Halle Berry Biography

Disproving the Hollywood adage that models can't act, the former mannequin has established herself as a versatile and dynamic performer in the years since she made that leap of faith from the catwalk to the back lot. Her first breakout role was in Spike Lee's 1991 film, Jungle Fever, which Berry followed up with a starring role opposite Eddie Murphy in 1992's Boomerang. After a few critically panned films through the mid-'90s (Executive Decision, Race the Sun), she regained notoriety with the 2001 crime thriller Swordfish. But it was 2002's Monster's Ball that made people hush up and respect the former model as a bona fide actress. The role garnered her an Oscar, making her the first African-American woman to receive an Academy Award for Best Actress.


1. Although she is typically considered to be African-American, Berry is actually biracial (her mother is Caucasian and her father is African-American).
2. She was active in cheerleading and the honor society, and was the school newspaper editor, class president and prom queen in high school.
3. Berry won numerous beauty pageants, including the Miss Teen All-American Pageant in 1985, Miss Ohio USA in 1986, and she was the first runner-up in the Miss USA Pageant in 1986.
4. Before she became the first African-American actress to win a Best Actress Oscar, Halle portrayed Dorothy Dandridge, the first African-American actress to be nominated for the award.
5. In 2004, when she received a Golden Raspberry award for Worst Actress in Catwoman, Berry became the first actress ever to appear in person to collect her award.


On her racial identity: "Blackness is a state of mind, and I identify with the black community. Mainly because I realized early on, when I walk into a room, people see a black woman, they don't see a white woman. So out of that reason alone, I identify more with the black community."


Husband: Eric Benét, singer, married Jan. 24, 2001, divorced Jan. 24, 2001
Husband: David Justice, married Dec. 31, 1992, divorced June 24, 1997
Daughter: (father: Benét) India Benét, born 1992, adopted


2002: Academy Award: Best Actress, Monster's Ball; Golden Globe nomination: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama), Monster's Ball


Things We Lost in the Fire - (2007 ) - Actor
Perfect Stranger - (2007) - Actor
X-Men: The Last Stand - (2006) - Actor
Robots - (2005) - Voice
Their Eyes Were Watching God - (2005) - Actor
View all films


http://www.hallewood.com
http://www.halle-berry.org
http://www.cultsirens.com/berry/berry.htm
http://www.halle.one-in-a-million.net