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Halle Berry
Halle Berry by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg
Berry in 2017
Born
Maria Halle Berry

(1966-08-14) August 14, 1966 (age 57)
Education Cuyahoga Community College
Occupation Actress
Years active 1989–present
Spouse(s)
  • (m. 1993; div. 1997)
  • (m. 2001; div. 2005)
  • Olivier Martinez
    (m. 2013; div. 2016)
Partner(s) Gabriel Aubry (2005–2010)
Children 2
Awards Full list

Halle Maria Berry (/ˈhæli/ HAL-ee; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and coming in sixth in the Miss World 1986. Her breakthrough film role was in the romantic comedy Boomerang (1992), alongside Eddie Murphy, which led to roles in The Flintstones (1994) and Bulworth (1998) as well as the television film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

Berry established herself as one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood during the 2000s. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance of a struggling widow in the romantic drama Monster's Ball (2001), becoming the first (and to date only) African-American woman and (for 21 years, the only) woman of color to have won the award. Berry took on high-profile roles such as Storm in four installments of the X-Men film series (2000–2014), the henchwoman of a robber in the thriller Swordfish (2001), Bond girl Jinx in Die Another Day (2002), and the title role in the much-derided Catwoman (2004). For the latter, she received US$12.5 million.

A varying critical and commercial reception followed in subsequent years, with Perfect Stranger (2007), Cloud Atlas (2012) and The Call (2013) being among her notable film releases in that period. Berry launched a production company, 606 Films, in 2014 and has been involved in the production of a number of projects in which she performed, such as the CBS science fiction series Extant (2014–2015). She appeared in the action films Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) and made her directorial debut with the Netflix drama Bruised (2020).

Berry has been a Revlon spokesmodel since 1996. She was formerly married to baseball player David Justice, singer-songwriter Eric Benét, and actor Olivier Martinez. She has two children, one with Martinez and another with model Gabriel Aubry.

Early life

Berry was born Maria Halle Berry in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 14, 1966, to Judith Ann (née Hawkins), a white English immigrant from Liverpool, and Jerome Jesse Berry, an African-American man. Her name was legally changed to Halle Maria Berry at the age of five. Her parents selected her middle name from Halle's Department Store, which was then a local landmark in Cleveland. Berry's mother worked as a psychiatric nurse, and her father worked in the same hospital as an attendant in the psychiatric ward; he later became a bus driver. They divorced when Berry was four years old, and she and her older sister Heidi Berry-Henderson were raised exclusively by their mother. She has been estranged from her father since childhood, noting in 1992 that she did not even know if he was still alive.

Berry grew up in Oakwood, Ohio, and graduated from Bedford High School, where she was a cheerleader, honor student, editor of the school newspaper, and prom queen. She worked 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 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.

Career

Early work and breakthrough (1989–1999)

In 1989, Berry moved to New York City to pursue her acting ambitions. During her early time there, she ran out of money and briefly lived in a homeless shelter and a YMCA. Her situation improved by the end of that year, and she was cast in the role of model Emily Franklin in the short-lived ABC television series Living Dolls, which was shot in New York and was a spin-off of the hit series Who's the Boss?. During the taping of Living Dolls, she lapsed into a coma and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. After the cancellation of Living Dolls, she moved to Los Angeles.

Halle Berry (46604499724)
Berry at the 1997 Essence Awards

That same year, Berry had her first co-starring role in Strictly Business. In 1992, Berry portrayed a career woman who falls for the lead character played by Eddie Murphy in the romantic comedy Boomerang. The following 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. She portrayed Sandra Beecher in Race the Sun (1996), which was based on a true story, shot in Australia, and co-starred alongside Kurt Russell in Executive Decision. Beginning in 1996, she was a Revlon spokeswoman for seven years and renewed her contract in 2004.

She starred alongside Natalie Deselle Reid in the 1997 comedy film B*A*P*S. 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 African American woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and it was to Berry a heart-felt project that she introduced, co-produced and fought intensely for it to come through. Berry's performance was recognized with several awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award.

Worldwide recognition (2000–2004)

Berry portrayed the mutant superhero Storm in the film adaptation of the comic book series X-Men (2000) and its sequels, X2 (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). Some people attributed her change of heart to a substantial increase in the amount Warner Bros. offered her; she was reportedly paid an additional $500,000 for the short scene. Berry denied these stories, telling one interviewer that they amused her and "made for great publicity for the movie."

Berry appeared as Leticia Musgrove, the troubled wife of an executed murderer (Sean Combs), in the 2001 feature film Monster's Ball. Her performance was awarded the National Board of Review and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress; in an interesting coincidence she became the first African American woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress (earlier in her career, she portrayed Dorothy Dandridge, the first African American to be nominated for Best Actress, and who was born at the same hospital as Berry, in Cleveland, Ohio). 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." This role generated controversy. 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 asked for a higher fee for Revlon advertisements after winning the Oscar. 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. 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 color who now has a chance tonight because this door has been opened."

Halle Berry in Hamburg, 2004
Berry at the German premiere of Catwoman in 2004

As Bond girl Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson in the 2002 blockbuster Die Another Day, Berry recreated a scene from Dr. No, emerging from the surf to be greeted by James Bond as Ursula Andress had 40 years earlier. According to an 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. After Berry won the Academy Award, rewrites were commissioned to give her more screentime for X2.

She starred in the psychological thriller Gothika opposite Robert Downey, Jr. in November 2003, during which she broke her arm in a scene with Downey, who twisted her arm 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 nu metal band Limp Bizkit's music video for "Behind Blue Eyes" for the motion picture soundtrack for the film.

Berry starred as the title role in the film Catwoman, for which she received US$12.5 million. and is widely regarded by critics as one of the worst films ever made. She was awarded the Worst Actress Razzie Award for her performance; she appeared at the ceremony to accept the award in person (while holding her Oscar from Monster's Ball) 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 up 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."

Established actress and career fluctuations (2005–2013)

Halle Berry fleet week
Berry at New York Fleet Week in 2006

Her next film appearance was in the Oprah Winfrey-produced ABC television film Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005), an adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's novel, with Berry portraying a free-spirited woman. She received her second Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her role. Also in 2005, she served as an executive producer in Lackawanna Blues, and landed her voice for the character of Cappy, one of the many mechanical beings in the animated feature Robots.

In the thriller Perfect Stranger (2007), Berry starred with Bruce Willis, playing a reporter who goes undercover to uncover the killer of her childhood friend. The film grossed a modest US$73 million worldwide, and received lukewarm reviews from critics, who felt that despite the presence of Berry and Willis, it is "too convoluted to work, and features a twist ending that's irritating and superfluous." Her next 2007 film release was the drama Things We Lost in the Fire, co-starring Benicio del Toro, where she took on the role of a recent widow befriending the troubled friend of her late husband. The film was the first time in which she worked with a female director, Danish Susanne Bier, giving her a new feeling of "thinking the same way," which she appreciated. While the film made US$8.6 million in its global theatrical run, it garnered positive reviews from writers; The Austin Chronicle found the film to be "an impeccably constructed and perfectly paced drama of domestic and internal volatility" and felt that "Berry is brilliant here, as good as she's ever been."

In April 2007, Berry 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, and by the end of the decade, she established herself as one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, earning an estimated $10 million per film.

In the independent drama Frankie and Alice (2010), Berry played the leading role of a young multiracial American woman with dissociative identity disorder struggling against her alter personality to retain her true self. The film received a limited theatrical release, to a mixed critical response. The Hollywood Reporter nevertheless described the film as "a well-wrought psychological drama that delves into the dark side of one woman's psyche" and found Berry to be "spellbinding" in it. She earned the African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama. She next made part of a large ensemble cast in Garry Marshall's romantic comedy New Year's Eve (2011), with Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Biel, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Sofía Vergara, among many others. In the film, she took on the supporting role of a nurse befriending a man in the final stages (De Niro). While the film was panned by critics, it made US$142 million worldwide.

In 2012, Berry starred as an expert diver tutor alongside then-husband Olivier Martinez in the little-seen thriller Dark Tide, and led an ensemble cast opposite Tom Hanks and Jim Broadbent in The Wachowskis's epic science fiction film Cloud Atlas (2012), with each of the actors playing six different characters across a period of five centuries. Budgeted at US$128.8 million, Cloud Atlas made US$130.4 million worldwide, and garnered polarized reactions from both critics and audiences.

Berry appeared in a segment of the independent anthology comedy Movie 43 (2013), which the Chicago Sun-Times called "the Citizen Kane of awful." Berry found greater success with her next performance, as a 9-1-1 operator receiving a call from a girl kidnapped by a serial killer, in the crime thriller The Call (2013). Berry was drawn to "the idea of being a part of a movie that was so empowering for women. We don't often get to play roles like this, where ordinary people become heroic and do something extraordinary." Manohla Dargis of The New York Times found the film to be "an effectively creepy thriller," while reviewer Dwight Brown felt that "the script gives Berry a blue-collar character she can make accessible, vulnerable and gutsy[...]." The Call was a sleeper hit, grossing US$68.6 million around the globe.

Continued film and television work (2014–present)

In 2014, Berry signed on to star and serve as a co-executive producer in CBS drama series Extant, where she took on the role of Molly Woods, an astronaut who struggles to reconnect with her husband and android son after spending 13 months in space. The show ran for two seasons until 2015, receiving largely positive reviews from critics. USA Today remarked: "She [Halle Berry] brings a dignity and gravity to Molly, a projected intelligence that allows you to buy her as an astronaut and to see what has happened to her as frightening rather than ridiculous. Berry's all in, and you float along." Also in 2014, Berry launched a new production company, 606 Films, with producing partner Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas. It is named after the Anti-Paparazzi Bill, SB 606, that the actress pushed for and which was signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown in the fall of 2013. The new company emerged as part of a deal for Berry to work in Extant.

In the stand-up comedy concert film Kevin Hart: What Now? (2016), Berry appeared as herself, opposite Kevin Hart, attending a poker game event that goes horribly wrong. She provided uncredited vocals to the song, "Calling All My Lovelies" by Bruno Mars from his third studio album, 24K Magic (2016). Kidnap, an abduction thriller Berry filmed in 2014, was released in 2017. In the film, she starred as a diner waitress tailing a vehicle when her son is kidnapped by its occupants. Kidnap grossed US$34 million and garnered mixed reviews from writers, who felt that it "strays into poorly scripted exploitation too often to take advantage of its pulpy premise — or the still-impressive talents of [Berry]." She next played an agent employed by a secret American spy organisation in the action comedy sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), as part of an ensemble cast, consisting of Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Julianne Moore, and Elton John. While critical response towards the film was mixed, it made US$414 million worldwide.

Alongside Daniel Craig, Berry starred as a working-class mother during the 1992 Los Angeles riots in Deniz Gamze Ergüven's drama Kings (2017). The film found a limited theatrical release following its initial screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, and as part of an overall lukewarm reception, Variety noted: "It should be said that Berry has given some of the best and worst performances of the past quarter-century, but this is perhaps the only one that swings to both extremes in the same movie." Berry competed against James Corden in the first rap battle on the first episode of TBS's Drop the Mic, originally aired on October 24, 2017.

She played Sofia, an assassin, in the film John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, which was released on May 17, 2019, by Lionsgate. She is, as of February 2019, executive producer of the BET television series Boomerang, based on the film in which she starred. The series premiered February 12, 2019.

Berry made her directorial debut with the feature Bruised in which she plays a disgraced MMA fighter named Jackie Justice, who reconnects with her estranged son. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2020 and was released on Netflix in November 2021. Berry received a positive review from Deadline for her performance.

In January of 2023, Berry signed with Range Media Partners as a producer and director.

Personal life

Berry dated Chicago dentist John Ronan from March 1989 to October 1991. In November 1993, Ronan sued Berry for $80,000 in what he claimed were unpaid loans to help launch her career. Berry contended that the money was a gift, and a judge dismissed the case because Ronan did not list Berry as a debtor when he filed for bankruptcy in 1992.

Berry first saw baseball player David Justice on TV playing in an MTV celebrity baseball game in February 1992. When a reporter from Justice's hometown of Cincinnati told her that Justice was a fan, Berry gave her phone number to the reporter to give to Justice. Berry married Justice shortly after midnight on January 1, 1993. Following their separation in February 1996, Berry stated publicly that she was so depressed that she had considered taking her own life. Berry and Justice were divorced on June 20, 1997.

In May 2000, Berry pleaded no contest to a charge of leaving the scene of a car accident; she was sentenced to three years’ probation, fined $13,500, and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

Berry married her second husband, singer-songwriter Eric Benét, on January 24, 2001, following a two-year courtship. By early October 2003 they had separated, and their divorce was finalized on January 3, 2005.

In November 2005, Berry began dating French-Canadian model Gabriel Aubry, whom she had met at a Versace photoshoot. Berry gave birth to their daughter in March 2008. On April 30, 2010, Berry and Aubry announced that their relationship had ended some months earlier.

Berry and Martinez confirmed their engagement in March 2012, and married in France on July 13, 2013. In October 2013, Berry gave birth to their son. In 2015, after two years of marriage, the couple announced they were divorcing. The divorce was finalized in December 2016. In August 2023, issues dealing with custody and child support were settled.

Berry started dating American musician Van Hunt in 2020, which was revealed through her Instagram.

Activism

Along with Pierce Brosnan, Cindy Crawford, Jane Seymour, Dick Van Dyke, Téa Leoni, and Daryl Hannah, Berry successfully fought in 2006 against 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 took part in a nearly 2,000-house cellphone-bank campaign for Barack Obama in February 2008. In April 2013, she appeared in a video clip for Gucci's "Chime for Change" campaign that aims to raise funds and awareness of women's issues in terms of education, health, and justice. In August 2013, Berry testified alongside Jennifer Garner before the California State Assembly's Judiciary Committee in support of a bill that would protect celebrities' children from harassment by photographers. The bill passed in September.

Filmography

Film

Halle Berry 2013
Berry at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards
Year Title Role Notes
1991 Jungle Fever Vivian
Strictly Business Natalie
Last Boy Scout, TheThe Last Boy Scout Cory
1992 Boomerang Angela Lewis
1993 CB4 Herself
Father Hood Kathleen Mercer
The Program Autumn Haley
1994 Flintstones, TheThe Flintstones Sharon Stone
1995 Solomon & Sheba Nikhaule/Queen Sheba Television film
Losing Isaiah Khaila Richards
1996 Executive Decision Jean
Girl 6 Herself
Race the Sun Miss Sandra Beecher
Rich Man's Wife, TheThe Rich Man's Wife Josie Potenza
1997 B*A*P*S Nisi
1998 Bulworth Nina
Why Do Fools Fall in Love Zola Taylor
Welcome to Hollywood Herself
1999 Introducing Dorothy Dandridge Dorothy Dandridge Television film
2000 X-Men Ororo Munroe/Storm
2001 Swordfish Ginger Knowles
Monster's Ball Leticia Musgrove
2002 Die Another Day Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson
2003 X2 Ororo Munroe/Storm
Gothika Miranda Grey
2004 Catwoman Patience Phillips/Catwoman
2005 Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie Crawford Television film
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
2010 Frankie & Alice Frankie/Alice
2011 New Year's Eve Nurse Aimee
2012 Dark Tide Kate Mathieson
Cloud Atlas Various Roles
2013 Movie 43 Emily Segment: "Truth Or Dare"
The Call Jordan Turner
2014 X-Men: Days of Future Past Ororo Munroe/Storm
2016 Kevin Hart: What Now? Money Berry
2017 Kidnap Karla Dyson
Kings Millie Dunbar
Kingsman: The Golden Circle Ginger Ale
2019 John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum Sofia
2020 Bruised Jackie Justice
2022 Moonfall Jocinda "Jo" Fowler
TBA The Mothership Sara Morse
The Union Roxanne

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1989 Living Dolls Emily Franklin Main Cast
1991 Amen Claire Episode: "Unforgettable"
Different World, AA Different World Jaclyn Episode: "Love, Hillman-Style"
They Came from Outer Space Rene Episode: "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow"
Knots Landing Debbie Porter Recurring Cast: Season 13
1993 NAACP Image Awards Herself/Co-Host Main Co-Host
Alex Haley's Queen Queen Jackson Haley Episode: "Part 1-3"
1994 A Century of Women Herself Episode: "Part 1-2"
1996 Martin Herself Episode: "Where the Party At"
1996-97 Essence Awards Herself/Co-Host Main Co-Host
1997 World Music Awards Herself/Host Main Host
1998 Behind the Music Herself Episode: "Lionel Richie"
Intimate Portrait Herself Episode: "Halle Berry"
Mad TV Herself/Host Episode: "Halle Berry"
The Wedding Shelby Coles Episode: "Part 1-2"
Frasier Betsy Voice, episode: "Room Service"
1999-08 Biography Herself Recurring Guest
2001 Great Streets Herself Episode: "The Champs Elysees"
2002 E! True Hollywood Story Herself Episode: "The Bond Girls"
Mad TV Herself Episode: "Episode #8.7"
The Bernie Mac Show Herself Episode: "Handle Your Business"
2003 Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway Herself Episode: "Episode #2.8"
Saturday Night Live Herself/Host Episode: "Halle Berry/Britney Spears"
Style Star Herself Episode: "Halle Berry"
Punk'd Herself Episode: "Episode #2.5"
Making the Video Herself Episode: "Limp Bizkit: Behind Blue Eyes"
2004 Rove Herself Episode: "Episode #5.9"
Getaway Herself Episode: "Getaway Goes to Hollywood"
4Pop Herself Episode: "Pärstäkerroin voittaa aina"
2009 NAACP Image Awards Herself/Co-Host Main Co-Host
2011 The Simpsons Herself Voice, episode: "Angry Dad: The Movie"
2012 Sesame Street Herself Episode: "Get Lost, Mr. Chips"
2014-15 Extant Molly Woods Main cast
2017 Drop the Mic Herself Episode: "Halle Berry vs. James Corden & Anthony Anderson vs. Usher"
2021 American Masters Herself Episode: "How It Feels To Be Free"
2022 Soul of a Nation Herself Episode: "Soul of a Nation Presents: Screen Queens Rising"
Celebrity IOU Herself Episode: "Halle Berry's Beautiful Gift"

Video game

Year Game Role
2004 Catwoman Patience Phillips/Catwoman

Music videos

Year Song Artist
1994 "(Meet) The Flintstones" The B-52s
1998 "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" Pras featuring Mya
2003 "Behind Blue Eyes" Limp Bizkit

Awards and nominations

See also

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