Halle Berry: A Look at Her Impressive Career — Plus, Her Upcoming Film With Mark Wahlberg

Halle Berry has been making history for as long as we can remember. The Cleveland born 57-year-old actress, who rose in the ranks of the pageant world before making it big in Hollywood, has been a shining star for decades. Known for roles in films like Monster’s Ball (2001), Catwoman (2004), Swordfish (2001), Kidnap (2017) and plenty of others, the actress most certainly has range.

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The early life of Halle Berry

Considering the way in which she excelled in a school setting, including participation in various extracurriculars, it’s not surprising her life outside of the classroom would be just as impressive. Throughout her teen years, the young, soon-to-be-starlet took home various pageant titles, including Miss Teen Ohio, Miss Teen America, and even earned herself the runner-up spot in the Miss USA pageant.

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After a short college stint, she decided that the career in journalism she was pursuing wasn’t what she wanted, so she packed her bags and found work as a catalog model before landing herself a spot on the screen.

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Her first major role on the screen was in the series Living Dolls as Emily Franklin. In its wake came appearances on shows like A Different World and Knots Landing , as well as film roles in movies like Jungle Fever (1991).

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Throughout the 90s, Berry built an impressive resume for herself that included notable roles in films like The Flintstones (1994), Solomon & Sheba (1995), Losing Isaiah (1995) and plenty more.

Ironically, in 1999, she took on the role of Dorothy Dandridge in the TV film Introducing Dorothy Daindridge, for which she earned Emmy and Golden Globe awards. It told the story of the 1950s actress who was the first Black woman nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. A mere two years later, Berry would go on to be the first Black woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Monster’s Ball .

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Since those early glass ceilings she shattered, Berry has continued to shine on the screen. Many of her more recent roles have been on the action-packed side, having starred in films like Bruised (2020), John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019), Kidnap (2017) and more.

For Berry, taking on these physically demanding roles has almost been therapeutic. “ Kicking, punching and pushing myself to my limits has always been a great, healthy release,” she told AARP in 2022. “Like men, women have a lot of pent-up anger and angst and sadness. I needed a healthy way to get this stuff out of my body. Sweating and working out is fuel for me. I’m also addicted to those feel-good endorphins.”

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What’s next for Halle Berry?

On August 16, you can catch Berry acting alongside Mark Wahlberg in their newest Netflix film, The Union . Wahlberg stars as a New Jersey construction worker who is whisked away by his high school girlfriend (Berry) on an intelligence mission throughout Europe, full of action and adventure.

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