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Halle Maria Berry (born August 14, 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an Academy Award-winning actress and model.

Halle Berry was named after Halle's Department Store, a local landmark in Cleveland, Ohio. She is bi-racial; born to Judith Ann Hawkins, a caucasian mother of mostly English ancestry, and an African-American father, Jerome J. Berry. Berry's maternal grandmother, Nellie Dicken, was born in Sawley, Derbyshire, England, while her maternal grandfather, Earl Ellsworth Hawkins, was born in Ohio. Berry's parents divorced when she was 4 years old and she subsequently was raised by her mother, a psychiatric-ward nurse. She also has an older sister, Heidi.

Berry was a popular student at Bedford Heights High School and was a cheerleader, honor society member, editor of the school newspaper, class president and prom queen. She worked in the childrens' department at Higbee's Department Store. Her personality, as described by a co-worker was expressed in these terms..."I can hardly believe how sweet and nice she had been to everyone. People who weren't half as beautiful as she did not display the kind of inner beauty she exhibited". She subsequently attended Cuyahoga Community College.

Before becoming an actress, she entered several beauty contests, including Miss Ohio USA, Miss Teen All American, Miss USA (first runner-up in 1986) and Miss World.

In the late 1980s, she went to Chicago to pursue a modeling career as well as acting. One of her first acting projects was a television series for local cable by Gordon Lake Productions called "Chicago Force."

Berry auditioned for a role in an updated Charlie's Angels television series by producer Aaron Spelling. At the time, Spelling wanted one of the "Angels" to be a African American woman. She did not get the role (because the project never materialized) but she impressed Spelling with her skills, encouraging her to continue perfecting her craft.

In 1989, Berry landed the role of brainy Emily Franklin in the short-lived ABC television series Living Dolls (which was a spin-off of Who's the Boss?). Her breakthrough feature film role was in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever where she played a health addict named Vivian. Her first co-starring role was in the film Strictly Business. Another one of her early roles was in a supporting capacity in the Flintstones movie where she played "Sharon Stone" (a part rumored to have been intended for Sharon Stone). The year before, Berry really caught the public's attention with her portrayal as a female slave in the TV adaption of Queen: The Story of an American Family.

Berry is also known by most comic book fans for her portrayal of Storm in the movie adaptation of the successful comic book X-Men (2000) and its successful sequel X2: X-Men United (2003). Berry will reprise her role again in the third installment X-Men 3 scheduled for a May 2006 release. In late 2003 Berry starred in the thriller Gothika, which was the first film that she "carried," i.e., her role was the most important one in the film.