Halle Berry biography 2022
Halle Berry biography
Halle Berry was born on August 14, 1966, in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Halle Maria Berry was raised by her mother, Judith, a psychiatric ward nurse, with her older sister Heidi. Judith's husband walked out on the family when Halle was only four years old.
Although living in a single-parent household was a little harsh, Halle's mother managed to move the family out of the inner-city neighborhood and into the suburbs of Cleveland. Because the area was predominantly white, Halle and her sister were oppressed because of their dark skin.
Determined not to let the color of her skin get the better, Halle Berry made it a point to make friends while her dream of becoming an actress was already beginning to emerge.
By the time Halle Berry reached high school, she was a cheerleader, honor society member, editor of the school newspaper, and class president. Not surprisingly, she has been crowned the high school prom queen.
In 1983, when Halle was only 17 years old, Halle's boyfriend at the time entered her name in the Miss Teen Ohio beauty pageant. Once again, it's no surprise that Halle returned with the crown in that competition.
But it didn't stop there: Halle won many other high-profile pageants, including Miss Teen All-American, Miss USA, and Miss World. When she was done racking up points by winning contest after party, Halle continued her education at Cleveland's Cuyahoga Community College in 1986, studying broadcast journalism.
Halle did not complete her degree - she left the program to pursue a more glamorous career in modeling and began studying acting in Chicago. Although Halle auditioned for soap opera and drama guru Aaron Spelling for a role on Charlie's Angels and did not get the part, Spelling encouraged Halle to pursue her dreams of becoming an actress.
Halle moved to Manhattan, where she got 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, starring opposite Samuel L. Jackson. She was so determined to play the part perfectly that Halle interviewed real addicts and stopped bathing 10 days before shooting the racially charged film.
Halle returned to television and had a recurring role in the popular prime-time soap opera Knots Landing in 1991.
But the big screen was where Halle wanted to be, and she soon landed another role, 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 dove into this role wholeheartedly, so much so that she convinced a Hollywood strip club owner to let her dance on stage.
In 1992, Halle landed a starring role opposite none other than comedy himself, Eddie Murphy, in Boomerang. In 1993, she married Atlanta Braves right fielder David Justice. The marriage was short-lived, and they divorced in 1996.
Halle Berry made an equally unwise decision in 2001 when she married soul singer Eric Benet only to file for divorce in 2003.
Halle Berry decided to take a lighter acting job and starred in the 1994 film The Flintstones. Still, her riveting big-screen role as an illiterate drug addict who leaves her child in a dumpster in 1995's Losing Isaiah skyrocketed her stardom.
Unfortunately for Halle Berry, she missed out on the role of a lifetime when she walked away from the lead role in the movie Speed, which ultimately did wonders for her career.
Other films in which Halle appeared include Executive Decision (1996), Race the Sun (1996), BAPS (1997), Bulworth (1998), and Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, for which she won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for Best Actress a Miniseries or TV movie.
In 2000, Halle starred in the live-action film adaptation of the comic strip X-Men as Storm/Ororo Munroe - alongside fellow mutants Rebecca Romijn and Famke Janssen.
Berry has also returned to modeling as a spokesperson for Revlon. And because Halle was diagnosed with diabetes not so long ago, she is an enthusiastic volunteer at the Youth Diabetes Association.
Unfortunately, Berry made headlines when she was charged with a hit and run in 2000 and pleaded no contest — the judge ordered her to perform 200 hours of community service. She also made news when she was reportedly paid a $500,000 bonus for revealing her breasts in a scene in the 2001 film, Swordfish.
Audiences can see more of Halle in the film Monster's Ball in her critically acclaimed portrayal of a death row wife. Halle received the 2002 SAG Award for Best Actress in Monster's Ball and made history at the Academy Awards as the first black actress to receive an Academy Award for Best Actress. Her Oscar triumph has cemented her as an A-list actress.
But that doesn't mean there isn't room for action blockbusters; Halle appeared as Jinx in the James Bond film, Die Another Day (2002) and the second installment of what seems to be an X-Men franchise (2003).
Between roles in Gothika (2003), The Set-Up (2004), The Guide (2004), Nappily Ever After (2004), and the title role in Catwoman (2004), Berry proves to be one of the busiest women in Hollywood.
Although Halle's beauty usually makes headlines, she made headlines again when her abusive ex-boyfriend was finally revealed as Wesley Snipes.
Halle has achieved a lot of fame in her career, but she will be around for quite some time.
last updated October 2022
