Berry, Halle (1966– )

US actor and model. She is known for her intense portrayals of strong women in dramas and action films as well as for her willowy beauty and sex appeal. In 2002 she became the first black woman to receive the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the film Monster's Ball (2001), in which she played the wife of a man on death row.

Berry launched her modeling career during the early 1980s, and was awarded first runner-up in the 1986 Miss USA competition. She appeared in the television series Living Dolls (1989) and Knot's Landing (1991) before landing her first major film role in the Spike Lee film Jungle Fever (1991). She went on to play a wide variety of roles, including a former drug addict in Losing Isaiah (1995), a liberal activist in Bulworth (1998), a comic book character in X-Men (2000), and an undercover agent in the Bond film Die Another Day (2002).

Berry was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and is named after the city's Halle building, which formerly housed the Halle Brothers department store. She received a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award for her television film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999), which she also co-produced. Other films include Executive Decision (1996), Swordfish (2001), Gothika (2003), and Catwoman (2004).