Halle Berry is the first African-American ever to win an Oscar as best actress. She won the award on 24 March 2002 for her starring role in the drama Monster's Ball (2001, co-starring Billy Bob Thornton). Berry went from the world of beauty pageants in the mid-1980s to a television series, Living Dolls in 1989. In 1991 she began performing in feature films, including Spike Lee's Jungle Fever.

She continued to appear in small roles on TV and on the big screen, notably with Warren Beatty in Bulworth (1998) and as actress Dorothy Dandridge in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999). She played Storm in the X-Men movies (2000 and 2003, with Hugh Jackman) and the lead in 2004's Catwoman. Her other films include Swordfish (2001, with Jackman and John Travolta) and the James Bond thriller, Die Another Day (2002, with Pierce Brosnan).

Denzel Washington was named best actor in 2002, making it the first time that African-Americans won the best actor and actress Oscars in the same year... In February of 2000 Berry was involved in an auto accident that made the tabloids. With a serious head injury, Berry left the scene of the accident and was later charged. She eventually pled no contest to a misdemeanor charge... Berry was married to baseball star David Justice from 1992 to 1996. She married R&B musician Eric Benét in 2001, but filed for divorce in April of 2004.