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 Englishwoman Judith Ann Hawkins, a Liverpudlian, and Jerome Jesse Berry, who was African American. Berry's maternal grandmother, Nellie Dicken, was born in Sawley, Derbyshire, England, while her maternal grandfather, Earl Ellsworth Hawkins (an American), was born in Ohio. Berry's parents divorced when she was 4 years old and she was subsequently 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.
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 several beauty contests, winning Miss Ohio USA and Miss Teen All-American. Other entries include Miss USA (first runner-up in 1986 to Christy Fichtner of Texas, the second of the Texas Aces), and sixth place in Miss World 1986 (the winner being Trinidad and 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.
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.
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. In 1992, Berry was cast as the love interest in the video for R. Kelly's seminal hit, "Honey Love". Berry auditioned for a role in an updated Charlie's Angels television series by producer Aaron Spelling. She impressed Spelling and he encouraged her to continue acting.
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?). 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 adaption of Queen: The Story of an American Family, based on the book by Alex Haley. Berry also played the sultry secretary in the live action Flintstones movie as "Sharon Stone".[6]
As a former drug addict struggling to regain custody of her son in Losing Isaiah (1995), Berry showed she could tackle more serious roles, holding her own opposite co-star Jessica Lange. She portrayed Sandra Beecher in Race the Sun (1996), which was based on a true story, and co-starred along side Kurt Russell in Executive Decision. In Bullworth, Berry received praise for her role as an intelligent woman raised by activists who gives politican Warren Beatty a new lease on life, and as the singer Zola Taylor, one of the three wives of pop singer Frankie Lymon, in the biopic Why Do Fools Fall in Love both in 1998.
In the 1999 film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, Berry portrayed the first black woman to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. In this HBO biopic, Berry's performance was recognized with several awards including an Emmy and a Golden Globe. (She was also one of the producers of the project.)
Berry portrayed the 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. Her performance was awarded the National Board of Review and the Screen Actors Guild prizes. The role earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress: she made history by becoming the first African American woman to earn a Best Actress Academy Award.
As Bond Girl Jinx in the (2002) blockbuster Die Another Day she famously re-created the scene from Dr. No, bursting from the surf to be greeted by James Bond, as Ursula Andress had 40 years earlier. In late 2003, Berry starred in the psychological thriller Gothika opposite Robert Downey Jr. Her next lead role was in the film Catwoman, for which she was awarded a "worst actress" Razzie award in 2005, which she accepted in person with a sense of humor and recognition that "to be at the top, you must experience the rock bottom".
Berry next appeared in the Oprah Winfrey-produced ABC telepic Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005), an adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's novel, in which Berry portrayed Janie Crawford, an iconoclastic, free-spirited woman whose unconventional mores regarding relationships 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). She has filmed the thriller Perfect Stranger with Bruce Willis and wrapped shooting Things We Lost in the Fire with Benicio Del Toro. She is set to star in Class Act, based on the real life story of a teacher whose students helped her run for political office and "Tulia", which will reunite her with Monster's Ball costar Billy Bob Thornton.
Berry is making the transition to working on the production side of 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.[7] Berry has served many years as the face of Revlon cosmetics, and was recently named the face of Versace. She is featured in Maxim magazine's Girls of Maxim gallery.[8]
Berry is 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 divorce in 1996. David played with the Atlanta Braves and had experienced a measure of fame as the team rose to national attention in the early 1990s. They found it difficult to maintain their relationship when he was playing baseball and she was filming elsewhere. She has made public that she was so despondent after her breakup with Justice that she considered taking her own life.[9]
Her second marriage in 2001 to musician Eric Benét resulted in a 2004 separation and 2005 divorce. In 2004, after their separation, Berry stated "I want love, and I will find it, hopefully".[10] She adopted Eric's daughter India and Halle and India are still in contact after the separation. As of 2006, she is dating Canadian supermodel 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".[11]
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.[10] 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".[12]
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.[12]
Racial self-identification
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, "I was raised by my white mother and every day of my life I have always been aware of the fact that I am bi-racial. However, growing up I was aware that even though my mother was white, I did not look or 'feel' very white myself...Many times my classmates did not believe me when I said my mother was white. I soon grew tired of trying to prove that I was half-black and half-white and learned not to concern myself with what others thought. I began to relate to the other 'all black kids' at my school more because quite simply...I looked more like them...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...why should it matter what color anyone is or what heritage they identify with? 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!"[13]
Controversy
In February 2000, Berry was involved in a car accident in which she struck a vehicle after running a red light, and left the scene before the police arrived. Berry, who had sustained a head injury, 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 service, and was placed on three years’ probation.[14]
Film Awards and nominations
Academy Award
2002, Best Actress: Monster's Ball (Winner)
BAFTA Award
2003, Best Lead Actress: Monster's Ball (Nominated)
BET Award
2003, Best Actress: (Winner)
Black Movie Award
2006, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress: X3: The Last Stand (Nominated)
2005, Outstanding Television Movie: Lackawanna Blues (Winner)
Black Reel Awards
2006, Best Actress in a TV Movie/ Mini-Series: Their Eyes Were Watching God (Nominated)
2004, Best Actress: Gothika (Nominated)
2003, Best Supporting Actress: Die Another Day (Nominated)
2002, Best Actress: Monster's Ball (Winner)
2000, Best Actress in a TV Movie/Mini-Series: Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (Winner)
Other recognition
In 2003, Berry was named No. 1 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll.
In 2005, Berry was No.1 on VH1's top 50 Sexiest Bodies countdown.
Berry was offered Honorary Membership into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. However, Berry has not yet been initiated into the sorority.
Berry recently accepted Harvard's Hasty Pudding Woman of The Year award.
Berry has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard for her contributions to the film industry, awarded on April 3, 2007.[15]
Selected performances
Year
Title
Role
Other Notes
1989
Living Dolls
Emily Franklin
on TV (cancelled after 13 episodes)
1991
Knots Landing
Debbie Porter
on TV (cast member in 1991)
Jungle Fever
Vivian
Strictly Business
Natalie
The Last Boy Scout
a stripper named Cory
1992
Boomerang
Angela Lewis
1993
Queen: The Story of an American Family
Queen
on TV (miniseries) Halle Berry won the "Image Award" for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie or Mini-Series
CB4
Cameo
Father Hood
Kathleen Mercer
The Program
Autumn Haley
1994
The Flintstones
Sharon Stone
1995
Solomon & Sheba
Nikhaule/Queen Sheba
on TV
Losing Isaiah
Khaila Richards
1996
Executive Decision
Jean, Flight Attendant
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
on TV
Bulworth
Nina
Why Do Fools Fall In Love
Zola Taylor
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Dandridge
on TV, an HBO Movie. Halle won the "Emmy", "Golden Globe" and a "Screen_Actors_Guild_Award" for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie" (She was also executive producer)
2000
X-Men
Ororo Munroe/Storm
Welcome to Hollywood
Documentary
2001
Swordfish
Ginger Knowles
Monster's Ball
Leticia Musgrove
Halle won the "Best Actress" Academy Award
2002
Die Another Day
Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson
There was "Official" talk about a "Jinx" spinoff
2003
X2: X-Men United
Ororo Munroe / Storm
Gothika
Miranda Grey
2004
Catwoman
Patience Phillips / Catwoman
Berry "won" the Razzie for her performance, and was nominated for the "Kids' Choice Awards, USA - Blimp Award" as "Favorite movie Actress"
2005
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Janie Starks
Robots
Cappy
(Voice)
2006
X-Men: The Last Stand
Ororo Munroe / Storm
Halle Berry won The Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year Award for year 2006
2007
Perfect Stranger
Ro
Upcoming
Things We Lost in the Fire
Audrey Burke
Upcoming
2008
Class Act
Tierney Cahill
Upcoming
Who is Doris Payne?
Doris Payne
Upcoming
