Academy Award-winning actor Halle Berry pushed back against the stigmatization of women and aging in a powerful interview with Fortune magazine.
The 58-year-old Hollywood bombshell established herself as a leading actor in 2001 when she became the first African-American woman and first woman of color to win the Oscar for her captivating performance as a struggling widow in Monster's Ball.
Berry touched on natural beauty positivity, the "gift of aging," and female empowerment against unfair societal norms imposed by the patriarchy.
She began the interview by discussing an annoying male double standard.
"Historically, women, as we age, we just get old, right? Men get sexy," said Berry.
"They get gray hair and they're silver foxes. We're just old...we're haggard."
"Society tells us or has told us that our time is up. Well, I know that we're just getting our groove, we're just starting."
"But women really don't understand that yet because society has told us something different."
She insisted that it was up to women to "reclaim that narrative" and change how they're perceived throughout their lives.
Berry continued:
"Aging is a privilege, and we should see it that way. We should feel that way about getting older. We should feel like the crowned jewels of our society."
"I have always known that I'm more than this shell that I walk around in. I have longed for someone to say something to me other than, 'Oh gosh, you're so pretty.' "
"I've longed to hear other words. I know I'm more than this," she said.
Here's a sample from her interview.
Berry has been a Hollywood sex symbol since the 2000s and was named one of People's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" and "Sexiest Black Woman" by Access Hollywood's "TV One Access" survey.
By being an advocate for women's health, the mother of two is helping other women who are going through menopause to embrace their natural beauty.
In May 2024, Berry joined bipartisan Senators in Washington DC to push legislation that would fund $275 million towards research and education surrounding menopause therapies and medicine.
During her speech in front of the Capitol, Berry unashamedly told reporters:
"I'm in menopause, OK?"
"The shame has to be taken out of menopause. We have to talk about this very normal part of our life that happens."
"Our doctors can't even say the word to us, let alone walk us through the journey," she added at the time.
Berry also spoke out against cosmetic surgery, which Hollywood has long been known to push on female actors.
She said:
"As I've aged, I've been determined to age gracefully and naturally. It's a shame that as women, we're being told that we have to find a way to stay eternally young...forever 30, as though we're not allowed to be human and do what we're naturally born to do."
"We're born to age and die."
"But somehow, as women, we have to do the unthinkable. We have to figure out a way to do it, and unfortunately, we're turning ourselves into monsters trying to do that."
"I'm committed to being a spokesperson for allowing yourself to age gracefully, knowing that you're more than this shell you're walking around in."
Social media users shared their thoughts cosmetic surgery.
Some had a hard time accepting this could apply to everyone.
After discovering a "newfound sense of empowerment and health" through her own wellness research journey, Berry launched a women's wellness business called Respin to help women embrace the natural transition and become "inspired by the eternal beauty that comes with it."
You can see the whole Fortune interview here.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
Aside from her acting career and recent turn as a film director and producer, signing with Range Media Partners in 2023, Berry has continued actively engaging in philanthropy.
She's joined organizations like the Jenesse Center in Los Angeles to help victims of domestic abuse, as well as supporting other causes including Love Our Children USA, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Stand Up to Cancer, and Black Lives Matter.
