Halle Maria Berry (born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and beauty contestant, becoming Miss Ohio USA in 1986, finishing as first runner-up at Miss USA 1986, and placing sixth at Miss World 1986. Her early film roles include Boomerang (1992), The Flintstones (1994) and Bulworth (1998). She later produced and starred in the television film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of a struggling widow in the romantic drama Monster's Ball (2001). Later roles include Storm in the X-Men film series (2000–2014), a villain in Swordfish (2001), the Bond girl Jinx in Die Another Day (2002), a psychiatrist in Gothika (2003), and Catwoman in the much-derided Catwoman (2004).
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. She also 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 also produced the television film Lackawanna Blues (2005). She has since produced several projects in which she also performed, including Frankie & Alice (2010) and the CBS science fiction series Extant (2014–2015). In 2014, Berry launched the production company 606 Films. She has been a Revlon spokesmodel since 1996. She was formerly married to baseball player David Justice, singer-songwriter Eric Benét, and actor Olivier Martinez. Berry shares one child with Martinez and another with her former partner Gabriel Aubry.
Early life
Maria Halle Berry was born on August 14, 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother is Judith Ann (née Hawkins), a first generation American whose own mother was from Liverpool. Her father is Jerome Jesse Berry, an African-American man who died in 2003. Berry's mother worked as a psychiatric nurse, while her father worked in the same hospital as an attendant in the psychiatric ward. He later became a bus driver. Berry's parents divorced when she was four years old, and she and her older sister were raised exclusively by their mother. Berry's middle name came from Halle's Department Store, a Cleveland landmark at the time. Berry's name was legally changed to Halle Maria Berry when she was five.
Berry witnessed her alcoholic father frequently beating her mother, and Berry became estranged from him during childhood. Berry was bullied as a child, and learned how to fight and protect herself. She 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 of Higbee's department store and attended Cuyahoga Community College. In 1985, she won the Miss Teen All American beauty pageant. In 1986, she won Miss Ohio USA, was the first runner-up at Miss USA, and became the first African-American to represent the United States at the Miss World pageant, where she placed sixth.
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.
Berry's film debut was in a small role for Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991), in which she played Vivian, a drug addict. 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 played a headstrong biracial slave in the TV adaptation of Queen: The Story of an American Family, based on the book by Alex Haley. Berry was also in the live-action Flintstones film as Sharon Stone, a sultry secretary who attempts to seduce Fred Flintstone.
Berry tackled a more serious role, playing a former drug addict struggling to regain custody of her son in Losing Isaiah (1995), starring opposite Jessica Lange. 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 Dorothy Dandridge, the first African American woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. It was to Berry a heartfelt project that she introduced, co-produced and fought intensely for it to come through. Berry won 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). In 2001, Berry appeared in the film Swordfish, which featured her first topless scene. At first, she was opposed to a sunbathing scene in the film in which she would appear topless, but Berry eventually agreed. 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." After turning down numerous roles that required nudity, she said she decided to make Swordfish because her then-husband, Eric Benét, supported her and encouraged her to take risks.
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 Actor Award for Best Actress. She became the first African-American woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress. 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. Her graphic nude love scene with a racist character played by co-star Billy Bob Thornton was the subject of much media chatter and discussion among African Americans. 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."
As Bond girl Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson in the 2002 Die Another Day, Berry filmed an homage to Dr. No, emerging from the surf to be greeted by James Bond as Ursula…