Halle Berry shares surprising parenting rule for daughter Nahla and son Maceo that will impact their future

Halle Berry has always been a fierce advocate for independence and hard work, and it seems she’s passing those values down to her children in the most striking way.

The Oscar-winning actress recently revealed that she has a surprising parenting rule when it comes to her children entering the entertainment industry: they’ll have to make it on their own, just like she did.

Halle, who shares her 16-year-old daughter, Nahla, with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry, and her 10-year-old son, Maceo, with her third ex-husband, Olivier Martinez, has made it clear that she won’t be offering any shortcuts if they decide to follow in her Hollywood footsteps.

“If my children came to me and said they wanted to pursue careers in showbiz, I would tell them: ‘Do it the way I did it,’” the 57-year-old actress candidly shared in an interview with People . “I had no nepotism. Nobody helped me. I had to learn from the ground up.”

Halle emphasized the importance of hard work and resilience, adding, “They would have to do it the same way. They would have to go pay their dues, learn a craft, work hard, and make it on their own for themselves. If they build their careers that way, it’s always theirs. Nobody can take it away. That’s what they would have to do.”

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Halle’s journey to stardom is a testament to her words. Raised in Cleveland by her single mother, who worked as a psychiatric nurse, Halle moved to New York at the age of 23 with dreams of becoming an actress.

But the road to fame was far from easy. Before landing her breakthrough role on the Who's The Boss ? spin-off, Living Dolls, Halle faced significant hardships, including a period where she was so financially strapped that she had to live in a homeless shelter.

Now, as a successful actress and a mother, Halle is busy promoting her latest Netflix movie, The Union, a steamy action-comedy in which she stars opposite Mark Wahlberg. The film has already earned her some unexpected ‘cool points’ with her daughter.

“Well, I got cool points when I introduced my daughter to Mark, because she loves ‘Daddy’s Home.’ That’s one of her favorite movies,” Halle shared with a smile. “So when I got to introduce her to Mark, I think it was the first time in my whole career where she said: ‘Oh, you know Mark Wahlberg? Okay, you’re cool.’”

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While Halle’s career continues to thrive, her personal life has seen its share of challenges, particularly in her co-parenting relationship with Olivier Martinez.

The couple, who married in 2013 while Halle was pregnant with Maceo, split in 2016 and finalized their divorce in August 2023. Despite the end of their marriage, they’ve been working to co-parent their son, albeit with some difficulties.

Recently, Halle accused Olivier of trying to delay their co-parenting therapy sessions, allegedly so he could take the summer off.

According to court documents, Halle claims that Olivier skipped their scheduled July sessions to travel to his native France and is now seeking to postpone their August meetings because his brother is visiting him.

Halle, however, is not backing down. She’s asking a judge to enforce their original agreement, which requires them to attend therapy to resolve disputes and conflicts in order to co-parent successfully. Halle pointed out that the therapy sessions are conducted over Zoom, making travel an irrelevant excuse for missing them.