose unconventional sexual mores upset her 1920s contemporaries in her small community. Meanwhile, she voiced the character of Cappy, one of the many mechanical beings in the animated feature Robots (2005).

Berry on the red carpet of Robots

In 2006, Berry, Pierce Brosnan, Cindy Crawford, Jane Seymour, Dick Van Dyke, Tea Leoni, and Daryl Hannah successfully fought the Cabrillo Port Liquefied Natural Gas facility that was proposed off the coast of Malibu. Berry said "I care about the air we breathe, I care about the marine life and the ecosystem of the ocean." In May 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the facility. Hasty Pudding Theatricals gave her its 2006 Woman of The Year award.

Berry is involved in production of films and television. She served as executive producer on Introducing Dorothy Dandridge in 1999, and Lackawanna Blues in 2005. Berry produces as well as stars in the thriller Perfect Stranger with Bruce Willis and Things We Lost in the Fire with Benicio del Toro and Class Act, based on the real life story of a teacher whose students helped her run for political office. She will produce and star in the 2009 film Tulia, which will reunite her with Monster's Ball costar Billy Bob Thornton.

Berry is one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, earning $10 million per film. In July 2007, she topped In Touch magazine's list of the world's most fabulous 40-something celebrities. On April 3, 2007, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Kodak Theatre at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard for her contributions to the film industry.

Berry has served many years as the face of Revlon cosmetics and also served as the face of Versace. The Coty Inc. fragrance company signed Berry to market her debut fragrance in March 2008. Berry was delighted, saying that she had created her own fragrances at home by mixing scents. She was paid $3–5 million with a royalty of about 5%.

Personal life

Berry at the 2003 Comic-Con International in San Diego, CA

Berry has been married twice. Her first marriage was to former baseball player David Justice, shortly after midnight on January 1, 1993. The couple separated in 1996 and their divorce was finalized in 1997. Justice played with the Atlanta Braves and experienced a measure of fame as the team rose to prominence in the early 1990s. The couple found it difficult to maintain their relationship while he was playing baseball and she was filming elsewhere. Berry has stated publicly that she was so depressed after her breakup with Justice that she considered taking her own life, but she could not bear the thought of her mother finding her body.

Berry's second marriage was to musician Eric Benét. They met in 1997 and married in early 2001 on a beach in Santa Barbara. Berry credited Benét with support after she was involved in a February 2000 traffic collision, in which she suffered a concussion and left the scene of the accident before the police arrived. Some in the media complained that her misdemeanor hit and run charge was preferential treatment; she had also been the driver in an alleged hit and run incident three years earlier in which no charges were filed. The incident became fodder for comedians. Berry pled no contest, did community service, paid a fine and was placed on three years' probation. A civil lawsuit was settled out of court.

The couple separated in 2003. After the separation, Berry stated, "I want love, and I will find it, hopefully". While married to Benét, Berry adopted his daughter, India. The divorce was finalized in January 2005.

Berry has been the victim of domestic violence, and now works to help other victims. In 2005, she said "Domestic violence is something I've known about since I was a child. My mother was a victim of it. Early on in my life I made choices, and I chose men that were abusive because that was what I knew growing up...First time it happened, I knew enough to keep moving."

In November 2005, Berry began dating French-Canadian supermodel Gabriel Aubry, 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".

At one point, Berry had indicated that she planned to adopt children, but her experience playing a mother in Things We Lost In The Fire opened her mind to the possibility of motherhood. After initially denying rumors, she confirmed in September 2007 that she was three months pregnant. Berry gave birth to a girl named Nahla Ariela Aubry on March 16, 2008 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Nahla means "honeybee" in Arabic; Ariela is Hebrew for "lion for God." Berry hired security guards after receiving racist threats to her unborn baby from a stalker saying her child will be "cut into hundreds of pieces."

At one time, Berry indicated that she did not intend to marry again, insisting the couple's life was already complete without the need for a marriage. She has stated that she hopes to have a second child right away. Aubry recently told In Touch magazine, "I'd like Nahla to have a sibling in 2009."

In the media

Berry at the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Parade, Cambridge, MA in February 2006

Berry has stated that the manner in which people have reacted to her is often the result of ignorance. Her own self-identification has been influenced by her mother. She is quoted as saying

After having many talks with my mother about the issue, she reinforced what she had always taught me. She said that even though you are half black and half white, you will be discriminated against in this country as a black person. People will not know when they see you that you have a white mother unless you wear a sign on your forehead. And, even if they did, so many people believe that if you have an ounce of black blood in you then you are black. So, therefore, I decided to let folks categorize me however they needed to.

While taping the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on October 19, 2007, Berry displayed a distorted image of her face, remarking: "Here's where I look like my Jewish cousin!" During the editing of the program, the comment was obscured by a laugh track. Berry later stated "What happened was I was backstage before the show and I have three girls who are Jewish who work for me. We were going through pictures to see which ones looked silly, and one of my Jewish friends said [of the big-nose picture], 'That could be your Jewish cousin!' And I guess it was fresh in my mind, and it just came out of my mouth. But I didn't mean to offend anybody. I didn't. I didn't mean any harm. - and after the show I realized it could be seen as offensive, so I asked Jay to take it out, and he did.'"

Berry took part in a nearly 2000-house party cell-phone bank campaign for Barack Obama in February 2008, and said that she will "collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear."

In October 2008, Berry was named Esquire Magazine's "Sexiest Woman Alive", about which she stated "I don't know exactly what it means, but being 42 and having just had a baby, I think I'll take it." She is quoted as saying to Esquire

You know that stuff they say about a woman being responsible for her own orgasms? That's all true, and, in my case, that makes me responsible for pretty damn good orgasms. They're much better orgasms than when I was 22, and I wouldn't let a man control that. Not anymore. Now, I'd invite them to participate."

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1989	Living Dolls	Emily Franklin	TV (cancelled after 13 episodes)
1991	Amen	Claire	TV series, episode: "Unforgettable"
	A Different World	Jaclyn	TV series, episode: "Love, Hillman-Style"
	They Came from Outer Space	Rene	TV series, episode: "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow"
	Knots Landing	Debbie Porter	TV (cast member in 1991)
	Jungle Fever	Vivian
	Strictly Business	Natalie
	The Last Boy Scout	Cory
1992	Boomerang	Angela Lewis
1993	Queen: The Story of an American Family	Queen	NAACP Image Award
	CB4	Herself	Cameo
	Father Hood	Kathleen Mercer
	The Program	Autumn Haley
1994	The Flintstones	Sharon Stone
1995	Solomon & Sheba	Nikhaule/Queen Sheba	TV
	Losing Isaiah	Khaila Richards
1996	Executive Decision	Jean
	Race the Sun	Miss Sandra Beecher
	Girl 6		Cameo
	The Rich Man's Wife	Josie Potenza
1997	B*A*P*S	Nisi
1998	The Wedding	Shelby Coles}	TV
	Bulworth	Nina
	Why Do Fools Fall in Love	Zola Taylor
	Introducing Dorothy Dandridge	Dorothy Dandridge	Emmy Golden Globe SAG Award NAACP Image Award
2000	X-Men	Ororo Munroe/Storm
	Welcome to Hollywood		Documentary
2001	Swordfish	Ginger Knowles	NAACP Image Award, BET Award
	Monster's Ball	Leticia Musgrove	Academy Award for Best Actress SAG award NBR Award
2002	Die Another Day	Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson	NAACP Image Award
2003	X2: X-Men United	Ororo Munroe/Storm
	Gothika	Miranda Grey	BET Award
2004	Catwoman	Patience Phillips / Catwoman	Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress
2005	Their Eyes Were Watching God	Janie Starks
	Robots	Cappy	(Voice)
2006	X-Men: The Last Stand	Ororo Munroe/Storm
2007	Perfect Stranger	Rowena Price
	Things We Lost in the Fire	Audrey Burke
2009	Frankie and Alice	Frankie/Alice	Post-Production
2010	Nappily Ever After	Venus Johnson	Announced

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Film	Result
1995	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special	Queen	Won
2000	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or Movie	Introducing Dorothy Dandridge	Won
	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress - Miniseries or TV Movie		Won
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Best Actress - Miniseries or TV Movie		Won
	Black Reel Awards	Best Actress in a TV Movie/Mini-Series		Won
	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special		Won
2001	Academy Award	Best Actress	Monster's Ball	Won
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Best Actress - Motion Picture		Won
	British Academy of Film and Television Arts	Best Lead Actress		Nominated
	Golden Globes	Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama		Nominated
	NBR	Best Actress		Won
2002	Black Reel Awards	Best Actress		Won
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress	Swordfish	Won
	BET Awards	Best Actress		Won
2003	BET Awards	Best Actress		Nominated
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress	Die Another Day	Won
2004	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress	Gothika	Nominated
	BET Awards	Best Actress		Won
2005	BET Awards	Best Actress		Nominated
2006	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress - TV series	Their Eyes Were Watching God	Nominated
"Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie"	Nominated
2007	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Female Action Hero	X-Men: The Last Stand	Won
2008	BET Awards	Best Actress		Won
2009	Spike Guys' Choice Awards	Decade of Hotness Award		Won

References

Citations

Publications

• Banting, Erinn. Halle Berry, Weigl Publishers, 2005 - ISBN 1590363337
• Gogerly, Liz. Halle Berry, Raintree, 2005 - ISBN 1410910857
• Naden, Corinne J. Halle Berry, Sagebrush Education Resources, 2001 - ISBN 0613861574
• O'Brien, Daniel. Halle Berry, Reynolds & Hearn, 2003 - ISBN 1903111382
• Sanello, Frank. Halle Berry: A Stormy Life, Virgin Books, 2003 - ISBN 1852270926
• Schuman, Michael A. Halle Berry: Beauty Is Not Just Physical, Enslow, 2006 - ISBN 0766024679

External links

• Halle Berry at AllMovie
• Halle Berry at Rotten Tomatoes
• Halle Berry Fragances