Halle Berry Biography

HALLE BERRY

Date of Birth: August 14, 1966

Halle Berry was born to a white mother and an African-American father. Her father left them when she was four and Berry was brought up by her mother, Judith, a psychiatric nurse, in Cleveland, Ohio.

During her senior year in high school, Halle was voted prom queen but was accused of stuffing the ballot box and, as she says, was forced to share her title with a "white, blonde, blue-eyed, all American girl."

A former beauty queen, Halle was crowned Miss World USA in 1986, was a contestant in the Miss Universe Pageant and, more recently, was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 1998. After her arrival in Hollywood, her stunning physical presence landed her roles in such TV series as Knots Landing and Living Dolls before she made her feature film debut in Strictly Business (1991).

The '90s found Halle frequently on the big screen, and her roles in films such Losing Isaiah (1995), Bulworth (1998), and as Storm in X-Men (2000) made her a household name. In 2001, she proved that she wasn’t just another pretty face when she won the Golden Globe Award for her starring role in Monster's Ball (2001). She then made history on March 24, 2002 by winning the Best Actress Oscar, her first ever, marking the first time a black woman had ever won in that category.

Halle reprised her role as Storm in X2: X-Men United (2003) in 2003, again in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), and more recently, in X-Men Days of Future Past (2014). From 2014 to 2015, the talented actress starred on the CBS sci-fi TV series Extant, in the lead role of Molly Woods. The show was cancelled after two seasons.

Most recently, she appeared in the drama thriller Kidnap (2017), the action/adventure spy comedy, Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) and the romantic drama Kings (2018).

Halle has had a complicated romantic life. She was married briefly to baseball player David Justice, then married singer Eric Benét in January 2001, but they later divorced as well due to allegations of his extra-marital affairs. Her daughter, Nahla, whose father is Halle's ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubrey, was born March 16, 2008. On July 13, 2013, she married French actor Olivier Martinez. On October 5, 2013, she gave birth to their son, Maceo Robert. In October 2015, she and Olivier filed for divorce, after a series of violent incidents in which he allegedly attacked paparazzi and Nahla's father.

About her Hollywood experience, Halle says: "The truest cliché about Hollywood is that women have boobs and everybody wants to see them." Ironically, she caused quite a stir by appearing topless in Swordfish (2001) for a reported bonus of $500,000.

Filmography:

Kings (2018)
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
Kidnap (2017)
Kevin Hart: What Now? (2016)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
The Call (2013)
Movie 43 (2013)
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Dark Tide (2012)
New Year’s Eve (2011)
Frankie & Alice (2010)
Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)
Perfect Stranger (2007)
X-Men 3: Last Stand (2006)
Robots (2005) (voice)
Catwoman (2004)
Gothika (2003)
X-Men 2: X-Men United (2003)
Die Another Day (2002)
Monster’s Ball (2001)
Swordfish (2001)
X-Men (2000)
Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998)
Bulworth (1998)
B*A*P*S (1997)
The Rich Man’s Wife (1996)
Race the Sun (1996)
Executive Decision (1996)
Losing Isaiah (1995)
The Flintstones (1994)
The Program (1993)
Father Hood (1993)
Boomerang (1992)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Strictly Business (1991)
Jungle Fever (1991)