Halle Berry

Halle Berry: American Actress

Biography

Full Name: Halle Maria Berry

 

Date of Birth: August 14, 1966

 

Place of Birth: Cleveland, Ohio, United States

 

Nationality: American

 

Profession: Actress, Producer

 

Height: 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m)

 

 

Early Life and Education

 

Halle Berry was born to Jerome Jesse Berry, an African-American hospital attendant, and Hawkins, a white English-born psychiatric nurse. Her parents divorced when she was four years old, and she was raised by her mother in a predominantly white neighborhood, where she experienced racial discrimination from a young age.

 

Berry attended Bedford High School in Ohio, where she excelled academically and participated in cheerleading, school plays, and the school newspaper. After high school, she studied at Cuyahoga Community College, focusing on broadcast journalism before leaving to pursue a career in modeling and acting.

 

 

Family

 

Halle Berry has been married three times:

 

David Justice (1993–1997) – former baseball player

 

Eric Benét (2001–2005) – R&B singer

 

Olivier Martínez (2013–2016) – French actor

 

She has two children:

 

A daughter, Nahla Ariela Aubry, with model Gabriel Aubry

 

A son, Maceo Robert Martinez, with Olivier Martinez

 

Career

 

Modeling and Pageants

Berry started her career in beauty pageants, winning Miss Teen All American (1985) and Miss Ohio USA (1986). She was the first African-American Miss World entrant in 1986, finishing sixth.

 

 

Breakthrough acting

 

Berry's early acting work included TV roles such as Living Dolls (1989) and Knots Landing. Her film debut came in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991). She gained further attention in Boomerang (1992) opposite Eddie Murphy and demonstrated her versatility in films like Losing Isaiah (1995) and Bulworth (1998).

 

 

Critical and Commercial Success

 

Monster's Ball (2001): Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress , becoming the first and only African-American woman to win in that category.

 

X-Men franchise (2000–2014): Played Storm, a key superhero role.

 

Die Another Day (2002): Played Jinx, a Bond girl opposite Pierce Brosnan.

 

Gothika (2003), Catwoman (2004), Perfect Stranger (2007), and Cloud Atlas (2012) showcased her range.

 

In 2020, Berry made her directorial debut with Bruised, a Netflix drama in which she also starred.

 

 

Net Worth

 

As of 2024, Halle Berry's net worth is estimated at $90 million. Her wealth comes from decades of acting in high-grossing films, brand endorsements (including Revlon), and producing projects.

 

 

Awards and Honours

Academy Award for Best Actress (Monster's Ball, 2001)

 

Primetime Emmy Award (Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, 2000)

 

Golden Globe Awards

 

Screen Actors Guild Awards

 

NAACP Image Awards – multiple wins

 

MTV Movie Awards, BET Awards, and People's Choice Awards

 

Razzie Award – humorously accepted in person for Catwoman

 

Legacy

Her Oscar win remains a landmark moment in cinema history. In addition to her acting, Berry is a producer, philanthropist, and outspoken advocate for domestic violence awareness, diabetes research (as a Type 1 diabetic), and children's causes.