Halle Berry, Hollywood actress and former beauty queen is now one of the highest paid actresses in America. African American by descent, this black beauty has left many ailing hearts in her trail behind with her exotic looks and power pack performances.
She was born as Halle Maria Berry on August 14, 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio to Judith Ann, a white, psychiatric nurse and Jerome Jesse Berry; an African-American hospital attendant in the same psychiatric ward where Halle’s mother worked who later became a bus driver. Her parents divorced when Halle was just 4 years old and since then had been estranged from her father for her whole period of childhood. She also has an older sister Heidi Berry.
She attended the Bedford High School, and worked part time in the children's department at Higbee's Department store. She went on to complete her graduation from Cuyahoga Community College. Halle took part in many beauty contests during 1980s and even won the title of Miss Teen All-American in 1985 and Miss Ohio USA in 1986. In fact, she placed second in the Miss USA 1986 pageant which placed her automatically as an entrant to the Miss World title 1986. Incidentally, she was the first black American woman to enter the contest.
Career in Movies
She began her career with the television series “Living Dolls” in 1989. Such was her dedication towards her work that she preferred to live out the characters she was playing day and night to get into the skin. Her hard work paid off and she landed a role in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991), in which she played a drug addict named Vivian. This followed closely by Strictly Business (1991).
With Boomerang (1992), a romantic comedy she was cast first time opposite Eddie Murphy. She soon caught up in the public eye with her portrayal of biracial slave in the TV adaptation of Queen: The Story of an American Family, based on the book by Alex Haley and the sultry secretary "Sharon Stone" in the movie Flintstones.
With a serious role in Losing Isaiah (1995) on one hand and a relaxed teacher in Race the Sun (1996), Berry was balancing it pretty well. The same year she got to work with Kurt Russell in Executive Decision (1996), she bagged the Revlon contract for being their spokeswoman for the next seven years.
More movies followed including Bulworth in 1998 and HBO biopic Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999). The latter one earned her Emmy and Golden Globe award and a nomination as beast actress at the academy awards. She also starred in the X men series and 2001 hit Swordfish.
2001 also brought in one of the greatest moment of Halle’s life when she won an Oscar for her performance as the wife of an executed murderer in Monster’s Ball. In fact, her acceptance speech is considered as one of the two famous Oscar moments. She also won the National Board of Review and the Screen Actors Guild prizes.
In 2002, Berry joined the ‘BOND’ wagon with taking up the character of Jinx in the 2002 blockbuster Die Another Day. The movie also included the famous bikini shot featuring Berry . Berry received $12.5 million for the title role in the film Catwoman, a $135 million movie; it grossed $17 million on its first weekend. She was awarded a "worst actress" Razzie award in 2005, for which she appeared in person to receive the award showcasing her good sense of humor.
She was selected next to play Janie Crawford, a free-spirited woman in Oprah Winfrey-produced ABC TV movie Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005), an adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's novel. Here other work consists of Perfect Stranger with Bruce Willis, Things We Lost in the Fire with Benicio Del Toro, Class Act, and Tulia etc.
In April 2007, she got a star on Hollywood Walk of The Fame and in 2008 Coty Inc. fragrance company, signed Berry to market her debut fragrance. She is now thinking to dabble in production.
Halle was earlier married to former baseball player David Justice in 1992 which ended in divorce in 1996. She again married musician Eric Benét in 2001 after a three year relationship. But that marriage too ended in 2003. She is currently dating French-Canadian supermodel Gabriel Aubry, ten years her junior with whom she has a daughter, Nahla Ariela Aubry
