Halle Berry Discusses Her Oscar Win's Impact on Her Career and Ongoing Challenges Jennifer MashugaFebruary 3, 2026 at 8:28 PM 0 Raymond Hall/GC Images Halle Berry has had many memorable roles in her career, including the drug addict Vivian in Spike Lee's 1991 film Jungle Fever and the title character in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Even so, the film many people associate with her is Monster's Ball, and for good reason: the emotionally raw role earned Berry an Oscar for Best Actress.
- - Halle Berry Discusses Her Oscar Win's Impact on Her Career and Ongoing Challenges
Jennifer MashugaFebruary 3, 2026 at 8:28 PM
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Raymond Hall/GC Images
Halle Berry has had many memorable roles in her career, including the drug addict Vivian in Spike Lee's 1991 film Jungle Fever and the title character in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Even so, the film many people associate with her is Monster's Ball, and for good reason: the emotionally raw role earned Berry an Oscar for Best Actress.
Berry became the first Black woman to receive the trophy and, 24 years later, remains the only Black woman to hold it. While it's an accomplishment she's proud of, she's not so sure it had much of an effect on her career.
"After I won it, I thought there was going to be, like, a script truck showing up outside my front door," the 59-year-old told The Cut. "While I was wildly proud of it, I was still Black that next morning. Directors were still saying, 'If we put a Black woman in this role, what does this mean for the whole story? Do I have to cast a Black man? Then it's a Black movie. Black movies don't sell overseas."
The X-Men star then recalled a conversation with Cynthia Erivo after she received her third Oscar nomination for Wicked: For Good.
"You goddamn deserve it, but I don't know that it's going to change your life," she remembered telling Erivo. "It cannot be the validation for what you do, right?"
While it's easy for any actor to say that they don't need recognition for their work, Berry's actions speak just as loudly. When she was given the Golden Raspberry "Razzie" Award for Worst Actress for Catwoman, she attended the ceremony. As she held her Oscar in one hand, she accepted the Razzie with the other, feigning over-the-top enthusiasm for the award.
"I've always known that Oscar didn't make me the best, just like that Razzie doesn't make me the worst," she said.
Just as Berry knows that an award is, in the end, just an award, she knows that she's lucky to still be thriving in her career, three decades after beginning her journey.
"As a Black woman, now almost 60, I still get to work in movies and do what I love," she added. "I'm winning."
This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: February 03, 2026 at 11:45PM on Source: PRIME TIME
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