Fact Sheet:

Birthdate: August 14, 1968
Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio
Occupations: Actor, Model
Claim to Fame: Played Vivian in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991)
Significant Other(s): Husband: Eric Benet, singer; born 1967; married 2001; has daughter from previous relationship Shemar Moore, actor; featured on The Young and the Restless Husband: David Justice, professional baseball player with the Atlanta Braves; married January 1993; divorced 1997
Father: Jerome Berry, former hospital attendant; African American
Mother: Judith Berry (née Hawkins), retired psychiatric nurse; Caucasian
Sister: Heidi; older; married with two children
Awards:
1985: Won the Miss Teen All-American Pageant, representing the state of Ohio
1986: First runner-up in the Miss USA Pageant
1986: Won the dress competition in the Miss World Pageant
1999: Golden Globe: Best Actress (Miniseries, TV Movie) for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
1999: Screen Actors Guild: Female Actor (Televison Movie or Miniseries), Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
2002: Screen Actors Guild: Best Actress, Monster's Ball
2002: Oscar: Best Actress, Monster's Ball
Factoids:
Named after the department store Halle Brothers
Lost 80 percent of hearing in right ear from physically abusive boyfriend
Education:
Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland, Ohio
Agency:
William Morris Agency
Contact: Halle Berry
c/o SFM
1122 S. Robertson Blvd., Suite 15
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Biography: Halle Berry and her sister were raised by their mother Judith, a nurse in a psychiatric ward, after their abusive father left the family when Halle was four. However, the rough start to her life didn't deter her from excelling in all she did. While in high school she was a cheerleader, editor of the school newspaper, member of the honor society and not surprisingly, a prom queen. She also achieved the status of Miss Ohio, Miss Teen All-American, and in 1986, was first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant, and the first African-American to represent the U.S. in the Miss World competition in London. In Cleveland she studied broadcast journalism at the Cuyahoga Community College, and for few years she modeled in Chicago, which led to her first weekly TV series, 1989's Living Dolls. An actress of striking beauty and elegance, she rapidly gained a reputation for on-set tenacity, preferring to "live" her roles and remaining in character even when the cameras stopped turning. This technique was not universally condoned by her fellow workers, especially when she reportedly refused to bathe for several days before starting work on her role as a crack addict in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991). However, such intense preparation paid off, as Berry's work on Lee's film provided her screen breakthrough. The following year, the actress was cast as Eddie Murphy's love interest in Boomerang, one of the few times that the explosive Murphy was evenly matched on screen. Usually appearing in adult-oriented films, Berry gained a youthful following for her performance as sexy secretary Sharon Stone in The Flintstones (1994). She next had a highly publicized co-starring stint with Jessica Lange in the adoption drama Losing Isaiah (1995). Her turn as a former crack addict battling to gain custody of her child, who as an infant was adopted by an upper-class white couple, received mixed reviews.