Halle Berry

Born on August 14, 1966, in Cleveland, Ohio, Halle Maria to African American father Jerome Berry, a former hospital attendant, and Caucasian mother Judith Berry. Berry was raised by her mother Judith, a psychiatric ward nurse, with her older sister Heidi. Judith's husband, Halle's father, walked out on her family when she was only four years old. And returned when she was eight. Halle's mixed-race heritage was immediately an issue in the Midwest. She had to deal with the taunts of other children, black and white; and also thanks to her beauty, she received a lot of resentment. In high school, she was chosen queen of the prom but was accused of stuffing the ballot box. Throughout high school, the determined teen participated in a dizzying array of extracurricular activities, holding positions of newspaper editor, class president, and head cheerleader.

Halle easily won Miss Ohio, Miss Teen All-American, and in 1986, was first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant. She was the first African American to represent the U.S. in the Miss World competition in London. Halle attended Cleveland's Cuyahoga Community College, where she studied broadcast journalism.

Halle Berry's Gallery