Halle Berry says she thinks she's 'ugly'

Knight Ridder ^

[Pokey78]

Halle Berry solidified her place as one of the world's sexiest women with her role as Bond girl Jinx in "Die Another Day."

But the Oscar-winning actress (Monster's Ball) says she still doesn't see herself as a beautiful star.

"To be totally honest, most of the time I think I'm ugly," she told the German magazine Journal fur die Frau. "I see myself without makeup every morning and that's why I don't have illusions anymore. I certainly don't feel like a big star."

Berry added that being black still hinders her progress in Hollywood.

"For many film studios and directors skin color remains a problem. They don't believe that the audience will accept a black actor in the main role. These narrow-minded people underestimate the public and prevent advancement in the industry."

Berry's next film will be "X-2," the sequel to "X-Men" slated for a May 2 release.

[FITZ]

This spoiled prima donna is just fishing for compliments and gets no sympathy from me.

So much of Hollywood and other celebrities seem to love a victim role even though they have more money than they know what to do with and run around in $30,000 designer gowns. She's having her own little pity party instead of being glad she's so well off.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Was Jael suspended for the two comments on this page?

I have no idea. I didn't hit abuse. I just groaned, because seeing someone lecture a black man on the physical features of other blacks - to be delicate about it - made me cringe.

You obviously didn't mind, but it was a little too 1950 for my sensitivity level.

[mhking]

I just groaned, because seeing someone lecture a black man on the physical features of other blacks - to be delicate about it - made me cringe.

That's what kind of ticked me off; I had no idea she had been suspended until after I posted -- mind you, I've been scolded in private for talking to someone who couldn't talk back...

But hey. I'm comfortable with who I am. Apparently others aren't so lucky - Ms. Berry certainly isn't.

[PJ-Comix]

Here is what Al Gore said about Halle Berry in his REVIEW of Die Another Day:

And the most delicious item in Die Another Day is Halle Berry as agent Jinx. The very sight of her on the big screen is enough to microwave that Chimichanga in your pantalones.

[Victoria Delsoul]

To be totally honest, most of the time I think I'm ugly," she told the German magazine Journal fur die Frau. "I see myself without makeup every morning and that's why I don't have illusions anymore.

Maybe she is referring to something other than her physical appearance, but how she sees herself inside.

[Skywalk]

Keith David is THE MAN.

Does the voice-overs for the Navy and also for the HBO series Spawn.

I still quote King, his character in Platoon. "Once you out of the Nam, it's all gravy, the rest of yo' life--GRAVY!"


Actually, the black actors(non-comedic) that have made a name for themselves are invariably superior to their white counterparts. Maybe it's that thing of having to be twice as good to get just as far. Unfortunately they are type-cast more rapidly, as Morgan Freeman is a bit too often playing a detective of some sort, and Denzel some crusading "noble" black man. That's why he won the Oscar for Training Day, it was such a departure from the last 12 years of his career, and well done.

[MarkL]

Actually Sidney Portier has whined quite a bit....he is a good actor though and unlike Halle, he truly did have obstacles to overcome.

Sorry, I guess I missed it, if it was recent. I have no respect for whiners like Barry or Harry Belefonte, for their whining right now. If, on the other hand, SP was "whining" back in the 50's through the 80's, I could certainly understand it. The man who starred in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "To Sir With Love" (still one of my all time favorite movies), and "In the Heat of the Night" (one of the greatest lines of all times: "The call me Mr. Tibbs!") should have never had any trouble getting wonderful parts.

[BostonCajun]

Well.....compared to Daisy....I can see her point!!! :D

[wardaddy]

I never saw the #33 that got pulled (Jael).

I don't think it's 1950 to be candid. I don't gauge how I talk to folks here based on color. Often, I simply don't know.

I do defer a bit at times to gender both here and in the world...it's a hard habit to shake.

If known black freepers don't like what I have to say then they may call me on it but I will not cater to them just because they are black or asian or "other". Jael claimed he/she had black family on later posts.

I don't claim to know much about Jael...maybe you guys know more than I do. In fact as you know...many folks here make things up.

You can kind of cut thru the BS by looking for consistency but since I see you here a lot....you already know that.

I'm not flaming you btw...you should opine here in a fashion with which you are comfortable.

Regards.

[LWalk18]

I responded to Jael's post 33...My guess is that it might have been pulled by a certain term he/she used for black women, that was more antiquated than derogatory but may have offend some people. While I disagred with his/her opinion, I did not hit abuse, so I don't know why he/she was suspended.

[wardaddy]

I have no idea.

[glory]

You know Nea, I have a feeling Halle's idea of discrimination has nothing to do with missed oppurtunities or popularity and more to do with a few girls were jealous of me along the way and called me a bad name. The most obvious thing a jealous girl could hurt her with is her mixed heritage. My guess is while she bemoans that, she was calling the fat, ugly girl in school pig and the girl her ex boyfriend took up with a slut, but since her hurtful jabs weren't race related, all was good. She needs to grow up--sounds like she took what a few jealous schoolgirls along the way to heart and hasn't grown past the fact that high schoolers, particularly girls, pick on other highschoolers and have this knack of finding the thing that hurts them the most whether it's race, character, weight, height, etc.
She's a basket case like someone else said.

[Exit148]

I'd like to see what they all look like when they come out of the shower (guys/gals/whatever age) ---no make-up, no hair styling, no nothing. (on their faces, that is. LOL! They can wear a towel, if they wish)

Then, let their fans decide who is beautiful or not.

Thigpen was, and McDormand is not known for beauty, but their acting held my attention -- not their faces.

If Halle Berry thinks she's ugly -- let her. Was it her face or her acting that won the Oscar? Which is more important to her? I think she's gorgeous and hope she gets her values straight. (The same with Melanie Griffith)

(Cat session over)

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

I don't think it's 1950 to be candid. I don't gauge how I talk to folks here based on color. Often, I simply don't know.

It's not the candid nature of the talk that bothers me. It's the ignorance and arrogance of an individual who presumes to argue with a black man about what "real" black people look like. (And though I have not looked to see, I believe the post that got pulled was probably the one in which she used a rather dated term to refer to an individual's blackness - which revealed something to me, frankly.)

But again, I did not hit abuse - I rarely do. I often prefer that people's words remain on display for all to see - on record, out in the open.

Someone else must have been offended by it.

I don't claim to know much about Jael...maybe you guys know more than I do.

Not too much (although I am familiar with her posting style and interaction with others), but I do know this is not her first suspension.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

My guess is that it might have been pulled by a certain term he/she used for black women, that was more antiquated than derogatory but may have offend some people.

I think that's probably why, too. And in truth, when I hear people use words like that, I can't help but feel I have an instant understanding of their paradigm...which is part of the reason everything she said after that looked a little less benign to me than it may have otherwise.

[wardaddy]

This is 4th reference to a dated term she used that I've seen.

I have no idea as to that term...and unless it was the N-word (which has it's own ambivalent uses in some quarters) then I must be lost.

Did she curse black folks?

[ironman]

I recently saw Monsters Ball and that is one of the worst films ever. I didn't like it a bit.

[F.J. Mitchell]

I think she is ugly too! Just kidding-don't hurt me!

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

No, she did not curse anyone.

She just uses dated terminology to identify black Americans. She says things like this (to a black man, by the way - so what's the subtext here?):

But there is nothing wrong with looking black, whether you like big lips, kinky hair or wide noses, or not.

I suppose it seems subtle to you, but to me, it's kinda screaming 1950. (She certainly has her stereotyping skills in high gear.)

After I answered you before, I got thinking about why this sort of thing bothers me so much.

I have a relative who is nearing 80 years-old. This woman insists on using the word "colored" to describe black people. I have asked her - pleaded with her - on numerous occasions to update her language.

I have dear, close, black friends and I live in an urban area so I encounter many black strangers - and I would be truly mortified if my relative used the word "colored" in an exchange of dialogue with any of them.

She stubbornly refuses. She knows it bothers me, she understands why - but she is hell bent on using that term.

The hyphenated-American argument (which I understand completely) aside, calling people what they want to be called is such an easy thing to do. It takes a truly stubborn person with little generosity of heart in regard to race to continue calling people something that may wound them.

I don't like that.

God knows why people do it. Maybe they're clinging to something that helps them continue to believe they're superior in some way when evidence all around them tells them that they're not.

I don't know. But it strikes me as petty, small, and ugly.