Born August 14, 1968, in Cleveland, Ohio the youngest daughter born to Jerome and Judith Berry, an interracial couple. Halle, and her older sister Heidi, spent the first few years of their childhood living in an inner-city neighborhood.

Berry attended a nearly all-white public school, and as a result was subjected to discrimination at an early age. A natural performer, Berry earned a handful of beauty pageant titles during the early 1980s, including Miss Teen Ohio and Miss Teen America.

As the ‘80s turned into the ‘90s, the aspiring actress began a career in television with a role on the short-lived sitcom Living Dolls (1989), followed by a year-long run on the CBS prime-time drama Knot’s Landing, in 1991. Berry’s first big-screen break came later that year when she was cast as Samuel L. Jackson’s drug-addicted girlfriend in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever. More substantial supporting roles followed, including that of a stripper in the action-thriller The Last Boy Scout (1991), starring Bruce Willis; and as the woman who finally wins Eddie Murphy’s heart in the romantic comedy Boomerang (1992).

Berry was featured in X-Men (2000), the big-budget screen adaptation of the long-running Marvel Comic. In the summer of 2001, she costarred with John Travolta in the disappointing action movie Swordfish, the publicity for which largely focused around Berry's topless scene.

She garnered the most positive critical notice of her film career in late 2001, for her performance as the wife of a death row prisoner (Sean "Puffy" Combs) who becomes romantically involved with a racist prison guard (Billy Bob Thornton) in the dark drama Monster's Ball. The role earned Berry a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Drama and the Academy Award for Leading Actress.

In 2002, Berry starred in the hit Bond adventure Die Another Day.

For a short time, Berry was involved in a stormy relationship with Jungle Fever costar Wesley Snipes before she married Atlanta Braves outfielder David Justice, in 1993. Three years later, Berry filed for a divorce, which was finalized in 1997. After the divorce, Berry became secretly engaged to Eric Bent, a jazz musician, in August of 1999. The engagement was announced in December of that year, and the couple married in February 2001.

Public Name: Halle Berry
Date of birth: 14 August 1966
Place of birth: Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Filmography

• Class Act (2008)
• Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)
• Perfect Stranger (2007)
• X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
• Robots (2005)
• Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005)
• Catwoman (2004)
• Gothika (2003)
• "Saturday Night Live" (1 episode, 2003)
• X2 (2003)
• Die Another Day (2002)
• Monster's Ball (2001)
• Swordfish (2001)
• X-Men (2000)
• Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)
• Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998)
• Bulworth (1998)
• "Frasier" (1 episode, 1998)
• The Wedding (1998)
• "Mad TV" (1 episode, 1998)
• B*A*P*S (1997)
• The Rich Man's Wife (1996)
• Race the Sun (1996)
• Executive Decision (1996)
• Losing Isaiah (1995)
• Solomon & Sheba (1995)
• The Flintstones (1994)
• The Program (1993)
• Father Hood (1993)
• "Queen" (1993)
• Boomerang (1992)
• "Knots Landing" (1979)
• The Last Boy Scout (1991)
• Strictly Business (1991)
• Jungle Fever (1991)
• "They Came from Outer Space" (1 episode, 1991)
• "A Different World" (1 episode, 1991)
• "Amen" (1 episode, 1991)
• "Living Dolls" (1989)

Awards

• People's Choice Favorite Female Action Star 2007
• NAACP Image Award Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture "Swordfish" 2002
• Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear Best Actress "Monster's Ball" 2001
• National Board of Review Best Actress "Monster's Ball" 2001
• Oscar Best Actress "Monster's Ball" 2001
• The Actor Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role "Monster's Ball" 2001
• NAACP Image Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" 2000
• NAACP Image Award Outstanding Television Movie "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" 2000
• Emmy Oustanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" 1999
• Golden Globe Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" 1999
• The Actor Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" 1999