Halle Berry may not be on TV screens as much these days, but in her heyday, she was the go-to black American actress for many movie producers. The pretty-faced actress has shown her versatility in a wide range of movie roles.
Harry Berry is no doubt one of the living legends in Hollywood. In honor of her contribution to the art, here are five things you probably don’t know about Halle Berry.
She Was Named After a Department Store
Halle Department Store was a popular local landmark in Cleveland around 1966. Halle’s parents probably felt in their hearts that their daughter was going to be popular and famous. What better way to get started than by naming her after the most popular landmark they could think of?
But they didn’t exactly make it her first name in the first place. The actress was born Maria Halle Berry on August 14, 1966. When the actress turned five, her parents decided to change her name to Halle Maria Berry.
She Has a Hearing Disability in One Ear
Credit: @halleberry
Halle Berry has lost about 80 per cent of her hearing in one of her ears. However, she wasn’t born that way. In one of her interviews, she revealed it was a result of domestic violence. Although she never mentioned the name of the person responsible, speculations at the time were that it was her first husband, David Justice.
David Justice is a former Major League Baseball superstar who married the actress in 1993 and was divorced by 1997. However, after years of silence, Justice took to social media to reveal he wasn’t responsible. Not only did he clear his name, but he also shifted the blame to Wesley Snipes.
Although neither Halle Berry nor Wesley Snipes has made an official comment, they both dated. The relationship was said to have begun on the set of Halle’s first film, Jungle Fever (1991).
She’s the First Black American Woman to Have Won an Oscar
Credit: @halleberry
As surprising as this may be, Halle Belle became the first and only (so far) black American actress to have won the Academy Award for acting in a leading role. She won Best Actress at the 74th Academy Awards for her role in Monster’s Ball (2001). In the movie, she played the character of Leticia Musgrove, a struggling widow.
On that Oscar night, she became the first black woman to have won the award and also the first woman of color to grasp it. The night was all for Halle Berry, as her dress at the award ceremony was voted the most popular outfit in the first 75 years at the Oscars!
In the 20th anniversary of her win in 2022, she shared an appreciation post on her official Instagram page.
A $500,000 Movie Bonus
Credit: Swordfish
It’s common in Hollywood for production companies to pay bonuses to actors and actresses to go the extra mile. When you’re a pretty face, a sex symbol like Halle Berry, it’s not rocket science to think producers would want to use it as an advantage.
As such, Halle Berry was paid a $500,000 bonus to show her chest in a topless scene in the 2001 movie, Swordfish. Although the movie was not entirely successful, Halle Berry’s breasts became a popular search engine result sitting at the top of the list.
Halle Berry walked away with a $2 million paycheck, a $500,000 bonus, and her breasts on the internet. Seemed like a win for the actress at the time.
She Won a Razzie for Her Performance in Catwoman
Credit: Catwoman
As far as awards go, Razzies are at the bottom of the barrel, assuming it even made it into the barrel. Halle Berry was nominated and won the Worst Actress category for her portrayal of Catwoman in the 2004 Catwoman movie.
While many people would think of it as a thing of shame, Halle Berry graciously attended the event to accept her award personally. But just to let them know she’s not that bad an actress, she came along with her 2002 Academy Award Oscar statuette.
She made sure she didn’t fail to thank everyone who put her in the position to be a recipient of the award. Also, not forgetting to invite her manager on stage to remind him to read the scripts before counting the zeros.
Luckily for her career, Halle Berry hasn’t won any Razzie since then!
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