Halle Berry
Birthdate: Aug 14, 1966
Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Halle Berry (birthname: Maria Halle Berry) is one of only two women of color to win the Best Actress Oscar, which she won for Monster’s Ball (2001), and is the first actress to portray lead characters in both Marvel Universe (X-Men) and DC Comics (Catwoman) vehicles. Berry was cast by filmmaker Spike Lee in a small but impressive role as a junkie in his drama, Jungle Fever (1991), starring Wesley Snipes and Annabella Sciorra, and grossing $44 million for Universal Pictures, and then Berry landed her first co-starring role in Warner Bros.’ comedy Strictly Business (1991), with Tommy Davidson and David Marshall Grant under Kevin Hooks’ direction.
Berry co-starred with Eddie Murphy in the Reginald Hudlin-directed rom-com Boomerang (1992), with Robin Givens, David Alan Grier, Martin Lawrence, Grace Jones, Eartha Kitt, and Chris Rock, winning a profitable $131 million return for Paramount Pictures. Berry was in another broad comedy with Universal Pictures’ big-screen remake of the beloved Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, The Flintstones (1994), with John Goodman, Rick Moranis, Elizabeth Perkins, Rosie O’Donnell, Kyle MacLachlan, and Elizabeth Taylor, earning $341.6 million globally (against $46 million costs).
Halle Berry co-starred with Jessica Lange in Paramount’s motherhood drama, Losing Isaiah (1995), with David Strathairn, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Samuel L. Jackson under Stephen Gyllenhaal, and then Berry co-starred Kurt Russell in the Stuart Baird-directed thriller Executive Decision (1996), with John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, Joe Morton, and Steven Seagal and returning a solid $122 million for Silver Pictures/Warner Bros.
Berry joined star-filmmaker Warren Beatty’s wild political satire Bulworth (1998), co-starring Don Cheadle, Oliver Platt, Paul Sorvino, Jack Warden, and Isaiah Washington, released by 20th Century Fox and nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar, and then Berry displayed her versatility by co-starring in the pop music biopic Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998), with Vivica A. Fox, Lela Rochon, Larenz Tate and Little Richard under Gregory Nava’s direction for Rhino Films/Warner Bros.
Berry forged a major female presence in the early phase of the dominant Marvel Cinematic Universe era as Storm over a sustained fifteen-year period in Marvel’s franchise produced and released by 20th Century Fox, X-Men (2000), X2: X-Men United (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), under the various direction of Bryan Singer and Brett Ratner, grossing a cumulative $1.9 million globally. Berry then starred with John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, and Don Cheadle in the Dominic Sena-directed crime movie Swordfish (2001), produced by Village Roadshow Pictures and Silver Pictures and released by Warner Bros.
Halle Berry won the Oscar for Best Actress for her stunning performance as a widow in Monster’s Ball (2001), co-starring Billy Bob Thornton, Heath Ledger, Sean Combs, Mos Def, and Peter Boyle under Marc Forster’s direction and providing a major hit for Lionsgate with a $45 million gross (against $4 million costs). Berry was the first female actor to play a “Bond girl” immediately after winning the Oscar, as “Jinx” opposite Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond in Die Another Day (2002), directed by Lee Tamahori and with Rosamund Pike, John Cleese, and Judi Dench, delivering a $432 million take for MGM, and then Berry was the lead star in the Mathieu Kassovitz-directed horror hit, Gothika (2003), with Robert Downey Jr., Charles S. Dutton, John Carroll Lynch, Bernard Hill, and Penelope Cruz, earning $141.6 million for Warner Bros./Columbia TriStar.
Berry took on the DC Comics superhero in the universally panned bomb, Catwoman (2004), directed by French director Pitof and co-starring Sharon Stone, Benjamin Bratt, Lambert Wilson and Frances Conroy, with a disastrous $82 million return for Village Roadshow Pictures/Warner Bros. Berry delivered one of her few voice roles in an animated movie for 20th Century Fox/Blue Sky Studios’ successful, non-franchise feature Robots (2005), directed by Chris Wedge and with the voices of Ewan McGregor, Robin Williams, Mel Brooks, Greg Kinnear, and Drew Carey, grossing over $262 million.
Halle Berry co-starred with Bruce Willis in the James Foley-directed psychological thriller for Columbia Pictures/Revolution Studios/Sony Releasing, Perfect Stranger (2007), with Giovanni Ribisi, and then Berry co-starred with Benicio del Toro in the Allan Loeb-written drama, Things We Lost in the Fire (2007), directed by Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier and produced by Sam Mendes, featuring David Duchovny, Alison Lohman and John Carroll Lynch, and released to poor box office by Paramount Pictures. Berry was star-producer of the Geoffrey Sax-directed Canadian drama, Frankie & Alice (2010), co-starring Stellan Skarsgård and Phylicia Rashad, and released by Lionsgate after a Cannes Film Festival premiere.
Berry turned to ensemble comedy under Garry Marshall’s direction for New Year’s Eve (2011), co-starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Biel, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Sarah Jessica Parker and Sofia Vergara, returning a happy $142 million for New Line Cinema/Warner Bros. Berry joined star Tom Hanks for an ambitious screen version of David Mitchell’s fantasy epic Cloud Atlas (2012), with Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Keith David, Susan Sarandon and Hugh Grant under the combined direction of producers Lana and Lilly Wachowski and Tom Tykwer (who also produced and wrote part of the score), but delivering a poor $130.4 gross against $129 million costs for Warner Bros.
Berry starred in the Brad Anderson-directed crime thriller, The Call (2013), co-starring Abigail Breslin, Morris Chestnut, and Michael Imperioli, and proving to be a box-office winner with a $68.6 million gross (against $13 million costs) for Sony/TriStar, followed by Berry switching into action mode as star-producer for director Luis Prieto in Kidnap (2017), grossing $35 million for distributor Aviron Pictures.
Halle Berry teamed with Daniel Craig for director/writer Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s disappointing Los Angeles-set drama, Kings (2017), premiering at the Toronto Film Festival before a weak release by The Orchard, and then Berry joined one of her rare franchise projects with director/producer Matthew Vaughn’s sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), co-starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Elton John, Channing Tatum, and Jeff Bridges, and firing up the box office with a $411 million global gross for 20th Century Fox.
Halle Berry appeared in a supporting role in the hit sequel directed by Chad Stahelski, John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum (2019), starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Anjelica Huston and Ian McShane, earning a knockout $327.7 million for Lionsgate. Berry had her feature directorial debut with the woman’s UFC-themed movie Bruised (2020), in which Berry starred (and narrated) with Shamier Anderson, and which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival before a Netflix release.
Berry starred in director/co-writer/producer Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi commercial and critical bomb ($67 million gross on $150 million costs), Moonfall (2022), with Patrick Wilson, Michael Pena, Kelly Yu, and Donald Sutherland, and then Berry was star-producer of another genre movie, director/producer Alexandre Aja’s horror movie, Never Let Go (2024), released by Lionsgate.
Halle Berry was the star and producer of the cult-themed thriller The Process (date to be announced), directed by Tara Miele, and then Berry continued as star-producer on the action thriller Maude v Maude (date to be announced), directed by Roseanne Liang and co-starring Angelina Jolie.
Personal Details
Halle Berry was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was raised in Oakwood Village, Ohio by parents Jerome and British-born mother Judith. Berry has a sister Heidi and a half-sister, Renee. Berry attended Bedford High School, where she was a cheerleader. Berry then attended Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. Berry was married to MLB star David Justice from 1993 to 1997 when the couple divorced. Berry married singer-songwriter Eric Benét in 2001 and divorced him in 2005. Berry was in a relationship with actor Gabriel Aubry from 2005 to 2010; the couple has one daughter, Nahla Aubry. Berry’s third marriage was to actor Olivier Martinez from 2013 to 2016, when the couple divorced; the couple has a son, Maceo. Berry’s height is 5’ 5”. r’s estimated net worth is $90 million.
Filmography
actor
Previous (40)
- 2024 | Never Let GoasMomma
Never Let Go
A family that has been haunted by an evil spirit for years. Their safety and their surroundings come into question when one of the children questions if the evil is real.
- 2023 | Hollywood's Hard Hitters: Women in Action
- 2023 | The Mothership
- 2022 | Behind Bruised
- 2022 | Thug Rose: Mixed Martial Artist
- 2022 | UFC 281: Adesanya vs. PereiraasSelf - Audience Member
UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira
Action from UFC 281 as Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira meet in the middleweight division at Madison Square Garden in New York.
- 2022 |
- 2021 |
- 2020 |
- 2019 | The Union
- 2019 | John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
John Wick is on the run after killing a member of the international assassins' guild, and with a $14 million price tag on his head, he is the target of hit men and women everywhere.
- 2018 |
- 2017 |
- 2016 | Kevin Hart: What Now?
Kevin Hart: What Now?
Comedian Kevin Hart performs in front of a crowd of 53,000 people at Philadelphia's outdoor venue, Lincoln Financial Field.
- 2012 | Dark Tide
- 2012 | Cloud Atlas
Cloud Atlas
An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.
- 2010 | Frankie & Alice
- 2007 | 2nd Unit: Invisible Action Stars
- 2007 | Mother
- 2007 | Perfect Stranger
- 2007 | Things We Lost in the Fire
- 2006 | X-Men: The Last Stand
- 2005 | Robots
- 2004 | Catwomanas CatwomanPatience Phillips
- 2003 | Gothikaas Miranda Grey
- 2003 | X2
- 2002 | Die Another Dayas Jinx Johnson
- 2001 | Monster's Ballas Leticia Musgrove
- 2001 | Swordfish
- 1998 | Bulworth
- 1998 | Why Do Fools Fall in Love
- 1997 | B*A*P*S
- 1996 | Executive Decision
- 1996 | Race the Sun
- 1996 | The Rich Man's Wife
- 1995 | Losing Isaiah
- 1994 | The Flintstones
- 1993 | Father Hood
- 1993 | The Program
- 1992 | Boomerang
self
Previous (2)
- 2022 | Sidney
Sidney
From producer Oprah Winfrey and directed by Reginald Hudlin, this revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier and his legacy as an iconic actor, filmmaker and activist at the center of Hollywood and the Civil Rights Movement. Featuring candid interviews with Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand, Spike Lee and many more, the film is also produced by Derik Murray, in close collaboration with the Poitier family.
- 2018 | Lost in America
Lost in America
Following director Rotimi Rainwater, a former homeless youth, as he travels the country to shine a light on the epidemic of youth homelessness in America.
Some Facts About Halle Berry
Berry’s Method: Halle Berry prepared for her crack addict role in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever by not washing or bathing for two weeks before filming her performance.
What’s In a Name?: Berry was born with the name “Halle” for the famed Halle Building in Cleveland, Ohio, the center of the Halle Brothers department store.
Misdemeanor: Halle Berry received $13,500 in fines and three years probation for leaving the scene of a traffic accident.
Beauty Contestant: Berry competed as the first Black American in the Miss World Competition and won Miss Teen All-American in 1985 and Miss Ohio in 1986.
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