While in high school she was a cheerleader, editor of the school newspaper, member of the honor society and not surprisingly, a prom queen. She also achieved the status of Miss Ohio, Miss Teen All-American, and in 1986, was first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant, and the first African-American to represent the U.S. in the Miss World competition in London article continued below...

Halle Berry and her sister were raised by their mother Judith, a nurse in a psychiatric ward, after their abusive father left the family when Halle was four. However, the rough start to her life didn't deter her from excelling in all she did.

While in high school she was a cheerleader, editor of the school newspaper, member of the honor society and not surprisingly, a prom queen. She also achieved the status of Miss Ohio, Miss Teen All-American, and in 1986, was first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant, and the first African-American to represent the U.S. in the Miss World competition in London.

In Cleveland she studied broadcast journalism at the Cuyahoga Community College, and for few years she modeled in Chicago, which led to her first weekly TV series, 1989's Living Dolls. An actress of striking beauty and elegance, she rapidly gained a reputation for on-set tenacity, preferring to "live" her roles and remaining in character even when the cameras stopped turning. This technique was not universally condoned by her fellow workers, especially when she reportedly refused to bathe for several days before starting work on her role as a crack addict in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991). However, such intense preparation paid off, as Berry's work on Lee's film provided her screen breakthrough.

The following year, the actress was cast as Eddie Murphy's love interest in Boomerang, one of the few times that the explosive Murphy was evenly matched on screen. Usually appearing in adult-oriented films, Berry gained a youthful following for her performance as sexy secretary Sharon Stone in The Flintstones (1994). She next had a highly publicized co-starring stint with Jessica Lange in the adoption drama Losing Isaiah (1995). Her turn as a former crack addict battling to gain custody of her child, who as an infant was adopted by an upper-class white couple, received mixed reviews. Some observers felt that her scenes with Lange merely amplified Berry's artistic shortcomings, while others believed that she had never given a more dynamic performance.

Opinion of the actress' work was overwhelmingly favorable in 1998, when she starred as a street smart young woman who takes up with a struggling politician in Warren Beatty's Bulworth; the following year she won even greater acclaim for her turn as tragic screen presence Dorothy Dandridge in the made-for-cable Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Unfortunately, any acclaim Berry enjoyed was overshadowed by her widely publicized brush with the law on February 23, 2000, when she allegedly ran a red light, slammed into another car, and then left the scene of the accident. The actress, who suffered a gash to her forehead (the driver of the other car sustained a broken wrist), was booked at a misdemeanor court in early April of that year.

• Is a spokeswoman for Revlon cosmetics.
• She was placed on three years probation and ordered to pay $13,500 in fines and penalties after pleading no contest on May 10 2000 to a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of a traffic accident. The judge also ordered the actress to perform 200 hours of community service and to make restitution as determined by the outcome of civil litigation arising from the February accident when she was driving a rented Chevrolet Blazer and ran a red light and crashed into another car on Sunset Boulevard. She left the scene of the accident before authorities arrived, suffered a gash to her head that required 20 stitches to close, and the woman (Hetal Raythatha) driving the other vehicle broke her wrist. Halle reported the accident to a police officer at the hospital where she sought treatment.
• Is diabetic
• Halle's parents, Judith & Jerome Berry, divorced when she was 4 years old. She was then raised by her mom. When researching for her role of Dorothy Dandridge, she discovered that she and Dorothy were both born in the same Cleveland, Ohio hospital.
• (1998) One of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People
• (1986) Miss USA; first runner-up
• (1986) Miss Ohio USA
• (1985) Miss Teen All American
• High school cheerleader. Became engaged to singer Eric Benet on 14 August 1999; Benet has a daughter, India (b. 1991)
• Attended Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland, Ohio
• Turned down the role of Annie in Speed (1994).
• Is named after the grand old Halle Building in Cleveland, OH which originally housed the Halle Brothers department store. The building is now an office building and the fictional setting for the Winfred-Louder department store on "The Drew Carey Show."
• In high school, was an honor society member, editor of the school paper, and class president. Was also crowned prom queen.