Halle Maria Berry, born Maria Halle Berry on August 14, 1966, in Cleveland, Ohio, was raised in Oakwood, Ohio, by her parents, Judith Ann Berry (née Hawkins),a psychiatric nurse, and Jerome Jesse Berry, a hospital attendant. Her father was of African-American descent, while her mother is of mostly English and German ancestry.
Berry's early career began at the age of seventeen when she won the Miss Teen All-American Pageant, representing Ohio in 1985. A year later, in 1986, she was the first runner-up in the Miss U.S.A. Pageant. Following her pageant appearances, Berry pursued a modeling career, which eventually led to her first weekly television series, 1989's Living Dolls, where she gained a reputation for her on-set tenacity, preferring to fully immerse herself in her roles and remaining in character even when the cameras stopped rolling.
Her breakthrough role came in 1991 when she starred as a crack addict in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, reportedly refusing to bathe for several days before starting work on the role. In 1992, she was cast as Eddie Murphy's love interest in Boomerang, one of the few times that Murphy was evenly matched on screen.
In 1994, Berry gained a youthful following for her performance as sexy secretary "Sharon Stone" in The Flintstones. She then starred alongside Jessica Lange in the adoption drama Losing Isaiah in 1995, although the movie received mixed reviews.
In 1998, Berry received critical acclaim for her role as a street-smart young woman who takes up with a struggling politician in Warren Beatty's Bulworth. The following year, she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Movie/Mini-Series for her portrayal of actress Dorothy Dandridge in the made-for-cable film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.
In 2000, Berry starred in the blockbuster X-Men, playing the role of "Storm," a mutant with the ability to control the weather. She then appeared in the thriller Swordfish in 2001.
Berry's most notable achievement came in 2002 when she became the first African-American to win the Best Actress award at the Academy Awards, for her role as a grieving mother in the drama Monster's Ball.
