Personal details
Name: Halle Berry
Born: 14 August 1968 (Age: 41)
Where: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Height: 5' 7"
Awards: 1 Oscar, 1 Emmy, 1 Golden Globe
All about this star
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Biography
Life and Career
Awards & Nominations
Halle Berry - Biography
We just can't help it, can we? We all have an innate suspicion of models who become actors. We immediately feel that,
otherwise talentless, they've been cast on their looks alone, that they have no real right to inhabit our screens. Whenever someone tries it,
the jeers begin and those terrible four words are uttered: Cindy, Crawford, Fair and Game. Yet Halle Berry, a former model and, worse still,
a Beauty Pageant winner, has risen above all that. Through a combination of the usual luck and, above all, hard work and persistence, she's made herself
into a fine actress, an Emmy winner and the most welcome Oscar winner in recent years. And it has not been easy...
Halle Maria Berry was born on the 14th of August, 1968 (though some insist it was 1966), in Cleveland, Ohio. She was named after the town's Halle Building,
which originally housed the Halle Brothers department store but is now an office block (it's also used in the Drew Carey Show). Her father, Jerome,
an African American and a hospital attendant by trade, left when she was just four, so she and her elder sister Heidi were raised by their Caucasian,
Liverpool-born mother, Judith, herself a nurse in a psychiatric ward. Jerome would return after four years but the violence he directed towards Judith
and Heidi meant that he did not stay for long. Throughout her adult life, Halle Would have no contact with him at all, still being estranged when Jerome
died in 2003.
Early life and career:
Ohio. She is the daughter of Judith Ann Hawkins, a Caucasian of English ancestry, and Jerome J. Berry, who is African-American. Berry's maternal
grandmother, Nellie Dicken, was born in Sawley, Derbyshire, England, while her maternal grandfather, Earl Ellsworth Hawkins, was born in Ohio.
Berry's parents divorced when she was 4 years old and she subsequently was raised by her mother, a psychiatric nurse. Her father was an orderly
in the same psychiatric ward where her mother worked. Halle has an older sister, Heidi.
Berry was a popular student at Bedford High School and was a cheerleader, honor society member, editor of the school newspaper,
class president and prom queen. She worked in the children's department at Higbee's Department store. Her personality, as described by a co-worker,
was expressed in these terms..."I can hardly believe how sweet and nice she had been to everyone. People who weren't half as beautiful as she did not
display the kind of inner beauty she exhibited. She subsequently attended Cuyahoga Community College.
Hollywood Career
In the late 1980s, she went to Chicago, to pursue a modeling career as well as acting. One of her first acting projects was a television series for local
cable by Gordon Lake Productions called "Chicago Force."
Berry auditioned for a role in an updated Charlie's Angels television series by producer Aaron Spelling. At the time, Spelling wanted one of the
"Angels" to be an African American woman. She did not get the role (because the project never materialized) but she impressed Spelling with her skills,
who encouraged her to continue perfecting her craft.
Berry won the best actress Oscar in 2002 for Monster's Ball, becoming the first African American woman to win this award. She won the award despite the fact
that she had won far fewer critics awards than her main competitor that year, Sissy Spacek.
Berry won an Emmy and a Golden Globe in 1999 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her portrayal of Dorothy Dandridge in the HBO movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Interestingly, Dorothy Dandridge was the first African American woman to be nominated for a best actress Academy Award. Another similarity the two women shared was being born in the same hospital.
Berry "won" a Razzie for her infamously poor performance in 2004's Catwoman. She made headlines by accepting her award in person, an unusual gesture that
was last performed by Tom Green in 2001. Berry accepted her award with dignity, saying, "When I was a kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a
good loser, then there's no way you could be a good winner" but adding "I hope to God I never see these people again!" shortly afterward. At the podium,
she appeared with her Razzie in one hand, and her 2002 Oscar in the other (see e.g. BBC News).
Halle Berry won The Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year Award for year 2006.
Controversy
In February 2000, she was involved in a car accident when she struck another vehicle after running a red light and left the scene before the police arrived. Berry, who had sustained a head injury, later stated she had no recollection of the accident and pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge. She paid a fine, made restitution to the other driver, performed community services, and was placed on three years’ probation.
Berry's portrayal of Storm in the X-Men films has provoked some criticism and controversy from fans of the series as well as critics.
Some fans of the character of Storm refer to Berry as "HalleStorm" or "movie Storm". Furthermore, there was a rumor that Berry had said that because of
a lack of roles for black actors, she was "reduced to" playing a comic book character. Berry and co-star Ian McKellen maintain that she was misquoted.
Filmography
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Jungle Fever (1991)
Strictly Business (1991)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Boomerang (1992)
CB4 (1993) (Cameo)
Father Hood (1993)
The Program (1993)
Losing Isaiah (1995)
The Flintstones (1995)
Executive Decision (1996)
Race the Sun (1996)
Girl 6 (1996) (Cameo)
The Rich Man's Wife (1996)
B*A*P*S (1997)
Bulworth (1998)
Why Do Fools Fall In Love (1998)
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)
X-Men (2000)
Welcome to Hollywood (2000) (documentary)
Swordfish (2001)
Monster's Ball (2001)
Die Another Day (2002)
X2 (2003)
Gothika (2003)
Catwoman (2004)
Robots (2005) (voice)
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Perfect Stranger (2007)
Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)
TV Work
Living Dolls (1989) (cancelled after 13 episodes)
Knots Landing (cast member in 1991)
Queen: The Story of an American Family (1993) (miniseries)
Solomon & Sheba (1996)
The Wedding* (1997)
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999) (also executive producer)
Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005)
In February 2000, she was involved in a car accident when she struck another vehicle after running a red light and left the scene before the police arrived. Berry, who had sustained a head injury, later stated she had no recollection of the accident and pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge. She paid a fine, made restitution to the other driver, performed community services, and was placed on three years’ probation.
Berry's portrayal of Storm in the X-Men films has provoked some criticism and controversy from fans of the series as well as critics. Some fans of the character of Storm refer to Berry as "HalleStorm" or "movie Storm". Furthermore, there was a rumor that Berry had said that because of a lack of roles for black actors, she was "reduced to" playing a comic book character. Berry and co-star Ian McKellen maintain that she was misquoted.
In 1989, Berry landed the role of brainy Emily Franklin in the short-lived ABC television series Living Dolls (a spin-off of Who's the Boss?). Her breakthrough feature film role was in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever in which she played a drug addict named Vivian. Her first co-starring role was in the film Strictly Business. Another early role Berry played was the villain/friend in the Flintstones movie as "Sharon Stone", in a part rumored to have been intended for Sharon Stone (Berry would later co-star alongside Stone in Catwoman). In 1996, she played the role of Sandra Beecher in Race the Sun, which was based on a true story. The year before, Berry really caught the public's attention with her portrayal as a female biracial slave in the TV adaption of Queen: The Story of an American Family, by Alex Haley.
In 1989, Berry landed the role of brainy Emily Franklin in the short-lived ABC television series Living Dolls (a spin-off of Who's the Boss?).
Her breakthrough feature film role was in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever in which she played a drug addict named Vivian. Her first co-starring role was
in the film Strictly Business. Another early role Berry played was the villain/friend in the Flintstones movie as "Sharon Stone", in a part rumored to
have been intended for Sharon Stone (Berry would later co-star alongside Stone in Catwoman). In 1996, she played the role of Sandra Beecher in Race the Sun
which was based on a true story. The year before, Berry really caught the public's attention with her portrayal as a female biracial slave in the
TV adaption of Queen: The Story of an American Family, by Alex Haley.
Halle Berry talks about her painful childhood
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Washington, Dec 13 (ANI): Hollywood actress Halle Berry has revealed that her father’s violent behaviour left an “indelible” mark on her life.
The Oscar winner was honoured at Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment breakfast and spilled the beans on her painful childhood.
“My father was a very abusive, very violent alcoholic and he left an indelible scar on my life, on my childhood,” Contactmusic quoted her as saying.
“When a young girl watches her mother be beaten and kicked down the steps and stabbed and punched in the face, not only do you feel a sense of fear but
you too feel a sense of worthlessness,” she added.
The ‘Monster Ball’ star also paid tribute to a former teacher, who helped her overcome her violent upbringing.
halle berry early life video
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