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Halle Berry is an American actress born in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 14, 1966. In 2002, she became the first Black woman in the history of Oscars to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 2001 romantic drama, Monster's Ball.
She began her career as a model and participated in beauty pageants. She finished as the runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and came in sixth in the Miss World pageant in 1986.
Her breakthrough film role was in the romantic comedy Boomerang in 1992, which led to other roles in movies like The Flintstones and the 1999 TV film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, for which she won an Emmy and Golden Globe award. By the 2000s, she had established herself as one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood.
Halle Berry launched her own production company, 606 Films, in 2014 and starred in action films like Kingsman: The Golden Circle, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, and Moonfall in the last few years. She even made her directorial debut with the 2020 Netflix drama Bruised and starred in it as a mixed martial artist.
Berry has had an illustrious career over the years and continues to make strides in her career. Here are a few interesting facts about the highly accomplished actress.
5 lesser-known facts about Halle Berry
1) She was named after a departmental store in Cleveland
Halle Berry was born Maria Halle Berry, and she later had her name legally changed to Halle Maria Berry. Her parents named her after a local landmark, the Halle Brother Departmental Store housed inside the old Halle Building, in her birthplace of Cleveland, Ohio.
2) She was an all-rounder in high school
The actor attended Bedford High School in Cleveland, Ohio. While participating in beauty pageants, she was also an honors student and the editor of the school paper. She also graduated as the Prom Queen of her batch. After finishing high school, at just 18, she won the Miss Teen Ohio Pageant.
3) Accepted "The Worst Actress" Award in 2005
Razzies is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Just three years after winning an Oscar, Berry was the winner of The Worst Actress at the Golden Raspberry (aka Razzie) Award show for her performance in the 2004 action film Catwoman. The film was ridiculed for its absurd plot that had no semblance to the DC comics. Audiences were shocked to see her portray the role, and the film flopped terribly.
Despite all the ridicule and criticism, Berry kept her spirits up and became the first actress to accept the Razzie Award in person. She even delivered a hilarious acceptance speech, poking fun at herself.
4) Played characters from two different comic book franchises
Actors like Ryan Reynolds, Ben Affleck, Tom Hardy, etc., have played multiple characters from different comic book franchises. However, Berry became the first actress to play characters from the DC and Marvel Franchise as Catwoman and Storm.
5) Halle Berry, the Barbie Doll
Berry starred as Bond Girl Jinx Johnson alongside Pierce Brosnan in the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day. The collector's edition doll was released in 2009, and a unique mold was created for the doll in the likeness of her appearance in the movie. Berry also has another Barbie doll in her likeness as Patience Phillips/Catwoman from Catwoman.
