Halle Berry - 'I'M MY BEST SELF'

AS THE STAR CELEBRATES HER 57TH BIRTHDAY, SHE REVEALS WHY SHE'S NEVER FELT OR LOOKED BETTER

- Jennie Noonan

Just over two decades on from making history in 2002 as the first Black woman to win the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in Monster’s Ball, Halle Berry is still in the business of busting down barriers. This time, she’s tackling ageism and sexism and calling out harmful taboos around sensitive topics, like women’s sexuality and health.

“The most important thing about owning your sexuality as a woman is accepting the station you’re at – and embracing that. And I say that because I’m smack dab in the middle of menopause,” she said in an interview with Women’s Health magazine. “I am challenging everything I thought I knew about menopause. Things like: ‘Your life is over.’ ‘You are disposable.’ ‘Society no longer has a place for you.’ ‘You should retire.’ ‘You should pack it up.’”

The actress, who turned 57 on August 14, is a walking billboard for improving with age. “I’m challenging all those stereotypes about how you have to look a certain way or feel a certain way. I’m my best self now,” she continued to Women’s Health. “I have the most to offer. I have zero blanks to give anymore. I’m solidly in my womanhood.”

Berry has been sharing some of her secrets to looking and feeling great on rē-spin, a digital health and wellness platform she launched in 2020. “As someone who owns a fitness company, I make sure to focus on strength and fun,” she continued. “When we’re working out, it’s not for a look. It’s for a feeling, right? It’s for a health benefit … the byproduct is, ‘OK, you also look good.’”