It was a long and interesting journey for Halle Berrywhose career spanned from second place in the Miss USA beauty pageant to the first and (so far) only Oscar for Best Actress in history.
After competing in the beauty pageant circuit, Berry launched an acting career with a number of roles on television, in rather forgettable roles. Her big break came in Spike Lees film “Jungle Fever”, which offered her a juicy supporting role and brought her to the attention of filmmakers.
Berry almost ended her career before it had really begun when she made the mistake of turning down the lead role in the film “Speed”, which Sandra Bullock to stardom. However, she returned with a series of films that culminated in the acclaimed television movie “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge,” which won her an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a SAG Award.
Dorothy Dandridge was the first black actress ever nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress (nominated for “Carmen Jones”). The role would prove prophetic, as in 2001 she became the first black woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film “Monster’s Ball.” In a famously emotional speech, she proclaimed that her award was much more than just herself, but rather a door finally opened for “nameless, faceless women of color.” Unfortunately, this prediction has not come true, as no other African American has won to date.
Take a tour of our photo gallery, which features Berry’s top ten film performances, ranked from worst to best. Our list includes Bulworth, Die Another Day, and X-Men.
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10. GOTHICA (2003)
Photo credit: Attila Dory/Dark Castle/Columbia/Warner Bros/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz. Screenplay: Sebastian Gutierrez. Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Penelope Cruz, Charles S. Dutton.
Berry plays a psychiatrist who suddenly wakes up as a patient in the mental hospital where she used to work, with no idea how she got there. The film was supposed to be her first serious role after winning the Oscar, but the film’s confusing plot turned off both audiences and critics.
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9. JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3: PARABELLUM
Photo credit: Mark Rogers/Lionsgate/Kobal/Shutterstock
Director: Chad Stehelski. Screenplay: Derek Kolstad, Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, Marc Abrams.
Berry joined the popular franchise, which stars Keanu Reeves as a superpowered international assassin. In this film, Wick has a $14 million bounty on his head and many assassins from all over the world try to kill him to collect the reward. Berry plays an ex-assassin and friend of Wick who helps him hide.
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8. CLOUD ATLAS (2012)
Photo credit: Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock
Directors and producers: Tom Tyker, Lana and Andy Wachowski. Cast: Tom Hanks, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving.
This complex exploration of how each life affects the others around it was praised by some people, but also disappointed some viewers. Each actor plays multiple characters in different storylines. Berry expressed that the film was particularly fulfilling as it gave her the opportunity to play characters of different races and genders. She found this to be a great opportunity as her career has so often been hampered due to her race.
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7. Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)
Photo credit: Doane Gregory/Dreamworks/Kobal/Shutterstock
Director: Susanne Bier. Author: Allan Loeb. With Benicio Del Toro, Allison Lohman and David Duchovny.
Berry plays a young widow struggling to make a living and raise her children. She takes in her late husband’s troubled best friend, who helps her rebuild her life and support her children in their grief.
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6. The Loss of Isaiah (1995)
Photo credit: Paramount/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal. Screenplay: Naomi Foner. Cast: Jessica Lange, David Straithairn, Cuba Gooding Jr.
This is an interesting film in which Berry plays a drug addicted homeless woman who abandons her baby on the streets. The child is then taken into protective custody and eventually adopted by a white woman, played by Jessica Lange. Years later, Berry becomes clean and sober and begins a legal battle to get her child back.
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5. X-MEN (2000)
Photo credit: Moviestore Collection/REX/Shutterstock
Director: Bryan Singer. Screenplay: David Hayter. Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen.
In this first film in the popular film series, Berry played Storm, the mutant who can control the weather. Comic book geeks often debated who was the most powerful of the mutants. Although Wolverine is truly considered the leader, his spiked hands pale in comparison to Storm’s abilities to alter the weather, especially in times of climate change and global warming.
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4. DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002)
Photo credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock
Director: Lee Tamahori. Screenplay: Neil Purvis, Robert Wade. Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike.
Berry has always had an unconventional career path and the fact that she landed a role as a “Bond girl” after her Oscar for Best Actress may seem like an odd blip on her resume. In fact, she was already signed on to the Bond film before the Oscar win and began filming in the weeks after the win. She was one of the more confident and distinctive Bond girls and a spin-off series featuring her character was considered and developed for a while but then abandoned.
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3. BULWORTH (1998)
Photo credit: Snap Stills/Shutterstock
Directed by: Warren Beatty. Screenplay: Warren Beatty, Jeremy Pikser. Cast: Warren Beatty, Sean Astin, Don Cheadle.
Bulworth is an offbeat political comedy starring Warren Beatty as a depressed and desperate political candidate who tries to reach voters using rap and hip hop music. Berry plays an activist with whom he becomes romantically involved during his campaign. The film’s screenplay received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
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2. JUNGLE FEVER (1991)
Photo credit: David Lee/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock
Director and screenwriter: Spike Lee. Cast: Wesley Snipes, Anabella Sciorra, Samuel L. Jackson.
Berry hit the jackpot in her first appearance, making an auspicious film debut in this acclaimed film from director Spike Lee. It was Lee’s follow-up to his acclaimed Do the Right Thing. The story explores the prejudices an interracial couple faces from their various relatives and friends. Berry has a small but spectacular role as a crack addict.
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1. MONSTER BALL (2001)
Photo credit: Jeanne Louise Bulliard/Lions Gate/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
Director: Marc Forster. Screenplay: Milo Addica, Will Rokos. Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Heath Ledger, Sean Combs.
Berry plays a woman who falls in love with the prison guard who oversaw her ex-husband’s execution. The film went down in history as it made Berry the first and, to date, only black actress to win an Oscar for Best Actress.
