Halle Berry

2022 - 3 - 24

Post cover — Image courtesy of "New York Post"

Halle Berry: My historic 2002 Oscar win 'didn't open the door' for ... (New York Post)

Halle Berry made history in 2002 when she became the first black woman to win the Oscar for Best Actress.

“I don’t have any memory of it,” she noted. At the time of her win, Berry said in her moving speech, “This moment is so much bigger than me. “Awards are the icing on the cake — they’re your peers saying you were exceptionally excellent this year,” she told the outlet.

Halle Barry Recalls Her Historic Best Actress Oscar Win (The New York Times)

Since she won best actress for “Monster's Ball,” no other Black woman has taken the prize, a fact she calls “heartbreaking.”

She recently directed her first film, the mixed martial arts drama “Bruised,” which began streaming on Netflix in November. “And the performance has to be good.” “And, for me, it was taking risks and doing things outside the box.” “We can’t always judge success or progress by how many awards we have,” she said. “I got to take this time.” (It would be an evening of long speeches, clocking in as the longest Oscars ever, at four hours and 23 minutes.) That’s proof to me that things are changing.” “I thought the story was important, and it touched me. “Oh my God,” were her first words when she finally had breath enough to speak, tears still rolling down her cheeks, hands trembling as she clutched the statuette. “I don’t have any memory of it,” Berry said. “I don’t even know how I got up there. A win would vault her into the annals of history as the first Black winner. But then the previous year’s best actor winner, Russell Crowe, opened the envelope and read her name, the camera zooming in on her teary, shocked face.

Halle Berry finds it 'heartbreaking' she's still the only Black best ... (CNN)

Halle Berry made history as the first Black woman to win the best actress Academy Award in 2002 for her performance in "Monster's Ball.

"The fact that there's no one standing next to me is heartbreaking." In her emotional acceptance speech, she noted that "It's been 74 years," at the time, in reference to the fact that she was the first Black woman to win the award. Now there is disbelief that she is still the only Black woman to win the best actress Oscar.

Halle Berry Reflects On Historic Oscar Win 20 Years Later: 'It Didn't ... (The Root)

'The fact that there's no one standing next to me is heartbreaking,' the veteran actress said.

It was about “every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened,” as Berry so eloquently noted in her acceptance speech at the time. The fact that there’s no one standing next to me is heartbreaking.” Nope, that’s not what that means at all.

Halle Berry Reflecting on Her Historic Best Actress Oscar Win 20 ... (Okayplayer)

Speaking with 'The New York Times', Halle Berry said not seeing a Black actress win an Oscar for Best Actress after her was "heartbreaking."

“Awards are the icing on the cake — they’re your peers saying you were exceptionally excellent this year,” she said. “The fact that there’s no one standing next to me is heartbreaking.” In a recent profile with The New York Times, the actress spoke about her Oscar feat and being letdown that The Academy Awards hasn’t awarded another Black actress.

Oscar Flashback: Halle Berry, Gwyneth Paltrow, and More Stars of ... (Vanity Fair)

But the night delivered even more unforgettable fashion. Ahead, a look back at the 2002 Oscars red carpet. Image may contain ...

Ahead, a look back at the 2002 Oscars red carpet. For her career milestone, Berry opted for a dress that would prove as indelible as the evening itself. Twenty years ago, the 2002 Oscars were largely defined by a history-making win: Halle Berry becoming the first Black woman to be awarded the best-actress Oscar. An emotional Berry, then 35, reflected on the magnitude of the moment in her acceptance speech.