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01
She accepted the Razzie Award for Worst Actress in person on February 26, 2005, becoming the first actress to do so, saying Thank you, and I hope to God I never see you guys again.
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02
Pierce Brosnan saved her from choking on a fig during the filming of a love scene for Die Another Day 2002 in Cuba.
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03
She refused to bathe for two weeks in preparation for her role as a crack addict in Jungle Fever 1991, embodying her character.
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04
She is the second Bond girl to win an Academy Award, after Kim Basinger.
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05
She lost some hearing in one ear due to a physical encounter with a boyfriend in the early 1990s.
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06
In high school, she was a National Honor Society member, editor of the school paper, class president, and crowned prom queen.
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07
Her role as a mother in Things We Lost in the Fire 2007 led her to decide to become a mother herself.
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08
Robert Downey Jr. broke her arm during filming of Gothika 2003 in Montreal, causing an eight-week production halt.
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09
Her first $1-million salary was for Executive Decision 1996, a role she initially refused until the offer increased.
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10
She became the first Oscar winner to attend and accept a Razzie Award in person for Catwoman 2004.
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11
She is one of only four actresses to win both the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Razzie Award for Worst Actress.
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12
She can play the flute.
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13
As of 2023, she is the first of only two women of color to win the Academy Award for Best Actress; she presented the award to Michelle Yeoh in 2023.
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14
Her dress for the 2002 Oscars ceremony was voted the most popular from the first 75 years.
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15
She is named after the Halle Building in Cleveland, Ohio, which originally housed the Halle Brothers department store.
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16
She adopted a cat named Playdough originally an extra for Catwoman to help her learn about cats.
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17
Her father was African-American; her mother is of English, German, Irish, and distant Dutch ancestry.
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18
She was four months pregnant with her son Maceo when she completed filming X-Men: Days of Future Past 2014.
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19
As of 2004, she was the highest-paid black actress in Hollywood.
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20
She broke her foot in 2011 while chasing her daughter Nahla on a day off from filming Cloud Atlas 2012 in Majorca, Spain.
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21
She has a sister named Heidi Berry and a half-sister named Renee from her father’s first marriage.
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22
Her parents divorced when she was four; she was raised by her mother.
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23
She has dual US and UK citizenship.
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24
She turned down the role of Annie Porter in Speed 1994; it went to Sandra Bullock.
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25
She lived in Cape Town, South Africa, with her daughter and ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry while filming Dark Tide 2012.
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26
She was the first black American in the Miss World Competition; her dress won a prize.
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27
She was placed on three years probation and ordered to pay $13,500 after pleading no contest to leaving the scene of a traffic accident in 2000.
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28
She won Miss Teen All American 1985 and Miss Ohio USA 1986.
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29
She played Dorothy Dandridge in the television film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge 1999; Dandridge was the first African-American woman nominated for Best Actress, while Berry is the first to win.
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30
Two Barbie dolls have been made in her likeness: one for her character Jinx from Die Another Day and one for Catwoman.
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31
She actively participates with the Jenesee Center for abused women and children in Los Angeles.
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32
Her Oscar-winning role in Monster’s Ball was first turned down by Angela Bassett and Vanessa Williams.
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33
She is one of seven African-American actresses to win an Oscar in a competitive category.
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34
She auditioned for the role of Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do with It 1993 but lost to Angela Bassett.
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35
Her mother is from Liverpool, England.
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36
She starred in six movies with Hugh Jackman: X-Men, Swordfish, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, Movie 43, and X-Men: Days of Future Past.
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37
She has two children: daughter Nahla Aubry born March 16, 2008 and son Maceo Martinez born October 5, 2013.
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38
She married Olivier Martinez on July 13, 2013, after a 17-month engagement.
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39
She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. on April 3, 2007.
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40
She was considered for the role of Serleena in Men in Black II but it went to Lara Flynn Boyle.
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41
She was a Bearcats cheerleader at Bedford High School in Ohio.
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42
She is the first actress to star in a James Bond film following an Academy Award win.
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43
She played a character named Sharon Stone in The Flintstones 1994 and later appeared with the real Sharon Stone in Catwoman 2004.
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44
She turned down the female lead in Gigli 2003, which birthed the relationship of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.
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45
She was named Sexiest Woman Alive by Esquire magazine in 2008.
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46
She is one of ten African-American women nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress; as of 2023, she is the only African-American to win.
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47
She is the first actress to play two different comic book characters for two different companies: Storm in Marvel’s X-Men and Catwoman in DC’s Catwoman.
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48
She was the 121st actress to receive an Academy Award; she won for Monster’s Ball at the 74th Annual Academy Awards on March 24, 2002.
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49
She smashed her head into set lights on the set of Catwoman 2004 but was not seriously injured.
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50
She received an injury on the set of Die Another Day in Cadiz, Spain, while shooting an action sequence with Pierce Brosnan and Rick Yune.