Halle Berry is an American film actress born in 1966. The acclaimed star won the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 2002 Oscars for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming the first African-American woman to receive this honor.

Halle Maria Berry was born on August 14, 1966, in Cleveland, Ohio, as the second child of Ann Hawkins, a Caucasian woman of Liverpool origin, and Jerome J. Berry, an African-American man. She was given the name “Halle,” inspired by Halle’s Department Store, a large shopping center in Ohio. Berry, who has an older sister named Heidi, was raised by her mother, a psychiatric nurse, after her parents divorced when she was four years old.

During her school years, Berry was a highly successful and popular student. While attending Bedford High School, she served as editor of the school newspaper, was a member of the honor council, class president, and also a cheerleader. She was crowned prom queen at graduation. Berry later worked at the children’s department of Higbee’s, attended Cuyahoga Community College, and began participating in beauty pageants. She won Miss Ohio, placed second in Miss Teen All-American and Miss USA, and in 1986 represented the United States at Miss World, finishing sixth.

In the late 1980s, Berry moved to Chicago to pursue modeling and acting, appearing in the television series Chicago Force. Television producer Aaron Spelling encouraged her career development after she auditioned for a new version of Charlie’s Angels, which was never broadcast.

In 1989, she appeared in the short-lived ABC series Living Dolls, portraying Emily Franklin. Her breakthrough role came with Spike Lee’s film Jungle Fever, where she played Vivian, a drug-addicted woman. She later appeared in Strictly Business and starred in Race the Sun (1996), based on the real-life story of Sandra Beecher. The same year, she gained attention for her role as a mixed-race slave in the television adaptation of Queen: The Story of an American Family.

Berry achieved global recognition in 2000 by portraying Storm in the film adaptation of X-Men, reprising the role in X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand. In 2001, she starred in Monster’s Ball as Leticia Musgrove, the wife of an executed man, a performance that earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her Oscar-night gown was later voted the most iconic dress of the past 75 years.

In 2002, Berry appeared as Bond girl Jinx in Die Another Day, echoing Ursula Andress’s role in Dr. No. She starred in the psychological thriller Gothika (2003) and later took the lead in Catwoman, a performance that earned her the Razzie Award for Worst Actress in 2005. Berry famously commented, “You have to see the bottom to reach the top.” She also collaborated with writer Angela Nissel to adapt the books The Broke Diaries and Mixed: My Life in Black and White for television. Berry served for years as the face of Revlon and later became the new face of Versace. She has frequently been listed among the world’s sexiest women and became one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actresses.

Known by the nickname Hannah Little, Berry has been married three times. Her first marriage was to professional baseball player David Justice in 1993, ending in divorce in 1997. She later married musician Eric Benét in 2001; they divorced in 2005. From 2005 to 2010, she was in a relationship with Canadian model Gabriel Aubry, with whom she has a daughter, Nahla (born March 16, 2008). In 2013, Berry married actor Olivier Martinez; they had a son, Maceo Robert Martinez (born October 5, 2013), and divorced in 2015.

Awards:
2002 – 74th Academy Awards – Best Actress (Monster’s Ball)
2002 – 52nd Berlin International Film Festival – Best Actress (Monster’s Ball)
2000 – 57th Golden Globe Awards – Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television (Introducing Dorothy Dandridge)

Filmography and Television Work:
Producer:
2016 – Kidnap (Feature Film)
2014 – Extant (TV Series)
2005 – Lackawanna Blues (TV Film)

Actor:
2019 – John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (Sofia) (Feature Film)
2017 – Kingsman: The Golden Circle (Ginger) (Feature Film)
2017 – Kings (Millie) (Feature Film)
2017 – Kidnap (Feature Film)
2016 – Kevin Hart: What Now? (Feature Film)
2014 – Extant (Molly Woods) (TV Series)
2014 – X-Men: Days of Future Past (Ororo Munroe / Storm) (Feature Film)
2013 – Movie 43 (Emily) (Feature Film)
2013 – The Call (Feature Film)
2012 – Dark Tide (Kate Mathieson) (Feature Film)
2012 – Cloud Atlas (Multiple Roles) (Feature Film)
2011 – New Year’s Eve (Feature Film)
2010 – Frankie and Alice (Frankie Murdoch) (Feature Film)
2009 – 81st Academy Awards (Herself) (TV Special)
2007 – Things We Lost in the Fire (Audrey Burke) (Feature Film)
2007 – Perfect Stranger (Rowena Price) (Feature Film)
2006 – X-Men: The Last Stand (Ororo Munroe / Storm) (Feature Film)
2005 – Robots (Cappy – Voice) (Animated Feature)
2004 – Catwoman (Patience Phillips) (Feature Film)
2003 – X2: X-Men United (Ororo Munroe / Storm) (Feature Film)
2003 – Gothika (Miranda Grey) (Feature Film)
2002 – Die Another Day (Jinx) (Feature Film)
2001 – Swordfish (Ginger Knowles) (Feature Film)
2000 – X-Men (Ororo Munroe / Storm) (Feature Film)
2000 – Monster’s Ball (Leticia Musgrove) (Feature Film)
1999 – Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (Dorothy Dandridge) (TV Film)
1998 – Bulworth (Nina) (Feature Film)
1998 – Why Do Fools Fall in Love (Zola Taylor) (Feature Film)
1997 – BAP*S (Nisi) (Feature Film)
1996 – The Rich Man’s Wife (Josie Potenza) (Feature Film)
1996 – Race the Sun (Sandra Beecher) (Feature Film)
1996 – Executive Decision (Jean) (Feature Film)
1995 – MADtv (Herself) (TV Series)
1995 – Losing Isaiah (Khaila Richards) (Feature Film)
1994 – The Flintstones (Feature Film)
1993 – The Program (Autumn Haley) (Feature Film)
1993 – Late Show with David Letterman (Herself) (TV Series)
1993 – Father Hood (Kathleen Mercer) (Feature Film)
1992 – The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (Herself) (TV Program)
1992 – Boomerang (Angela Lewis) (Feature Film)
1991 – Strictly Business (Natalie) (Feature Film)
1991 – The Last Boy Scout (Cory) (Feature Film)
1991 – Jungle Fever (Vivian) (Feature Film)
1987 – Biography (Herself) (TV Series)
1979 – Knots Landing (Debbie Porter) (TV Series)

Source: Biyografiler.com