Halle Berry (  /ˈhæli ˈbɛri/; born August 14, 1966) is an American actress and former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridgeand won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming the first and, as of 2012, only woman of African American descent to have won the award for Best Actress. She is one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood and has been involved in the production side of several of the films in which she performed. Berry is also a Revlon spokesmodel.

 

Before becoming an actress, Berry entered several beauty contests, finishing as the 1st runner-up in the Miss USA Pageant (1986), and coming in 6th place in the Miss World Pageant in 1986.She made her film debut in 1991 with a brief appearance in Jungle Fever. Her breakthrough was in 1992's Boomerang, which led to roles in films such as The Flintstones (1994) and Bulworth (1998). In addition to her Academy Award win, the 21st century brought a new level of prominence to Berry, with roles in films such as X-Men (2000), and its sequels, Die Another Day (2002), where she played Bond Girl Jinx, and Cloud Atlas (2012). She also won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress in 2005 for Catwoman and accepted the award in person, one of the few performers to do so.

 

Early life

Berry was born Maria Halle Berry, though her name was legally changed to Halle Maria Berry in 1971.Berry's parents selected her middle name from Halle's Department Store, which was then a local landmark in her birthplace of Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother, Judith Ann (née Hawkins),who is of English and German descent, was a psychiatric nurse.Her father, Jerome Jesse Berry, was an African American hospital attendant in the same psychiatric ward where her mother worked; he later became a bus driver.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 four years old; she and her older sister Heidi were raised exclusively by her mother.Berry has said in published reports that she has been estranged from her father since her childhood, noting in 1992, "I haven't heard from him since [he left]. Maybe he's not alive."

 

Berry graduated from Bedford High School. She worked in the children's department at Higbee's Department store. She then studied at Cuyahoga Community College. In the 1980s, she entered several beauty contests, winning Miss Teen All American in 1985 and Miss Ohio USA in 1986.She was the 1986 Miss USA first runner-up to Christy Fichtner of Texas. In the Miss USA 1986 pageant interview competition, she said she hoped to become an entertainer or to have something to do with the media. Her interview was awarded the highest score by the judges.She was the first African-American Miss World entrant in 1986, where she finished sixth and Trinidad and Tobago's Giselle Laronde was crowned Miss World.

 

Personal life

Berry has been married twice. Her first marriage was to former baseball player David Justice, from 1993 to 1996. Their divorce was finalized in 1997.Berry has stated publicly that she was so depressed after her breakup with Justice that she considered taking her own life,but she was concerned about how the afterlife would be for someone who had committed suicide.

 

She was married to Eric Benét from early 2001 to 2005.Berry credited Benét with support after she was involved in a February 2000 traffic collision, in which she left the scene of the accident. Some in the media complained that her misdemeanor hit and run charge was preferential treatment;she had also been the driver in an alleged hit and run incident three years earlier in which no charges were filed.The incident became fodder for comedians. Berry pleaded no contest, did community service, paid a fine and was placed on three years' probation.A civil lawsuit was settled out of court.While married to Benét, Berry adopted his daughter, India.The divorce was finalized in January 2005.

 

Berry began dating French-Canadian model Gabriel Aubry in November 2005. The couple met at a Versace photoshoot.Berry gave birth to a girl named Nahla Ariela Aubry on March 16, 2008, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.Nahla means "honeybee" in Arabic; Ariela is Hebrew for "lion for God".On April 30, 2010, Berry and Aubry announced their separation.Berry subsequently began dating French actor Olivier Martinez in 2010. Martinez confirmed their engagement in March 2012.

 

Since separating in 2010, Berry and Aubry have been involved in a highly-publicized custody battle, centered primarily on Berry's desire to move with their daughter Nahla from Los Angeles, where Berry and Aubry currently reside, to Martinez's native France. Aubry objects to the move.In November 2012, a judge denied Berry's request to move Nahla to France.Less than two weeks later, on November 22, 2012, Aubry and Martinez were both treated at a hospital for injuries after engaging in a physical altercation at Berry's residence. Martinez performed a citizen's arrest on Aubry, and was granted an emergency protective order temporarily preventing Aubry from coming within 100 yards of Berry, Martinez, and Nahla.

 

Activism

Along with Pierce Brosnan, Cindy Crawford, Jane Seymour, Dick Van Dyke, Téa Leoni, and Daryl Hannah, Berry successfully fought in 2006 against the Cabrillo Port Liquefied Natural Gas facility that was proposed off the coast of Malibu.Berry said, "I care about the air we breathe, I care about the marine life and the ecosystem of the ocean."In May 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the facility.Hasty Pudding Theatricals gave her its 2006 Woman of The Year award.

 

Berry took part in a nearly 2000-house party cell-phone bank campaign for Barack Obama in February 2008.

 

Public image

Berry was ranked No. 1 on People's "50 Most Beautiful People In The World," in 2003 after making the top ten list seven times and appeared No. 1 on FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World the same year.She was named Esquire magazine's "Sexiest Woman Alive" in October 2008, about which she stated "I don't know exactly what it means, but being 42 and having just had a baby, I think I'll take it."Men's Health ranked her at No. 35 on their "100 Hottest Women of All-Time" list. In 2009, she was voted #23 on Empire's 100 Sexiest Film Stars.The same year, rapper Hurricane Chris released a song entitled "Halle Berry (She's Fine)," extolling Berry's beauty and sex appeal.