Berry, Berry Beautiful

Halle Berry

She's been called the sexiest woman in the world and she's undoubtedly one of the most beautiful. But superstar Halle Berry is also an accomplished actress who can easily move between dramatic and action-oriented roles. (Photo by Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)

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Berry, Berry Bea... She's been called the sexiest woman in the world and she's undoubtedly one of the most beautiful. But superstar Halle Berry is also an accomplished actress who can easily move between dramatic and action-oriented roles. (Photo by Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)
Halle's History Halle Berry was born on August 14, 1966 in Ohio to an interracial couple – her parents took the name Halle from a local department store. When she was a young girl, her father abandoned the family and Berry and her sister were raised by their mother in the Cleveland suburbs. (Photo: Mario Casilli)
Beaty Pageant Be... An overachiever who excelled in both school and extra-curricular activities, Halle became a beauty pageant star, winning Miss Teen Ohio and Miss Ohio pageants and landing first runner-up in the 1985 Miss USA competition. (Photo Steve W Grayson/Online USA) (Photo: Getty)
Halle Heads Out After dropping out of college, Berry decided to pursue her acting dreams. She moved to New York and supporting herself through modeling until 1989, when she landed her first major role, as a teenage model on the blink-and-you-missed-it sitcom "Living Dolls," along with another future star, Leah Remini. (Photo: Mario Casilli)
Berry's Big Brea... In 1991, Spike Lee cast Halle as the crack addict girlfriend of Samuel L. Jackson's character in his film "Jungle Fever." Co-star Wesley Snipes and Berry had a brief relationship. (Photo by Getty Images)
Berry Means 'Bus... More roles started to come Halle's way in 1991, from the romantic comedy "Strictly Business" to a turn as a stripper in "The Last Boy Scout" and as Eddie Murphy's love interest in "Boomerang." (Photo: Getty Images)
Halle Gets Hitch... In 1993, Halle married her first husband, Atlanta Braves outfielder, David Justice. They divorced in 1997 and Berry said she was suicidal over the breakup. (AP Photo/File)
Bedrock Berry In 1994, Halle stepped back into the Stone Age as a sexy secretary in the stinker, "The Flinstones." In 1995, Halle played another drug addict, this one attempting to stay clean to regain custody of her child, in the drama "Losing Isaiah" opposite Jessica Lange. (Photo: Universal)
'Why Do Fools Fa... In 1998, she played one of the three wives of pop singer Frankie Lymon in "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" (Photo: Getty Images)
Berry in 'Bulwor... In 1999, she paired up with Warren Beatty in the 1988 political satire "Bulworth." (Photo: Getty Images)
Berry Wins Big In 2000, Berry won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of singer/actress Dorothy Dandridge in the HBO film "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge." (Photo: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect)
The Berry Best Berry beat out a string of other actresses for the plum part, including Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson. Dandridge was the first African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, an award for which Berry herself would also be nominated. (Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images)
Berry's Beautifu... In 2000, Halle made the hearts of sci-fi fans go pitter-patter with her turn as super-hot mutant Storm in the first installment of "X-Men." She would go on to star in two sequels. (Photo: 20th Century Fox)
Berry's Bust In the 2001 thriller "Swordfish," Berry appeared topless for the first time. There were rumors that she refused to appear nude unless paid an additional $500,000, but she has never confirmed it. (Photo by Chris Weeks/Getty Images)
Berry's 'Ball' But it was Halle's harrowing portrayal of a hardscrabble small-town waitress with a husband on death row in "Monster's Ball" that really won her the attention of critics that year. (Photo: Lions Gate)
Berry's Big Awar... In 2001, Berry became the first African-American woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress. In her acceptance speech, a tearful Berry said, "This moment is so much bigger than me. This is for every nameless, faceless woman of colour who now has a chance tonight because this door has been opened." (Photo by Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect.)
Berry's Big Kiss The following year, while presenting at the Oscars, Berry got an unexpected and very long lasting smooch from Best Actor winner Adrien Brody. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Berry Does Bond In 2002, Berry became a Bond girl, Jinx, opposite Pierce Brosnan in "Die Another Day." (Photo: MGM)
Berry in a Bikin... Has anyone ever looked as good in orange? Or a bikini? Sorry, Ursula Andress. (Photo: MGM)
Berry and Benet In 2001, Halle married musician Eric Benet and adopted his daughter. The two divorced in 2005 amid rumors of Benet's sex addiction. Berry asserted on "Oprah" that she would never get married again. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.)
Berry's Bomb In 2004, Halle starred opposite Sharon Stone in the flop "Catwoman." Halle won a Razzie for worst actress for her role in the film and, being a good sport, attended the Razzie ceremony, saying, "It's not like I ever aspired to be here, but thank you. When I was a kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a good loser, then there's no way you could be a good winner." (Photo: Warner Brothers)
Halle's Hottie Although she's stuck to her vow to never remarry, Halle hasn't given up men entirely. She hooked up with younger man – and Versace model – Gabriel Aubry in 2005. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
Berry and Benici... In 2007, Berry took on another dramatic role in the small film, "Things We Lost in the Fire," opposite Benicio del Toro. (Photo: Paramount)
Berry's Baby Gir... Berry gave birth to a daughter, Nahla Ariela Aubry, on March 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
Hooray for Halle With four films in the pipeline, a new baby and a signature fragrance rumored to be in the works, Berry has a lot to be happy about in 2009. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)