In 1989, Halle Berry was living in a homeless shelter in New York City.
In 1991, she made her big screen debut in Spike Lee's critically acclaimed Jungle Fever,
and in 2002, she became the first black woman to win the Best Actress Academy Award for
her mesmerizing turn in the slow burn Southern drama Monster's Ball.
At the age of 36, Berry was sitting firmly at the top of her profession with a seemingly
long career ahead.
So with her acting prowess and star quality, where did her career veer off course?
Let's take a deep dive into why Hollywood doesn't seem to be as infatuated with Halle
Berry as it used to be.
Gothika
Berry's first leading role following Monster's Ball was in the psychological horror thriller
Gothika.
Although it made a respectable $141.6 million worldwide at the box office, the movie was
a critical disaster.
Empire said in a review,
"[Gothika is] an overwrought horror movie that lavishes budget and production design
on a screenplay that should never have seen the light of day."
Sure, she made a bad movie, but who hasn't?
At this point, it seemed like Berry simply needed to pick better projects, right?
Catwoman
Initially designed as a Michelle Pfeiffer spin-off that disappeared in development hell,
Berry eventually donned the cat ears in 2006 and delivered one of the biggest box-office
bombs ever produced.
Making just $40 million domestically on a $100 million production budget, Catwoman was
ripped to shreds by critics, nominated for seven Razzies, and made studios scared to
pull the trigger on a female-lead superhero movie for years.
Hopefully Berry's reported $14 million salary cushioned the blow.
Razzie acceptance
Not too many actors have the courage to accept their Razzie in person, but Berry did just
that at the 25th Annual Golden Raspberry Awards.
With her Academy Award in hand, Berry lampooned her Oscar acceptance speech while accepting
her Worst Actress award — and started off by giving a handful of sassy shoutouts.
First up, she "thanked" Warner Brothers.
"Thank you for putting me in a piece-of-s---, god-awful movie."
She also thanked her Catwoman co-stars.
"Ya know, it's really important, in order to give a really bad performance like I did,
you have to have bad actors around you."
There's something to be said for accepting defeat graciously, but it's safe to assume
the studio wishes she hadn't.
"I was at the top and Catwoman just plummeted me to the bottom."
A run of flops
Unfortunately, Berry's career didn't exactly bounce right back with her next leading roles.
Instead, what followed was a series of financial flops, including films like Perfect Stranger,
Frankie & Alice, Dark Tide, and The Call.
2012's Cloud Atlas was considered one of the biggest flops of the year.
And though her small-screen series, the Steven Spielberg-produced Extant, had all the makings
of a breakout hit… it wasn't.
The series was canceled after two seasons, and according to Variety, Berry's show was,
quote, "the lowest-rated of three CBS original dramas [that] season."
Ouch.
While the reviews for these projects often didn't place the blame squarely on Berry,
the end results certainly didn't do her any favors in Hollywood.
IndieWire even compiled an article titled "The Halle Berry Effect: 10 Terrible Films
Made By Actors After They Won Their Oscar."
When your career becomes a cautionary tale for other actors, that's not a good thing.
Diversity and ageism
Speaking at the 2016 Makers Conference, Berry called out Hollywood's lack of diversity.
"We see films set in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, and big metropolitan cities and they're void
people of color."
When Berry won her Oscar in 2002, she believed it would open the door for more opportunities
in Hollywood for women of color.
And to sit here almost 15 years later and knowing that another woman of color has not
walked through that door is heartbreaking."
While Berry has been criticized for choosing her post-Oscar projects poorly, perhaps the
bigger problem is that she had little choice in the matter.
Additionally, Hollywood seems to have plenty of opportunities for male actors after they
hit 50 — but that's not the case for female actors.
Combine Hollywood's diversity issues with Berry entering her fifties, and one can make
an educated guess as to why we don't hear much from her anymore.
What's next?
Berry's career challenges are likely a combination of poor choices and systematic issues within
the industry, but where there's a will, there's a way, and Berry may have found the way forward.
In 2014, she co-founded 606 Films, a production company that could be the change she wants
to see in Hollywood.
The company is named after California Senate Bill 606, which strengthened protection for
celebrity children from aggressive paparazzi.
Business partner Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas told Variety,
"[Berry] fought so hard [for that legislation] when no one believed it could be achieved.
It truly informs the spirit of our company — making dreams possible, one bill at a
time."
But don't count her out of making a big-screen comeback, either.
In May, 2018, it was announced that Berry would have a major role in John Wick 3, playing
a character known as Sofia.
The John Wick movies have already helped revitalize star Keanu Reeves' career, so it wouldn't
be much of a surprise if Berry sees her Hollywood fortunes turn around in a similar way.
Could this be the role that brings Berry back onto the showbiz A-list?
We'll have to wait and see for sure.
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