| Halle Berry Biography | ||||||||||||||||
"I know I'm only one human being and I'm only making one tiny contribution and it's nothing more than that. "  Early Life Halle Maria Berry was born August 14, 1966 , in Cleveland, Ohio. The youngest daughter of two, Halle was born to the parents of Jerome and Judith Berry, an interracial couple. Halle, and her older sister Heidi, spent the first few years of their childhood living in an inner-city neighborhood. In the early 1970s, Jerome Berry abandoned his wife and children, after which Judith moved her family to the predominantly white Cleveland suburb of Bedford. Berry attended a nearly all-white public school, and as a result was subjected to discrimination at an early age. Her early bouts with racism greatly influenced her desire to excel. Throughout high school, the determined teen participated in a dizzying array of extracurricular activities, holding positions of newspaper editor, class president, and head cheerleader. The Beauty Queen Halle Berry earned a handful of beauty pageant titles during the early 1980s, including Miss Teen Ohio and Miss Teen America. She was eventually awarded first runner-up in the 1985 Miss U.S.A. competition. For a short time she attended Cleveland’s Cuyahoga Community College, where she studied broadcast journalism. However, Berry abandoned her idea of a career in news reporting before receiving her degree. Choosing to wholeheartedly devote her time to a career in entertainment. Halle then decided to make the move from Cleveland to Chicago and then New York City, where she found work as a catalog model. First Act As the ‘80s turned into the ‘90s, the aspiring actress began a career in television with a role on the short-lived sitcom "Living Dolls" (1989), followed by a year long run on the CBS prime-time drama "Knot’s Landing". Halle's first big screen break wasn't far along, in 1991 Halle was cast as Samuel L. Jackson’s drug addicted girlfriend in Spike Lee’s "Jungle Fever". More supporting roles followed, including that of a stripper in the action-thriller "The Last Boy Scout" (1991), starring Bruce Willis and as the woman who finally wins Eddie Murphy’s heart in the romantic comedy "Boomerang" (1992). Actress on the Verge With a few films under her belt, Halle Berry accepted more offbeat roles, making cameos in the rockumentary "CB4" (1993), which traced the rise and fall of the titled rap group. 1994’s live-action version of "The Flintstones" featured Berry as a Stone Age seductress. Halle Berry offered a no-holds-barred performance as a rehabilitated crack addict seeking to regain custody of her son in "Losing Isaiah" (1995). In the midst of a bitter custody battle with adoptive parents played by Jessica Lange and David Strathairn, Berry was noted for her believable portrayal in the unglamorous role. Later that year, Halle Berry overcame Hollywood’s racial barriers when she was cast as the first African-American to play the Queen of Sheeba in Showtime’s movie "Solomon & Sheeba". Halle’s other credits included two 1996 crime thrillers "The Rich Man’s Wife", and "Executive Decision", which marked her first leading role in a feature. Introducing Dorothy Dandridge In 1999, Halle Berry released her most passionate project to date, co producing and starring in "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge", an HBO biopic. This marked the first time Halle Berry produced a project. Dorothy Dandridge was the first African-American woman to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for her work in "Carmen Jones" (1955). Halle was noted for her resemblance to the late Dandridge, and for her engaging depiction of the actress’ struggle to succeed in the racially biased industry of 1950s Hollywood . Halle earned both a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Television Movie for her role. Berry was featured in X-Men (2000), the big-budget screen adaptation of the long-running Marvel Comic. In the highly anticipated summer release Berry’s character, Storm, teamed with fellow mutant heroes played by Anna Paquin and Patrick Stewart. In the summer of 2001, she costarred with John Travolta in the Joel Silver produced action movie "Swordfish". A lot of attention was focused on Halle's first nude scene every. At the MTV Movie Awards Berry played up the joke by having her costars John Travolta and Hugh Jackman take their shirts off. Life After Oscar After winning her Oscar Halle returned to the set of her next project,"Die Another Day". The film become the highest grossing James Bond film of all time before being surpassed by "Casino Royale" in 2006. Next up for Halle was the sequel to the much successful "X-Men" film, "X2". Halle then appeared as Miranda Grey in the horror-thriller "Gothika" costarring Penelope Cruz and Robert Downey Jr. That summer Halle appeared in her first action starring vehicle "Catwoman". The film was critically panned and didn't fair to well at the box office. Halle earned one of her highest salaries to date for the film a reported $14 million. In 2007, she switched gears for the heart-racing thriller, "Perfect Stranger", co-starring Bruce Willis. Personal Life Berry has been married twice. Her first marriage in 1992 to pro baseball player David Justice ended in a 1996 divorce due to alleged infidelity and incompatibility. Her second marriage in 2001 to musician Eric Benét has resulted in a 2004 separation (and 2005 divorce) allegedly due to Benét's infidelity. In 2004, after their separation, Berry stated "I want love, and I will find it, hopefully".  Halle and Gabriel Halle and baby Nahla Ariela   Pictures courtesy of imnotobsessed.com Halle Berry is embarking on a new phase of her life both personally and professionally. Halle through all her many failures has reemerged a much stronger, confident woman and an inspiration to many. Halle is expected to start work on "Class Act" a story about a teacher from Reno, Nevada who took a challenge from her sixth-grade students to run for Congress in the 2000 elections on the condition that they would help run her campaign. Other announced future projects include "Tulia", "Nappily Every After" and "Who Is Doris Payne?"  "Halle by Halle Berry," a new fragrance from the Oscar-winning actress in partnership with Coty, is finally set to arrive on store shelves in March.The scent features mimosa and fig essences that are meant to evoke "the spirit of a woman who is effortlessly sexy, stylish, and elegant." Halle says, "For years I have created my own personal scents by mixing and layering fragrances, trying to come up with something unique and different.It's a wonderful form of self-expression and I am thrilled to be working with Coty on my debut fragrance."  Advertising for the perfume was shot on a beach in Oahu, Hawaii by photographer and director Cliff Watts. | ||||||||||||||||
| Career Highlights | ||||||||||||||||
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