Halle Berry Quotes On Accepting Yourself & Going After What You Want

As the first and only woman of color to win an Academy Award for best actress, Halle Berry boasts an impressive reputation and resume. Her career peaked in the 1990s and early 2000s when she stunned audiences in several blockbuster hits. She’s been a pageant queen, model, and one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actresses. She has had to work hard for her success, and these Halle Berry quotes reveal her tenacity and determination.

Born in Cleveland, OH, Berry’s mother was an English immigrant working as a psychiatric nurse, and her father was a hospital attendant. Berry has revealed that her father was abusive toward her mother, and the couple divorced when Berry was four years old. The budding actress was raised by her single mother and worked hard to stand out in every crowd. She won the Miss Teen All American competition in 1985 and went on to be runner up in the Miss USA pageant in 1986. While her pageant career kept her in the spotlight, the beauty queen had her sites on Hollywood.

When Berry moved to New York City to pursue acting in 1989, her dreams didn’t automatically come true. She was forced to live in a homeless shelter and a YMCA until she was finally cast in Living Dolls’s ABC television series. The series was short-lived, but that experience opened the door to other opportunities.

Berry worked her way up the ladder and continued to impress producers and audiences alike. She had a habit of completely embodying her characters and would stay in character even after the cameras turned off. This included going days without bathing while playing a crack addict in Jungle Fever.

Off the set, Berry is a mother of two and speaks out about her experiences with type 1 diabetes.

We hope you enjoy these Halle Berry quotes that showcase this hardworking actress.

“When I was a kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a good loser, then there’s no way you could be a good winner.”
“I think it’s always best to be who you are.”
“The man for me is the cherry on the pie. But I’m the pie and my pie is good all by itself. Even if I don’t have a cherry.”
“Beauty is not just physical.”
“I think I am at my best when my hair is short. It’s easier to take care of and more of whom I am. Women are conditioned to think we need long hair.”
“The times may have changed, but the people are still the same. We’re still looking for love, and that will always be our struggle as human beings.”
“I think I’ve evolved into someone pretty confident – in myself and in my skin.”
“People win Oscars, and then it seems like they fall off the planet. And that’s partly because a huge expectation walks in the room and sits right down on top of your head. The moment I won the Oscar, I felt the teardown the very next day.”
“My whole life I’ve had the fear that I was going to be abandoned.”
“I think there’s a certain level of trust that I have with women. I’ve always been honest, even when I haven’t had good times in my life or my movie bombed or I’ve had great success. I’ve owned up to all of it.”
“I always had to diet. I’m diabetic, so it’s a lifestyle for me anyway just to stay healthy and not end up in the hospital.”
“Being biracial is sort of like being in a secret society. Most people I know of that mix have a real ability to be in a room with anyone, black or white.”
“I never wanted to be a model. My modeling career was nothing but a stepping stone to my acting career and that’s all I ever saw it as. A pointless rock in the river that has to be stepped on in order to get to the meaningful oasis of acting.”
“I know that I will never find my father in any other man who comes into my life, because it is a void in my life that can only be filled by him.”
“There’s a place in me that can really relate to being the underdog.”
“By the time I left school, I had a lot of tenacity.”
“It is very hard to separate one’s self from a character. Sometimes the people closest to me have to be very understanding.”
“I don’t know why, but I respond well to tortured characters.”
“I carried my Oscar to bed with me. My first and only three-way happened that night.”
“My mother helped me identify myself the way the world would identify me. Bloodlines didn’t matter as much as how I would be perceived.”
“I think we have become obsessed with beauty and personally, I’m really saddened by the way women mutilate their faces today in search of that.”
“I know I’m only one human being and I’m only making one tiny contribution and it’s nothing more than that.”
“I don’t see a white woman. I see a black woman, even though my mother is white. Knowing that has made my life easier, I think.”
“I see women in their 30s getting plastic surgery, pulling this up and tucking that back. It’s like a slippery slope – once you start you pull one thing one way and then you think, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got to do the other side.'”
“Let me tell you something – being thought of as a beautiful woman has spared me nothing in life. No heartache, no trouble. Love has been difficult. Beauty is essentially meaningless and it is always transitory.”
“I’m not afraid of portraying anything on-screen.”
“I spent a lot of time with a crown on my head.”
“I’m done with men… I’m going to be alone. I have no luck with relationships. I don’t think I’m made for marriage.”
“Blackness is a state of mind, and I identify with the black community. Mainly, because I realized, early on, when I walk into a room, people see a black woman, they don’t see a white woman. So out of that reason alone, I identify more with the black community.”
“There have been so many people who have said to me, ‘You can’t do that,’ but I’ve had an innate belief that they were wrong. Be unwavering and relentless in your approach.”
“The first step is clearly defining what it is you’re after because without knowing that, you’ll never get it.”
“If you set out to do something and you give it your all and it doesn’t work out, be willing to modify your goal slightly. Have the ability to look in another direction. A small shift could guide you to the real purposes of your life.”
“I was black growing up in an all-white neighborhood, so I felt like I just didn’t fit in. Like I wasn’t as good as everybody else, or as smart, or whatever.”

Halle Berry Quotes On Accepting Yourself & Going After What You Want

We hope you enjoy these Halle Berry quotes that showcase this hardworking actress.

“When I was a kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a good loser, then there’s no way you could be a good winner.”

“I think it’s always best to be who you are.”

“The man for me is the cherry on the pie. But I’m the pie and my pie is good all by itself. Even if I don’t have a cherry.”

“Beauty is not just physical.”

“I think I am at my best when my hair is short. It’s easier to take care of and more of whom I am. Women are conditioned to think we need long hair.”

“The times may have changed, but the people are still the same. We’re still looking for love, and that will always be our struggle as human beings.”

“I think I’ve evolved into someone pretty confident – in myself and in my skin.”

“People win Oscars, and then it seems like they fall off the planet. And that’s partly because a huge expectation walks in the room and sits right down on top of your head. The moment I won the Oscar, I felt the teardown the very next day.”

“My whole life I’ve had the fear that I was going to be abandoned.”

“I think there’s a certain level of trust that I have with women. I’ve always been honest, even when I haven’t had good times in my life or my movie bombed or I’ve had great success. I’ve owned up to all of it.”

“I always had to diet. I’m diabetic, so it’s a lifestyle for me anyway just to stay healthy and not end up in the hospital.”

“Being biracial is sort of like being in a secret society. Most people I know of that mix have a real ability to be in a room with anyone, black or white.”

“I never wanted to be a model. My modeling career was nothing but a stepping stone to my acting career and that’s all I ever saw it as. A pointless rock in the river that has to be stepped on in order to get to the meaningful oasis of acting.”

“I know that I will never find my father in any other man who comes into my life, because it is a void in my life that can only be filled by him.”

“There’s a place in me that can really relate to being the underdog.”

“By the time I left school, I had a lot of tenacity.”

“It is very hard to separate one’s self from a character. Sometimes the people closest to me have to be very understanding.”

“I don’t know why, but I respond well to tortured characters.”

“I carried my Oscar to bed with me. My first and only three-way happened that night.”

“My mother helped me identify myself the way the world would identify me. Bloodlines didn’t matter as much as how I would be perceived.”

“I think we have become obsessed with beauty and personally, I’m really saddened by the way women mutilate their faces today in search of that.”

“I know I’m only one human being and I’m only making one tiny contribution and it’s nothing more than that.”

“I don’t see a white woman. I see a black woman, even though my mother is white. Knowing that has made my life easier, I think.”

“I see women in their 30s getting plastic surgery, pulling this up and tucking that back. It’s like a slippery slope – once you start you pull one thing one way and then you think, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got to do the other side.'”

“Let me tell you something – being thought of as a beautiful woman has spared me nothing in life. No heartache, no trouble. Love has been difficult. Beauty is essentially meaningless and it is always transitory.”

“I’m not afraid of portraying anything on-screen.”

“I spent a lot of time with a crown on my head.”

“I’m done with men… I’m going to be alone. I have no luck with relationships. I don’t think I’m made for marriage.”

“Blackness is a state of mind, and I identify with the black community. Mainly, because I realized, early on, when I walk into a room, people see a black woman, they don’t see a white woman. So out of that reason alone, I identify more with the black community.”

“There have been so many people who have said to me, ‘You can’t do that,’ but I’ve had an innate belief that they were wrong. Be unwavering and relentless in your approach.”

“The first step is clearly defining what it is you’re after because without knowing that, you’ll never get it.”

“If you set out to do something and you give it your all and it doesn’t work out, be willing to modify your goal slightly. Have the ability to look in another direction. A small shift could guide you to the real purposes of your life.”

“I was black growing up in an all-white neighborhood, so I felt like I just didn’t fit in. Like I wasn’t as good as everybody else, or as smart, or whatever.”

We hope that you enjoyed this collection of Halle Berry quotes. If you know someone else who is a fan of this talented Oscar-winning actress, don’t forget to share these quotes with them.

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