Halle Maria Berry
(born August 14, 1966) is an American actress.
Halle was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She was named after Halle's Department Store,
a local landmark. Although she is generally considered African American, she is
biracial, with a white English-born mother, Judith Ann Hawkins, and a black
American father, Jerome Berry. Halle's parents divorced when she was four years
old and she was subsequently raised by her mother, a psychiatric-ward nurse.
Halle has an older sister, Heidi.
Halle was a popular student at her high school and was a cheerleader, honor
society member, editor of the school paper, class president, and prom queen. She
subsequently attended Cuyahoga Community College.
Before becoming an actress, Halle entered several beauty queen contests
including Miss Ohio USA, Miss Teen All American, Miss USA, and Miss World. Her
talents as an actress have often been overshadowed by her physical beauty.
In the late 1980's, 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."
Halle auditioned for a role in an updated "Charlie's Angels" television series
by producer Aaron Spelling. At the time, Spelling wanted one of the "Angels" to
be a woman of color. She did not get the role but she impressed Spelling by her
skills. He encouraged her to continue perfecting her craft.
In 1989, Halle landed the role of brainy "Emily Franklin" in the ABC television
series called "Living Dolls."
Halle's breakthrough feature film role was in "Jungle Fever" where she played a
drug addict named Vivian. Her first co-starring role was in the film "Strictly
Business." Another one of her early roles was in a supporting capacity in the
Flintstones movie where she played "Sharon Stone." She played the superhero
Storm in 2000 in the successful film, X-Men. "Gothika" was the first film that
she "carried," i.e., the film focusing entirely on her.
She won the best actress Oscar in 2002 for Monster's Ball, becoming the first
African American woman to win this award. Interestingly, Berry had played
Dorothy Dandridge, the first African American woman to be nominated for a best
actress Academy Award, in HBO's "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" in 1999. Another
similarity the two women shared was being born in the same hospital.
In February 2000, Halle was involved in a automobile accident when she struck
another vehicle after running a red light and left the scene before the police
arrived. Halle, who had sustained a head injury, later stated she had no
recollection of the accident and pled no contest to a misdemeanor charge. She
paid a fine, made restitution to the other driver, performed community services,
and was placed on three years probation.
Having long refused to do any nude scenes, much was made of Halle's first
topless scene in the film Swordfish, a thirty second scene for which she was
allegedly paid an additional $500,000. Halle followed this with a more extended
nude love scene in Monster's Ball.
Halle has been married twice. Her first marriage in 1992 to baseball player
David Justice ended in a 1996 divorce. Her second marriage in 2001 to musician
Eric Benét has resulted in a 2003 separation. Halle has never had children
herself, but is close to her step-daughter India from her marriage to Benet.
Halle is expected get her "star" on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame in
Hollywood, California sometime in 2004.
