Halle Berry

Berry in 2009, photo by CarlaVanWagoner / Shutterstock.com

Birth Name: Maria Halle Berry

Place of Birth: Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.

Date of Birth: August 14, 1966

Ethnicity:
*father – African-American
*mother – English, some German and Irish, distant Dutch

Halle Berry is an American actress and model. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Monster’s Ball (2001). She is the only black actress to have won the Best Actress Oscar. Her roles also include the films Jungle Fever, Strictly Business, The Last Boy Scout, Boomerang (1992), CB4, Father Hood, The Program (1993), The Flinstones (1994), Losing Isaiah, Executive Decision, Girl 6, Race the Sun, The Rich Man’s Wife, B*A*P*S, Bulworth, Why Do Fools Fall in Love, X-Men (2000), and its sequels; Swordfish, Die Another Day, Gothika, Catwoman (2004), Robots (2005), Perfect Stranger, Things We Lost in the Fire, Frankie & Alice, New Year’s Eve (2011), Dark Tide, Cloud Atlas, Movie 43, The Call (2013), Kevin Hart: What Now?, Kidnap, Kings (2017), Kingsman: The Golden Circle, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Bruised (2020), The Mothership, Moonfall, The Union (2024), Never Let Go, and Crime 101; the made-for-tv movies Solomon & Sheba, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and Their Eyes Were Watching God; the shows Living Dolls, Knots Landing, and Extant; and the music videos for “(Meet) The Flintstones,” “Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are),” and “Behind Blue Eyes.”

Halle is the daughter of Judith Ann (Hawkins), a psychiatric nurse, and Jerome Jesse Berry, a psychiatric ward attendant and bus driver. Her father was African-American. Her mother is white, of English, some German and Irish, and distant Dutch, descent. She has a daughter with her former partner, Canadian model Gabriel Aubry; and a son with her former husband, French actor Olivier Martinez.

Of her upbringing, Halle has said:

I was raised by my white mother and every day of my life I have always been aware of the fact that I am biracial. However, growing up I was aware that even though my mother was white, I did not look or feel very white myself.

Halle’s paternal grandfather was named Robert “Bob” Berry.

Halle’s paternal grandmother was Cora Lee Powell (the daughter of Adam Powell and Charity Munford/Moffett). Cora was born in Greenwood, Leflore, Mississippi. Adam was born in Mississippi, the son of Tom Powell and Easter. Charity was born in Georgia, the daughter of Fannie.

Halle’s maternal grandfather was Earl Ellsworth Hawkins (the son of Eugene Allen Hawkins and Bessie C. Spaulding). Earl was born in Dover, Tuscarawas, Ohio. Eugene was born in Dover, the son of John William Hawkins, who was born in Vermont; and of Katherine/Catherina “Katie” Drescher, who was born in Bavaria, Germany. Halle’s great-grandmother Bessie was born in Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, the daughter of Ellsworth Warren Spaulding, who was of approximately three quarters Colonial American (English), and one quarter Irish, descent; and of Agnes L. “Aggie” Johnson, whose father was English. Through her maternal grandfather, Halle has American-born ancestors going back to the 1600s.

Halle’s maternal grandmother was Nellie Dicken (the daughter of Henry Dicken and Ada B. White). Nellie was born in Shardlow, Derbyshire, England. Henry was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, the son of Robert Dicken and Ann Marsden. Ada was born in Spondon/Derby, Derbyshire, the daughter of John White and Maria.

Sources: Genealogies of Halle Berry – http://www.wargs.com
http://www.wikitree.com
http://famouskin.com
https://www.geni.com

Halle’s paternal grandmother, Cora Lee Powell, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Cora Lee Powell on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Death record of Halle’s paternal grandmother, Cora Lee (Powell) Berry – https://familysearch.org

Halle’s mother on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org