August 14, 1968
Cleveland, OH
Nickname: Hannah Little
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 112 lbs.
Father: Jerome Berry - former hospital attendant
Mother: Judith Hawkins - psychiatric nurse
Sister: Heidi
Education: Bedford High School, Cleveland
Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland
Major: Broadcast Journalism - 1986
Measurements: 36C-22-37 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth Magazine). Okay. No doubt, her curves are kicking.
Halle Berry's name was a nod to the Cleveland department store, 'Halle Brothers.'
Halle was born August 14, 1968 in Cleveland. Her parents are Jerome and Judith Berry. She has one sister -- name of Heidi. Some sources claim that she and her sister are estranged.
Reports also suggest that Halle spent the beginning of her childhood living and an inner-city neighborhood. When Halle was four, her 'abusive' father abandoned the family. Raised almost entirely by her mother, a psychiatric nurse, they moved to the suburbs of Bedford, soon thereafter.
Halle Berry: Over Achiever
Halle was an honor society member, editor of the school paper, class president and Bearcats cheerleader.
She had to put up a fight right from the get-go and was the victim of discrimination at her predominantly white high school. When she was elected Prom Queen in Bedford High School, it triggered a whirlwind of controversy. Some other students got their panties in a bunch and challenged the voting, although she ultimately ended up winning the crown through a coin toss.
She went on to score more beauty queen titles. At 18, she won Miss Teen Ohio and Miss Teen All-American. In 1986, she was the First Runner-up in the Miss USA pageant. Shortly following, she was the first African American to represent the USA in the Miss World pageant.*
In 1998, she was named one of 'People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. In September of 2002 she was voted the 10th Sexiest Female Movie Star in Australian Empire Magazine. In 2003, she ranked #96 in Premiere's annual Power 100 List. Also in 2003, she was voted World's Sexiest Woman by readers in the men's magazine FHM (She's been replaced by Britney Spears, 2004).
That's not all she's won. She'd go on to score some major honors, including an Emmy, a Golden Globe, the SAG Award and the NAACP Image Award. HBOÕs 'Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.'
Halle snagged the 2002 Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for 'Monster's Ball,' -- a phenomenal achievement for African Americans. She is the first black woman to ever receive an Oscar for Best Actress. For that role, she also achieved a SAG Award, the Berlin Silver Award and she was named Best Actress by the National Board of Review.
This makes her the second 'Bond Girl' to win an Oscar. The first was Kim Basinger.
She is currently the highest paid black actress in Tinsel Town.
Halle RisingShe attended Cuyahoga Community College, majoring in Broadcast Journalism. She would abandon this career choice to go after the dream of becoming an entertainer and moved first to Chicago then to New York, where she landed work as a catalog model.
Halle, as an aspiring young actress, took a role in an R.Kelly/Public Announcement video in 1991 where there was a re-enactment of a scene from 9 1/2 weeks.
Her acting career started in television. She played a teenage model on the short-lived 'Living Dolls.' Appropriate? We think.
Halle did some more time on TV, playing a recurring role on 'Knots Landing,' in 1991. It wasn't until landing the role of Samuel L. Jackson's crack-addicted girlfriend in the feature film 'Jungle Fever' that Halle's talent was finally showcased. Earning the respect of the industry with this performance, Halle proved she wasn't just your garden-variety model-turned actress.
Roles of more substance followed on the heels of the warm reception "Jungle Fever" brought. She played a stripper in 'The Last Boy Scout,' opposite Bruce Willis and then alongside Eddie Murphy's in 'Boomerang.'
As for the romance category, Halle was involved in a volatile relationship with Wesley Snipes, around the time they did 'Jungle Fever.' In 1993, she and Atlanta Braves outfielder David Justice were married. This relationship eventually petered out and by 1997 the divorce was finalized. She eventually hooked up with jazz musician Eric Benet and married him. This union, too, has recently split.