Halle Berry
Born on August 14, 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio, Halle Maria Berry and her older sister Heidi were raised by their mother Judith, a psychiatric ward nurse. Halle’s father walked out on the family when she was only 4 years old.
Although living in a single-parent household was somewhat tough, Halle’s mom managed to move the family out of the inner-city neighborhood and into the suburbs of Cleveland. But because the neighborhood was predominantly white, Halle and her sister were treated cruelly because of their dark skin.
halle berry enters beauty pageants
Determined not to let the color of her skin get the best of her, Halle made it a point to make friends, and her dream of becoming an actress had already begun to surface.
By the time Halle reached high school, she was a cheerleader, an honor society member, editor of the school paper, and class president. Not surprisingly, she was crowned her high school’s prom queen. In 1983, when she was only 17 years old, Halle’s then-boyfriend entered her name in the Miss Teen Ohio beauty pageant. Once again, it’s no surprise that Halle got to wear the crown in that competition.
But it didn’t stop there: Halle won many other high-profile competitions, including Miss Teen All-American, Miss USA (first runner-up) and Miss World. Once she was done raking in points by winning pageant after pageant, Halle continued her education at Cleveland’s Cuyahoga Community College in 1986, studying broadcast journalism.
halle berry stars in jungle fever
Unfortunately, Halle didn’t complete her degree — she left the program to pursue a more glamorous career in modeling, and started studying acting in Chicago. Although Halle auditioned for Aaron Spelling for a part in Charlie’s Angels and didn’t get the part, Spelling encouraged Halle to pursue her dreams of being an actress.
Halle moved to Manhattan, where she immediately landed her first TV gig in Living Dolls. Although the show was short-lived, Halle was more determined than ever to become a great actress.
Halle got her first big break in 1991 when Spike Lee cast her as a crack-addicted woman in Jungle Fever, co-starring Samuel L. Jackson. Halle was so determined to execute the role perfectly that she actually interviewed real addicts and stopped bathing 10 days before filming the racially charged film.
halle berry stars in boomerang
Soon after, Halle reverted back to television; she had a recurring role on the popular primetime soap opera Knots Landing in 1991.
But the big screen was where Halle wanted to be and she soon landed another part, this time playing Damon Wayans’ exotic girlfriend in the film The Last Boy Scout (1991), which also starred Bruce Willis.
As with her Jungle Fever role, Halle delved into this role wholeheartedly, so much so that she convinced a Hollywood strip club owner to let her dance onstage.
In 1992, Halle landed a starring role opposite none other than the man of comedy himself, Eddie Murphy, in Boomerang. In 1993, she married Atlanta Braves right fielder David Justice. Unfortunately, the marriage was short-lived and they divorced in 1996.
halle stars as dorothy dandridge
Next, Berry decided to take a lighter acting job and starred in the 1994 movie The Flintstones, but her riveting big-screen role as an illiterate addict who abandons her child in a garbage can in 1995’s Losing Isaiah shot her star up high.
Unfortunately for Halle, she missed a great opportunity when she passed up the lead role in the film Speed, which ultimately worked wonders for Sandra Bullock’s career.
Other movies that Halle starred in include Executive Decision (1996), Race the Sun (1996), B*A*P*S (1997), Bulworth (1998), and Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, for which she won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV movie.
halle stars as storm in x-men
In 2000, Halle starred as Storm/Ororo Munroe in the live film adaptation of the cartoon strip X-Men — along with fellow mutants Rebecca Romijn and Famke Janssen.
Berry also returned to modeling as a spokeperson for Revlon. And because Halle was diagnosed with diabetes, she became an avid volunteer for the Juvenile Diabetes Association.
halle charged with a hit & run
Unfortunately, Berry made headlines when she was charged with a hit and run in 2000. She pleaded no contest and the judge ordered her to perform 200 hours of community service. She also made news when she was allegedly paid a $500,000 bonus to reveal her breasts in a scene in 2001’s hacker film, Swordfish.
In 2001, Halle married soul singer Eric Benet, but the couple divorced in 2003.
halle wins an oscar for monster’s ball
2001 wasn’t all bad for Halle, however. She received the 2002 SAG award for Best Actress in Monster’s Ball and made history at the Oscars as the first black actress to receive a Best Actress Academy Award. Her Oscar triumph cemented her as an A-list actress.
But that didn’t mean Halle was giving up action blockbusters: She appeared as Bond Girl Jinx in the film Die Another Day (2002), as well as in X2 (2003), the second installment of the X-Men franchise.
halle berry is catwoman
Next, Halle appeared in the psychological thriller Gothika (2003) and in Catwoman (2004), which was panned by critics.
Later that year, Halle made headlines again when her allegedly abusive ex-lover was revealed as Wesley Snipes, although Halle herself never confirmed this.
halle berry in x-men: the last stand
In 2005, Halle appeared in the TV movie Their Eyes Were Watching God and lent her voice to the animated film Robots. Her projects for 2006 include the third X-Men installment, X-Men: The Final Stand and the thriller Perfect Stranger.
Halle was also named the new face of Versace. During a photoshoot for the designer, Halle met her current boyfriend, top model Gabriel Aubry.
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