Halle Berry Biography

Halle Berry is an Academy Award winning actress best known for her role in ‘Monster’s Ball’. This biography of Halle Berry provides detailed information about her childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Quick Facts

Birthday: August 14, 1966

Nationality: American

Famous: Black Women Black Actresses

Age: 52 Years, 52 Year Old Females

Sun Sign: Leo

Also Known As: Halle Maria Berry

Born in: Cleveland

Height: 5'5" (165 cm), 5'5" Females

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: David Justice - Eric Benét - Oliver Martinez

father: Jerome Jesse Berry

mother: Judith Ann Hawkins

children: Nahla Ariela Aubry

Personality: ISFJ

U.S. State: Ohio

City: Cleveland, Ohio

Diseases & Disabilities: Depression

More Facts

education: Bedford High School - Cuyahoga Community College,

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Halle Berry is one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood. She was a fashion model before foraying into the world of acting and had participated in several beauty contests. The daughter of an English-German mother and an African American father, her mixed ancestry explains her exotic features and unconventional beauty. Confident of her good looks from a young age, she began taking part in beauty contests as a teenager and won the Miss Teen All-American Pageant. She became a model after being chosen as the first runner-up in the Miss U.S.A. Pageant. She started her acting career with a role in the television series ‘Living Dolls’ before making her transition into films. She was offered a minor role in Spike Lee’s film ‘Jungle Fever’. She won the hearts of the industry experts with her dedication and commitment towards her work. She gained a reputation for putting in her soul into whatever she did irrespective of whether the role was a small one or a major one. Her hard work and devotion helped her reach great heights of superstardom that had till then evaded actresses of African American origins—her role in the film ‘Monster’s Ball’ won her an Academy Award for Best Actress in a leading role and made her the first woman of African American descent to win the award.

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Halle Berry

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Childhood & Early Life

Halle Berry was born to Judith Ann, a psychiatric nurse and Jerome Jesse Berry, a hospital attendant. She is of mixed ancestry—her mother was of English and German origins while her father was an African American. She has an elder sister
Her father abandoned the family when Halle was very young and she was raised by her single mother in a predominantly white neighborhood. She had to face a considerable amount of racism while growing up.
She attended Bedford High School before enrolling at Cuyahoga Community College to study broadcast journalism. As a student, she was very active in extra-curricular activities and also served as the head cheerleader and class president.
As a teenager she participated in several beauty pageants and won the Miss Teen All American in 1985 and Miss Ohio USA in 1986.
She was adjudged the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant in 1986. This success inspired her to ditch her studies and pursue a career as a fashion model.
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Career

She moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting in 1989. She struggled a lot initially and even had to live in a homeless shelter for a short while. She was offered a role in the television series ‘Living Dolls’ which was however cancelled.
She made her film debut in 1991 in a minor role in Spike Lee’s ‘Jungle Fever’. She played Vivian, a drug addict with such dedication that she got noticed for her acting skills.
He played the title role in ‘Alex Haley’s Queen’, a television miniseries that was aired in three installments in February 1993 on CBS. She played a strong minded biracial woman in the series for which she was greatly appreciated.
In 1995, she played a drug addict Khaila Richards in ‘Losing Isaiah’. The movie revolves around a cocaine addicted woman who first abandons her infant only to engage in a long custodial battle later on.
Her other movies for the decade of 1990s include: ‘Executive Decision’ (1996), ‘BAPS’ (1997) and ‘Bulworth’ (1998).
She was chosen to play Dorothy Dandridge in Martha Coolidge’s television film ‘Introducing Dorothy Dandridge’ in 1999. She portrayed the first black woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in the movie. This role won Halle several awards.
In the 2000 superhero film, ‘X-Men’, Halle played the mutant Storm who can manipulate the weather. The film was both a critical as well as a commercial hit.
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She got the chance of her lifetime when she was offered the role of Leticia Musgrove in the romantic drama ‘Monster’s Ball’ in 2001. Her performance in the movie was highly acclaimed and she won several awards for it.
She played a psychiatrist in the supernatural thriller ‘Gothika’ in 2003 in which her character is accused of having murdered her husband and put behind bars. The film was a moderate success.
Over the next few years she acted in movies like ‘Catwoman’ (2004), ‘Robots’ (2005), and ‘Perfect Stranger’ (2007). But none of these films performed well.
In one of her more challenging roles, she played Frankie in ‘Frankie & Alice’ (2010) in which she portrayed a woman who suffers from dissociative identity disorder and has two alters. She received numerous awards and nominations for this role.
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Major Works

She is best known for her role as Leticia Musgrove in ‘Monster’s Ball’ in which she played a woman whose husband is on death row. This movie won her widespread acclaim and made her one of the most sought after actresses in Hollywood.
Her portrayal of a popular real-life stripper and dancer who suffers from dissociative identity disorder and has two alters in the movie ‘Frankie & Alice’ is one of her most challenging and critically acclaimed roles.
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Awards & Achievements

She was presented the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her role in the television film ‘Introducing Dorothy Dandridge’ in 1999.
She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in ‘Monster’s Ball’ in 2001. She also won Black Reel Award for Best Actress and BET Award for Best Actress for the same role.

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Personal Life & Legacy

She was previously married to baseball player David Justice and musician Eric Benet. Both of these marriages ended in divorce.
She was once in a relationship with the model Gabriel Aubry with whom she had a daughter.
Currently, she is married to actor Olivier Martinez and is expecting a child with him.

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Trivia