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(BILD)
Halle Marie Berry was born on August the 14th 1968 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother, Judith, a nurse, was white and originally from England. Her father, Jerome, was black. Halle and her older sister Heidi spent the first few years of their childhood living in an inner-city neighbourhood. Jerome abandoned his family when Halle was four years old. According to Halle her father was an alcoholic and abusive to her, her sister, her mother and even to himself.
Halle's mother moved with her daughters to the mainly white Cleveland suburb of Bedford when Halle was ten years old. But there were tensions as well. She attended a nearly all-white public school there. It was first very difficult for her to make friends. She was one of only three or four black high school kids and she felt the need to prove that she was as smart as everyone else. It was extremely hard to get along. There was a lot of racism going on between the blacks and the whites and Halle was often called Nigger or Zebra. She felt isolated and disliked. But she never gave up hope and became head cheerleader, class president and was the editor of the school newspaper. Halle even ran for prom queen one time and won. Everybody at school said she was "pretty" but they didn't recognize that Halle was smart or funny or had a strong character. Although she made lots of friends in that time, she never felt equal.
In 1985, when Halle was seventeen, her first boyfriend sent off two pictures of her to a state-wide beauty contest. She realized then that she could use her looks to make money. That was the only thing she wanted to do - to make money. Just to guarantee her family -especially her mom - a better life. She didn't want to be famous. Halle earned a handful of beauty pageant titles during the early 1980s, including Miss Teen Ohio and Miss Teen America. (BILD -BUCH!!)
After her graduation she attended Cleveland's Cuyahoga Community College, where she studied broadcast journalism.
But journalism was not that kind of work she wanted to do. So she left the college. Berry moved to Chicago then New York City, where she found work as a catalogue model.
But that wasn't enough for her. She wanted to become an actress. She engaged a manager who began to send her out on auditions.
In 1989 she landed her first big role: the part of Emily Franklin in the ABC sitcom Living Dolls. The success came from rejection:
Though she was turned down for a part on Charlie's Angels 88 she nonetheless caught the eye of Aaron Spelling, the producer behind such hits as Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place and Charmed.
Living Dolls was only on the air for a few weeks. It was one of these sitcoms that probably sounded good when it was pitched: a comedy about young models! But it turned out to be nearly unwatchable. (BILD)
Ironically it was just Halle began to start a career as an actress when she was diagnosed with diabetes. She was diagnosed with the illness after collapsing into a diabetic coma on the set. Despite this, she continued to pursue with her dream. Shortly after getting her first role in a series Halle scored her first big screen role as \"Vivian\" in Spike Lee\'s movie \"Jungle Fever\". Halle continued trying to build on her movie experience and soon landed small roles in movies like \"The Last Boy Scout\" starring Bruce Willis in 1991. Halle went on to get larger roles in other movies such as \"Boomerang\" with Eddy Murphy and \"The Flintstones\" in 1994. (BilD)
Despite playing some strong roles Halle has tended to lack getting any major recognition for her acting. Her first taste of recognition came in the year 2000 when Halle won an Emmy following her portrayal of \"Dorothy Dandridge\" in the movie \"Introducing Dorothy Dandridge\". Dorothy Dandridge was the first black woman to be nominated for an Oscar in the category of best leading actress.
In that film Halle got has first taste of producing a movie. Speaking of her role in the movie Halle said \"Dorothy gave me the greatest gift. She gave the opportunity, after 10 years of struggling in this business, to be a leading lady.\" That gave Halle lots of hope.
She went on to play \"Storm\" in the block-buster movie \"X-Men\". (BILD)
More recently Halle played the controversial role of \"Ginger\" in the movie \"Swordfish\" in the year 2000, for which she earned 2.5million$.
Berry gained the most positive critical notice of her film career in late 2001, for her performance as the wife of a death row prisoner in the dark drama Monster\'s Ball. The role earned Berry a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Drama and the Academy Award for Best Actress. It was the first time a black woman got an Oscar. Halle paid tribute to her mom, her sister, her husband Eric Benet, her stepchild and to her manager, who was the "real father she ever had" From that day on Halle is a true child of showbiz. (BILD)
In 2002 she starred in the hit Bond adventure Die Another Day with Pierce Brosnan.
Between film projects Halle helps the charities that are closest to her heart including the Juvenile Diabetes Association and the National Breast Cancer Coalition.Halle's latest movie is the horror thriller "Gothika" which is on the movies now.
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