FAST FACTS:

Berry was named after the Cleveland department store, Halle Brothers.

At her high school prom, Berry's election as prom queen was not without controversy. Some of her fellow students disputed the voting, and she ended up winning the crown on a coin toss.

At age eighteen, she won the Miss Teen Ohio pageant. That very same year she also won the title of Miss Teen All-American. Berry was the first runnerup in the 1986 Miss USA pageant and, soon after, became the first African American to represent the United States in the Miss World pageant.

Berry won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading role for her work in, Monster's Ball.