The “Storm” that is Halle Berry continues to run wild in the world of cinema. On the bill of “X-Men”, “Die Another Day” and “Gothika” to name but a few films, the American knows no obstacles.
Halle Berry was born in Cleveland, USA. In her youth her beauty earned her the title of “Miss Teen-All-American” as well as participating in Miss USA and Miss World.
After having completed her time in beauty pageants, she continued with her education enrolling in Cleveland’s Cuyahoga Community College in 1986 to study broadcast journalism.
She did not graduate from her course, as she decided that she wanted to be an actress and took acting classes instead.
She started out in the TV series “The Living Dolls”(1989), then made her film debut in Spike Lee’s “Jungle Fever” (1991) alongside Samuel L. Jackson. She then went on to play Eddie Murphy’s love interest in Reginald Hudlin’s film “Boomerang” (1992).
In 1995 she had a co-starring role in the film “Losing Isaiah”, where she starred alongside Jessica Lange as a mother whose child is adopted into a white family, with the birth mother believing the child to have died.
On discovering her child is alive, she sets out to find him and get him back. This was a very moving performance, which received warm reviews. Berry then went on to earn critical acclaim for her role in Warren Beatty’s 1998 film “Bulworth”. This was the same year that she was named among the tope 100 sexiest women of the century by Playboy magazine.
However, it was in 2000 when her big break came when Director Bryan Singer offered her the role of Storm in the film “X-Men”.
Her ascent into Hollywood history continued when she received an Oscar for her performance in Monster’s Ball (2001). She was the first black actress to receive a Best Actress Academy Award.
In 2002, she starred alongside Pierce Brosnan as Bond Girl, Jinx, in “Die Another Day” (2002). The actress kick started 2004 with her role in “Gothika”, a horror film directed by Mathieu Kassovitz (Director of “La Haine” [1995] ).
Later in the same year she starred in the film “Catwoman”.
In April 2007, Berry was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, enshrining her among the great Hollywood actors.
Aside from her acting career, Berry has also done some modelling. She has been both the face of Revlon and Versace.
Berry was diagnosed with diabetes in 1989, whilst filming “The Living Dolls”. She is a longstanding volunteer for the Juvenile Diabetes Association.
In 2000 the actress hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons after being charged with hit and run. She was ordered to perform 200 hours of Community Service.
In her love life, Halle Berry has dated several high profile names and was married to Atlanta Braves right fielder, David Justice in 1993. The marriage was short-lived and the couple divorced in 1996.
The actress has also had relationships with Eddie Murphy, Spike Lee and Kevin Costner. She dated model Gabriel Aubrey from 2005-2010 and they have a daughter, Nahla, who was born in March 2008.
The actress is currently dating Kylie Minogue’s former flame, French actor Olivier Martinez.
