Best known for playing the role of Giacinta ‘Jinx’ Johnson in the James Bond film, Die Another Day, and Catwoman, Halle Berry is an American film and TV actress, film producer, and fashion model. The actress started her career as a model; she participated in various beauty contests, being crowned the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and standing 6th place in the Miss World Pageant in 1986.

Early Life
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Halle Berry is the daughter of Judith Ann and Jerome Jesse Berry. Her mother, who has English and German ancestry worked as a psychiatric nurse and her father, who worked as a hospital attendant in the psychiatric ward has African-American lineage. Berry’s parents divorced when she was four and Berry along with her elder sister Heidi Berry – Henderson was raised by her mother alone.

The beautiful actress completed her graduation from Bedford High School where she was a cheerleader and the editor of the school newspaper. During her graduation, she worked in the children’s department at Highbee’s department store. During the 1980’s, Berry participated in several beauty contests and won Miss Teen All-American title in 1985 and the Miss Ohio USA pageant in 1986. In the same year, she became the first African-American to participate in the Miss World pageant, where she finished in the sixth position.

In 1989, Berry moved to New York City to give wings to her acting career but she had a go through a tough time. With no money to afford a home for a brief period, she lived in a homeless shelter. Her situation improved as she was cast to play the role of Emily Franklin in the ABC TV series Living Dolls. Later, she was cast in the popular TV series, Knots Landing before eventually making her debut on the silver screen with Jungle Fever in 1991.

Personal Life
Halle Berry dated John Ronan, a dentist from Chicago for three years from 1989 to 1991. The two broke when Ronan filed a case against Berry and for unpaid loans to the tune of 80,000 USD, which he apparently had given to help launch her career.

After separating with Ronan, Berry dated a baseball player, David Justice whom she first saw on the MTV celebrity baseball game in February 1992. When a reporter from Justice’s hometown, Cincinnati told her that he was Berry’s fan, she gave the reporter her number to give it to Justice. The two got married on January 1, 1993. However, the marriage did not last long and the couple eventually separated in February 1996 and their divorce was finalized in June 1997.

The actress then met Eric Benet, as singer and songwriter and the two after sharing two years of courtship period got married in January 2001. But after two years of marriage, the duo filed for divorce in October 2003, which was finalized in January 2005. Later in the year, Berry began dating a French Canadian model, Gabriel Aubry whom she had met during a photoshoot for Versace. The actress gave birth to their daughter in March 2008 and in April 2012 the couple announced their separation.

Movie Career
After appearing in several TV shows, Halle Berry made her big switch to act in feature films in 1991; she made her debut in the Spike Lee directed romantic drama film, Jungle Fever. The film co-starring Samuel L. Jackson, Lonette McKee, Ossie Davis and John Turturro was based on the interracial relationship. The film received critical applause at the Cannes Film Festival, 1991 and it emerged to be a box office hit. The same year, the actress starred in two more films, Strictly Business and The Last Boy Scout. Both the film did fairly well at the box office.

The following year, Balle had a single release; director Reginald Hudlin cast Berry, Eddie Murphy, Robin Givens, David Alan Grier and Martin Lawrence in Boomerang. Upon release in July 1992, the film emerged to one of the highest grossing films in North America that year; its box office collection totaled to 131 million USD. It also won nominations at the BMI Film and TV Awards and MTV Movie Awards. Over the next few years, the actress appeared in several films like Father Hood (1993), Losing Isaiah (1995), B*A*P*S (1997) before getting a major breakthrough in 2000 as she appeared in X-Men. The American superhero film, which is based on the Marvel Comics superhero team was the first film in the X-Men series and it was directed by Bryan Singer. The film featuring and an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellen won critical praise and was a financial success, garnering 296.3 million USD.

After her mega success with X-Men, Halle Berry featured in one of the biggest hits of her career, Monster’s Ball which released in theaters in February 2002. The film directed Marc Forster also featured Billy Bob Thornton, Heath Ledger and Peter Boyle in pivotal roles. Based on the story of a widowed corrections officer, his adult son and his bigoted father working in the same profession, Monster Ball was critically acclaimed and Berry for her brilliant performance won her maiden Academy Award for Best Actress.

The following year, the actress added another glorious feather to her already illustrious career cap as she made her debut in the James Bond film; she starred alongside Pierce Brosnan in the Lee Tamahori film, Die Another Day. Although the film received mixed reviews it emerged to be one of the highest-grossing James Bond films; grossing 431 million USD. The following year, the actress reprised her role as Ororo Munroe/Storm in the second film of X-Men series, X2. The film is considered to be one of the best superhero films ever made and it received critical praise as well as emerged to be a huge commercial hit.

In 2004, Berry appeared in Catwoman where she played the titular role; whilst she came to be associated with the character Catwoman, the film was one of the biggest flops of her career. The American superhero film was loosely based on the DC Comics character of the same name and Berry played the anti-heroine and the love interest of the vigilante hero, Batman. The film received seven Golden Raspberry nominations and won awards including Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay and Worst Actress and many considered to be one of the worst movies of all time. Two years later, the actress turned it around and more than made up for her worst performance as she appeared in the third installment of the X-Men film series titled X-Men: The Last Stand. The film directed by Brett Ratner got mixed critical reviews but turned out to be a massive commercial hit, grossing more than 450 million USD.

Post her success with X-Men: The Last Stand, the actress appeared in two films in 2007. In her first film of the year, she starred in Perfect Stranger, an American neo-noir psychological thriller directed by James Foley. The film was panned by the critics but it performed well at the box office. Her other film of the year was Things We Lost in the Fire, a drama film which was written by Allan Loeb and directed by Susanne Bier. The film garnered generally favorable reviews and grossed 1.5 million USD in its opening weekend. After 2007, the actress had no release for three years until she came back in 2010 with Frankie and Alice. The film directed by Geoffrey Sax was based on a true story of a 1970’s stripper who suffers from dissociative identity disorder. Upon release in theaters in December 2010, the film got negative reviews from the critics but Berry for her outstanding performance won a Golden Globe Awards nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama. The actress’ next major hit came in 2014 when she starred in the seventh installment of the X-Men film series titled X-Men Days of the Future Past. The film became one of the best-reviewed films in the series and got wide critical praise mainly for its stunning visual effects and electrifying action scenes. The film grossed 747 million USD worldwide and it became the sixth highest-grossing film of the year.

In 2016, the actress shared the screen space with Kevin Hart, and Don Cheadle in the American stand-up comedy film, Kevin Hart: What Now?, which was based on a stand-up tour of the same name. Upon release in October 2016, it garnered mostly positive reviews and its box office collections totaled to 23 million USD. Her other film of the year includes Kidnap, a thriller film directed by Luis Prieto.