Halle Berry, born Maria Halle Berry is an American actress, beauty queen and former fashion model. She was born on August 14, 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio. her father was African-American and her mother was Caucasian. She has an older sister named Heidi Berry. Berry's parents separated when she was four, forcing her mother to raise Halle and her sister on her own.

Berry is a graduate of Bedford High School and after which she studied at the Cuyahoga Community College. She first came into the spotlight when she won the Miss Teen All-Americancontest in 1985, and a year later when she was the first runner up in the Miss USA . Her first more serious acting job was on a TV series called "Living Dolls", which she one day slipped into a coma. She was quickly said to have diabetes mellitus type 1.

Her big breakthrough was in Spike Lee's film "Jungle Fever"(1991) after which followed roles in movies such as "Boomerangalong" side Eddie Murphy, "Flinstones", "Monster's "Ball" for which she received an Academy Award in 2001. She then went on to star in the series of "X-Men" and a Bond Girl in the 2002 film "Die Another Day". She is the highest paid African-American actress in Hollywood.

Has been married twice. The first time it was to baseball player David Justice in 1993. They separated in 1996. The second time it was to musician Eric Benet from 2001 to 2005. During their four year marriage she adopted his daughter India. She is now living with her partner, French-Canadian supermodel Adrian Aubry, who is nine years her junior and whom she met at a photo shoot in November, 2005. They had a child in 2008, a girl named Nahla Ariela Aubry.