Born in Cleveland, Ohio on August 14, 1968, Berry's introduction to show business was as a winner of the Miss Teen All-American Pageant, which lead to a career in modeling.
A TV acting career soon followed including appearances in Living Dolls, and Knots Landing before her debut film role in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever in 1991.
Berry next appeared in a series of films to mixed reviews including Boomerang opposite Eddie Murphy, and Losing Isaiah with Jessica Lange. More favorable reviews came with her appearances in Warren Beatty's Bullworth and in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge for which she won a Golden Globe award.
Her role as Storm in The X-Men, however, ultimately put Berry on the map - which was soon followed by an appearance opposite John Travolta in Swordfish, a major disaster. Then came Berry's most critically acclaimed work to date, as she appeared in Monster's Ball opposite Billy Bob Thornton and Sean Combs, for which she became the first African-American woman ever to win the Oscar for Best Actress.
Berry's other notable performances have since included a star turn in the James Bond film Die Another Day as well as a reprise of her role in the encore box office hit, X2- X-Men United.
Despite Berry's universally panned appearance in her recent starring role as Catwoman, (she attended the 2005 Razzie's to accept her award as Worst Actress) millions of her adoring fans continue to cite her proven track record and are betting her next movie is another bona-fide Hollywood hit.
Most recently, Berry has received enormous buzz for her small screen starring role in Their Eyes Were Watching God on ABC Television. Her next role on the big screen will be as the voice of Cappy in the animated film, Robots. Berry is also slated to reprise her role as Storm in X-Men 3 scheduled for release in 2006..
