Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress
31st Golden Raspberry Awards
Awarded for	Worst in film
Presented by	Golden Raspberry Award Foundation
Country	United States
First awarded	1981
Currently held by	Adam Sandler (as Jill), Jack and Jill
Official website	http://www.razzies.com/

The Razzie Award for Worst Actress is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst actress of the previous year. The humorous nature of the award also leads to nominations for actors performing in drag, and groups such as the Spice Girls and the protagonists of Bratz: The Movie and Sex and the City 2. The following is a list of recipients and nominees of that award, along with the film(s) for which they were nominated.

Only two winners of the award have actually shown up and accepted their awards in person, Halle Berry for Catwoman and Sandra Bullock for All About Steve; both were also winners of the Academy Award for Best Actress, the former for Monster's Ball, and the latter for The Blind Side, which she won the following night.

1980s[link]

• 1980 Brooke Shields – The Blue Lagoon
  • Nancy Allen – Dressed to Kill
  • Faye Dunaway – The First Deadly Sin
  • Shelley Duvall – The Shining
  • Farrah Fawcett – Saturn 3
  • Sondra Locke – Bronco Billy
  • Olivia Newton-John – Xanadu
  • Valerie Perrine – Can't Stop the Music
  • Deborah Raffin – Touched by Love
  • Talia Shire – Windows
• 1981 Bo Derek – Tarzan, the Ape Man & Faye Dunaway – Mommie Dearest (tie)
  • Linda Blair – Hell Night
  • Brooke Shields – Endless Love
  • Barbra Streisand – All Night Long
• 1982 Pia Zadora – Butterfly
  • Morgan Fairchild – The Seduction
  • Mia Farrow – A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy
  • Kristy McNichol – The Pirate Movie
  • Mary Tyler Moore – Six Weeks
• 1983 Pia Zadora – The Lonely Lady
  • Loni Anderson – Stroker Ace
  • Linda Blair – Chained Heat
  • Faye Dunaway – The Wicked Lady
  • Olivia Newton-John – Two of a Kind
• 1984 Bo Derek – Bolero
  • Faye Dunaway – Supergirl
  • Shirley MacLaine – Cannonball Run II
  • Tanya Roberts – Sheena
  • Brooke Shields – Sahara
• 1985 Linda Blair – Night Patrol / Savage Island / Savage Streets
  • Ariane – Year of the Dragon
  • Jennifer Beals – The Bride
  • Brigitte Nielsen – Red Sonja
  • Tanya Roberts – A View to a Kill
• 1986 Madonna – Shanghai Surprise
  • Kim Basinger – 9½ Weeks
  • Joan Chen – Tai-Pan
  • Brigitte Nielsen – Cobra
  • Ally Sheedy – Blue City
• 1987 Madonna – Who's That Girl?
  • Lorraine Gary – Jaws: The Revenge
  • Sondra Locke – Ratboy
  • Debra Sandlund – Tough Guys Don't Dance
  • Sharon Stone – Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold
• 1988 Liza Minnelli – Arthur 2: On the Rocks / Rent-A-Cop
  • Rebecca De Mornay – And God Created Woman
  • Whoopi Goldberg – The Telephone
  • Cassandra Peterson – Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
  • Vanity – Action Jackson
• 1989 Heather Locklear – The Return of Swamp Thing
  • Jane Fonda – Old Gringo
  • Brigitte Nielsen – Bye Bye Baby
  • Paulina Porizkova – Her Alibi
  • Ally Sheedy – Heart of Dixie

1990s[link]

• 1990 Bo Derek – Ghosts Can't Do It
  • Melanie Griffith – The Bonfire of the Vanities
  • Bette Midler – Stella
  • Molly Ringwald – Betsy's Wedding
  • Talia Shire – Rocky V
• 1991 Sean Young (as the twin who survives) – A Kiss Before Dying
  • Kim Basinger – The Marrying Man
  • Sally Field – Not Without My Daughter
  • Madonna (as herself) – Truth or Dare
  • Demi Moore – The Butcher's Wife / Nothing But Trouble
• 1992 Melanie Griffith – Shining Through / A Stranger Among Us
  • Kim Basinger – Cool World / Final Analysis
  • Lorraine Bracco – Medicine Man / Traces of Red
  • Whitney Houston – The Bodyguard
  • Sean Young – Love Crimes
• 1993 Madonna – Body of Evidence
  • Melanie Griffith – Born Yesterday
  • Janet Jackson – Poetic Justice
  • Demi Moore – Indecent Proposal
  • Sharon Stone – Sliver
• 1994 Sharon Stone – Intersection / The Specialist
  • Kim Basinger – The Getaway
  • Joan Chen – On Deadly Ground
  • Jane March – Color of Night
  • Uma Thurman – Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
• 1995 Elizabeth Berkley – Showgirls
  • Cindy Crawford – Fair Game
  • Demi Moore – The Scarlet Letter
  • Julia Sweeney – It's Pat
  • Sean Young – Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde
• 1996 Demi Moore – The Juror / Striptease
  • Pamela Anderson – Barb Wire
  • Whoopi Goldberg – Bogus / Eddie / Theodore Rex
  • Melanie Griffith – Two Much
  • Julia Roberts – Mary Reilly
• 1997 Demi Moore – G.I. Jane
  • Sandra Bullock – Speed 2: Cruise Control
  • Fran Drescher – The Beautician and the Beast
  • Lauren Holly – A Smile Like Yours / Turbulence
  • Alicia Silverstone – Excess Baggage
• 1998 Spice Girls – Spice World
  • Yasmine Bleeth – BASEketball
  • Anne Heche – Psycho
  • Jessica Lange – Hush
  • Uma Thurman – The Avengers
• 1999 Heather Donahue – The Blair Witch Project
  • Melanie Griffith – Crazy in Alabama
  • Milla Jovovich – The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
  • Sharon Stone – Gloria
  • Catherine Zeta-Jones – Entrapment / The Haunting

2000s[link]

• 2000 Madonna – The Next Best Thing
  • Kim Basinger – Bless the Child / I Dreamed of Africa
  • Melanie Griffith – Cecil B. DeMented
  • Bette Midler – Isn't She Great
  • Demi Moore – Passion of Mind

• 2001 Mariah Carey – Glitter
  • Penélope Cruz – Blow / Captain Corelli's Mandolin / Vanilla Sky
  • Angelina Jolie – Lara Croft: Tomb Raider / Original Sin
  • Jennifer Lopez – Angel Eyes / The Wedding Planner
  • Charlize Theron – Sweet November

• 2002 Madonna – Swept Away & Britney Spears – Crossroads (tie)
  • Angelina Jolie – Life or Something Like It
  • Jennifer Lopez – Enough / Maid in Manhattan
  • Winona Ryder – Mr. Deeds

• 2003 Jennifer Lopez – Gigli
  • Drew Barrymore – Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle / Duplex
  • Kelly Clarkson – From Justin to Kelly
  • Cameron Diaz – Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
  • Angelina Jolie – Beyond Borders / Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life

• 2004 Halle Berry – Catwoman
  • Hilary Duff – A Cinderella Story / Raise Your Voice
  • Angelina Jolie – Alexander / Taking Lives
  • Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen – New York Minute
  • Shawn & Marlon Wayans (The Wayans "Sisters") – White Chicks

• 2005 Jenny McCarthy – Dirty Love
  • Jessica Alba – Fantastic Four / Into the Blue
  • Hilary Duff – Cheaper by the Dozen 2 / The Perfect Man
  • Jennifer Lopez – Monster-in-Law
  • Tara Reid – Alone in the Dark

• 2006 Sharon Stone – Basic Instinct 2
  • Hilary Duff and Haylie Duff – Material Girls
  • Lindsay Lohan – Just My Luck
  • Kristanna Loken – BloodRayne
  • Jessica Simpson – Employee of the Month

• 2007 Lindsay Lohan – I Know Who Killed Me as Aubrey Fleming & Lindsay Lohan – I Know Who Killed Me as Dakota Moss (tie)
  • Jessica Alba – Awake / Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer / Good Luck Chuck
  • Logan Browning, Janel Parrish, Nathalia Ramos and Skyler Shaye – Bratz: The Movie
  • Elisha Cuthbert – Captivity
  • Diane Keaton – Because I Said So

• 2008 Paris Hilton – The Hottie and the Nottie
  • Jessica Alba – The Eye / The Love Guru
  • Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith and Meg Ryan – The Women
  • Cameron Diaz – What Happens in Vegas
  • Kate Hudson – Fool's Gold / My Best Friend's Girl

• 2009 Sandra Bullock – All About Steve
  • Beyoncé – Obsessed
  • Miley Cyrus – Hannah Montana: The Movie
  • Megan Fox – Jennifer's Body / Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
  • Sarah Jessica Parker – Did You Hear About the Morgans?

2010s[link]

• 2010 Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Jessica Parker – Sex and the City 2
  • Jennifer Aniston – The Bounty Hunter / The Switch
  • Miley Cyrus – The Last Song
  • Megan Fox – Jonah Hex
  • Kristen Stewart – The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

• 2011 Adam Sandler (as Jill) - Jack and Jill
  • Martin Lawrence (as Big Momma) - Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son
  • Sarah Palin (as herself) - The Undefeated
  • Sarah Jessica Parker - I Don't Know How She Does It / New Year's Eve
  • Kristen Stewart - The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1

References[link]

Film portal

An actor (sometimes actress for female; see terminology) is a person who acts in a dramatic or comic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity.^[1] The ancient Greek word for an "actor," ὑποκριτής (hypokrites), means literally "one who interprets";^[2] in this sense, an actor is one who interprets a dramatic character.^[3]

Terminology[link]

After 1660, when women first appeared on stage, actor and actress were initially used interchangeably for female performers, but later, influenced by the French actrice, actress became the usual term. The etymology is a simple derivation from actor with ess added.^[4] The word actor refers to a person who acts regardless of gender, and this term "is increasingly preferred", while actress refers specifically to a female person who acts. Actress "remains in general use",^[4] although in a survey of a "wide cross-section of current British English", compiled in 2010, actor was almost twice as commonly found as actress.^[5] Within the profession, however, the re-adoption of the neutral term dates to the 1950s–60s, the post-war period when women's contribution to cultural life in general was being re-evaluated.^[6] Actress remains the common term used in major acting awards given to female recipients.^[7]

The gender-neutral term "player" was common in film in the early days of the Motion Picture Production Code with regards to the cinema of the United States, but is now generally deemed archaic. However, it remains in use in the theatre, often incorporated into the name of a theatre group or company (such as the East West Players)^{[citation needed]}.

History[link]

Actors Jim Brochu and Steve Schalchlin performing in The Big Voice: God or Merman play.

The first recorded case of an actor performing took place in 534 BC (though the changes in calendar over the years make it hard to determine exactly) when the Greek performer Thespis stepped on to the stage at the Theatre Dionysus and became the first known person to speak words as a character in a play or story. Prior to Thespis' act, stories were only known to be told in song and dance and in third person narrative. In honour of Thespis, actors are commonly called Thespians. Theatrical legend to this day maintains that Thespis exists as a mischievous spirit, and disasters in the theatre are sometimes blamed on his ghostly intervention.

Actors were traditionally not people of high status, and in the Early Middle Ages travelling acting troupes were often viewed with distrust. In many parts of Europe, actors could not even receive a Christian burial, and traditional beliefs of the region and time period held that this left any actor forever condemned. However, this negative perception was largely reversed in the 19th and 20th centuries as acting has become an honoured and popular profession and art.^[8]

Techniques[link]

Method acting[link]

Method acting is a technique developed from the acting 'system' created in the early 20th century by Konstantin Stanislavski in his work at the Moscow Art Theatre and its studios. The Group Theatre first popularised the Method in the 1930s; it was subsequently advanced and developed in new directions by Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner, Uta Hagen, Lee Strasberg (at the Actors Studio in the 1940s and 50s), and others.^[9] In Stanislavski's system', the actor analyzes the character in order to play him or her with psychological realism and emotional authenticity. Using the Method, an actor may recall emotions or reactions from his or her own life and use them to identify with the character being portrayed.

Method actors are often characterized as immersing themselves so totally in their characters that they continue to portray them even off-stage or off-camera for the duration of the project. However, this is a popular misconception. While some actors do employ this approach, it is generally not taught as part of the Method. Stella Adler, who was a member of the Group Theatre, along with Strasberg, emphasised a different approach of using creative imagination.^[10]

Method acting offers a systematic form of actor training in which the actor's sensory, psychological, and emotional abilities are developed; it revolutionized theatre in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

Presentational and representational acting[link]

Presentational acting refers to a relationship between actor and audience, whether by direct address or indirectly by specific use of language, looks, gestures or other signs indicating that the character or actor is aware of the audience's presence.^[11] (Shakespeare's use of punning and wordplay, for example, often has this function of indirect contact.)

In representational acting, "actors want to make us 'believe' they are the character; they pretend."^[11] The illusion of the fourth wall with the audience as voyeurs is striven for.^[12]

As opposite gender[link]

In the past, only men could become actors in some societies. In the ancient Greece and Rome^[13] and the medieval world, it was considered disgraceful for a woman to go on the stage, and this belief persisted until the 17th century, when in Venice it was broken. In the time of William Shakespeare, women's roles were generally played by men or boys.^[14]

When an eighteen-year Puritan prohibition of drama was lifted after the English Restoration of 1660, women began to appear on stage in England. Margaret Hughes is credited by some as the first professional actress on the English stage.^[15] This prohibition ended during the reign of Charles II in part due to the fact that he enjoyed watching actresses on stage.^[16] The first occurrence of the term actress was in 1700 according to the OED and is ascribed to Dryden.^[7]

In Japan, men (onnagata) took over the female roles in kabuki theatre when women were banned from performing on stage during the Edo period. This convention has continued to the present. However, some forms of Chinese drama have women playing all the roles.

In modern times, women sometimes play the roles of prepubescent boys. The stage role of Peter Pan, for example, is traditionally played by a woman, as are most principal boys in British pantomime. Opera has several "breeches roles" traditionally sung by women, usually mezzo-sopranos. Examples are Hansel in Hänsel und Gretel, Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro and Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier.

Women in male roles are uncommon in film with the notable exceptions of the films The Year of Living Dangerously and I'm Not There. In the former film Linda Hunt played the pivotal role of Billy Kwan, for which she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In the latter film Cate Blanchett portrayed Jude Quinn, a representation of Bob Dylan in the sixties, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Women playing men in live theatre is particularly common in presentations of older plays, such as those of Shakespeare, that have large numbers of male characters in roles where the gender no longer matters in modern times.^{[citation needed]}

Having an actor dress as the opposite sex for comic effect is also a long-standing tradition in comic theatre and film. Most of Shakespeare's comedies include instances of overt cross-dressing, such as Francis Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream. The movie A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum stars Jack Gilford dressing as a young bride. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon famously posed as women to escape gangsters in the Billy Wilder film Some Like It Hot. Cross-dressing for comic effect was a frequently used device in most of the thirty Carry On films. Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams have each appeared in a hit comedy film (Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire, respectively) in which they played most scenes dressed as a woman.

Occasionally, the issue is further complicated, for example, by a woman playing a woman acting as a man pretending to be a woman, like Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria, or Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love. In It's Pat: The Movie, filmwatchers never learn the gender of the androgynous main characters Pat and Chris (played by Julia Sweeney and Dave Foley).

A few roles in modern films, plays and musicals are played by a member of the opposite sex (rather than a character cross-dressing), such as the character Edna Turnblad in Hairspray—played by Divine in the original film, Harvey Fierstein in the Broadway musical, and John Travolta in the 2007 movie musical. Linda Hunt won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously. Felicity Huffman was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for playing Bree Osbourne (a male-to-female transsexual) in Transamerica.

See also[link]

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Csapo, Eric, and William J. Slater. 1994. The Context of Ancient Drama. Ann Arbor: The U of Michigan P. ISBN 0-472-08275-2.
• Elam, Keir. 1980. The Semiotics of Theatre and Drama. New Accents Ser. London and New York: Methuen. ISBN 0-416-72060-9.
• Weimann, Robert. 1978. Shakespeare and the Popular Tradition in the Theater: Studies in the Social Dimension of Dramatic Form and Function. Ed. Robert Schwartz. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-3506-2.

Further reading[link]

• An Actor's Work by Constantin Stanislavski
• A Dream of Passion: The Development of the Method by Lee Strasberg (Plume Books, ISBN 0-452-26198-8, 1990)
• Sanford Meisner on Acting by Sanford Meisner (Vintage, ISBN 0-394-75059-4, 1987)
• Letters to a Young Actor by Robert Brustein (Basic Books, ISBN 0-465-00806-2, 2005).
• The Empty Space by Peter Brook
• The Technique of Acting by Stella Adler

External links[link]

Look up actor, actress, or player in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Actors' Equity Association (AEA): a union representing U. S. theatre actors and stage managers.
• American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA): a union representing U. S. television and radio actors and broadcasters (on-air journalists, etc.).
• British Actors' Equity: a trade union representing UK artists, including actors, singers, dancers, choreographers, stage managers, theatre directors and designers, variety and circus artists, television and radio presenters, walk-on and supporting artists, stunt performers and directors and theatre fight directors.
• Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance: an Australian/New Zealand trade union representing everyone in the media, entertainment, sports, and arts industries.
• Screen Actors Guild (SAG): a union representing U. S. film and TV actors.

Golden Raspberry Award
John Wilson at 29th Golden Raspberry Awards
Awarded for	Worst in film
Presented by	Golden Raspberry Award Foundation
Country	United States
First awarded	March 31, 1981
Official website	www.Razzies.com

A Golden Raspberry Award, or Razzie for short, is an award presented in recognition of the worst in film. Founded by American copywriter and publicist John J. B. Wilson in 1981, the annual Razzie Awards ceremony in Los Angeles precedes the corresponding Academy Awards ceremony by one day. The term raspberry in the name is used in its irreverent sense, as in "blowing a raspberry". The awards themselves typically cost $4.97 each, in the form of a "golfball-sized raspberry" which sits atop a Super 8 mm film reel, the whole of which is spray-painted gold.

The first Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony was held on March 31, 1981, at John J. B. Wilson's living room alcove in Los Angeles to honour the worst in film of the 1980 film season. The 32nd ceremony was held at Magicopolis in Santa Monica on April 1, 2012. ^[1][2] The nominations were announced on February 25, 2012.

History[link]

Foundation[link]

American copywriter and publicist John J. B. Wilson traditionally held potluck dinner parties at his house in Los Angeles on the night of the Academy Awards.^[3] In 1981, after the 53rd Academy Awards had completed for the evening, Wilson invited friends to give random award presentations in his living room.^[3][4] Wilson decided to formalize the event, after watching a double feature of Can't Stop the Music and Xanadu.^[5] He gave them ballots to vote on worst in film.^[5] Wilson stood at a podium made of cardboard in a tacky tuxedo, with a foam ball attached to a broomstick as a fake microphone, and announced Can't Stop the Music as the first Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture.^[5][6] The impromptu ceremony was a success and the following week a press release about his event released by Wilson was picked up by a few local newspapers, including a mention in the Los Angeles Daily News with the headline: "Take These Envelopes, Please".^[3][4][6]

Approximately three dozen people came to the 1st Golden Raspberry Awards.^[6] The 2nd Golden Raspberry Awards had double the attendance as the first and the 3rd awards ceremony had double this number.^[6] By the 4th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony, CNN and two major wire services covered the event.^[3] Wilson realized that by scheduling the Golden Raspberry Awards prior to the Academy Awards, the ceremony would get more press coverage: "We finally figured out you couldn't compete with the Oscars on Oscar night, but if you went the night before, when the press from all over the world are here and they are looking for something to do, it could well catch on," he said to BBC News.^[3]

Name[link]

The term raspberry is used in its irreverent sense, as in "blowing a raspberry".^[7] Wilson commented to the author of Blame It on the Dog: "When I registered the term with the Library of Congress in 1980, they asked me, 'Why raspberry? What's the significance of that?' But since then, razz has pretty much permeated the culture. We couldn't have done it without Hollywood's help."^[7] Wilson is referred to as "Ye Olde Head Razzberry".^[8]

Format[link]

Awarding process[link]

Paid members of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation vote to determine the winners;^[9] individuals may become members of the foundation by visiting the organization's website at www.razzies.com.^[10] For the 29th Golden Raspberry Awards in 2009, award results were based on votes from approximately 650 journalists, cinema fans and professionals from the film industry.^[9][11] Voters hailed from 45 states in the United States and 19 other countries.^[12]

Ceremony[link]

John J. B. Wilson at 28th Golden Raspberry Awards in 2008.

Worst Supporting Actress at 29th Golden Raspberry Awards

The ceremony, typically held one day before the Academy Awards, is modelled after the latter but "deliberately low-end and tacky".^[3]

Categories[link]

Current Awards

• Worst Actor: 1980 to present
• Worst Actress: 1980 to present
• Worst Supporting Actor: 1980 to present
• Worst Supporting Actress: 1980 to present
• Worst Screen Couple/Worst Screen Ensemble: 1994 to present
• Worst Screenplay: 1980 to present
• Worst Director: 1980 to present
• Worst Picture: 1980 to present
• Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel: 1994 to present

Retired

• Worst Original Song: 1980 to 1999, 2002
• Worst New Star: 1981 to 1988, 1990 to 1998
• Worst Musical Score: 1981 to 1985
• Worst Visual Effects: 1986 to 1987

Special categories[link]

Special categories have also been introduced for specific years. Such special awards include:

• Worst Screenplay Grossing Over $100 Million (1996)
• Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property (1997)
• Worst Movie Trends of the Year (1998)
• Most Flatulent Teen-Targeted Movie (2002)
• Worst Excuse for an Actual Movie (All Concept/No Content) (2003)
• Most Tiresome Tabloid Targets (2005)
• Worst Excuse For Family Entertainment (2006)
• Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie (2007)
• Worst Eye-Gouging Misuse of 3D (2010)^[13][14]

Other types of awards[link]

Over the years, the Golden Raspberry Awards have awarded special awards next to the actual Razzie Awards as well.

Worst Career Achievement Award[link]

This award has been given only five times, to Ronald Reagan in 1981, to Linda Blair in 1983, to Irwin Allen in 1985, to "Bruce the Rubber Shark" from Jaws^[15] in 1987 and to director Uwe Boll^[16] in 2009 who received this for his achievement as "Germany's answer to Ed Wood".

Governor's Award[link]

This is a special award given by Razzie Award Governor John J. B. Wilson to an individual whose achievements are not covered by the Razzie's other categories. It was awarded in 2003 to Travis Payne for "Distinguished Under-Achievement in Choreography" in the film From Justin to Kelly.^[17]

See also[link]

Film portal

• Academy Award
• Bad Sex in Fiction Award
• Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year for odd book titles
• Ig Nobel Prizes for questionable scientific achievements
• List of films considered the worst
• List of people who have accepted Golden Raspberry Awards
• Stella Awards for outrageous lawsuits
• Stinkers Bad Movie Awards
• The Golden Turkey Awards

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Golden Raspberry Awards

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Golden Raspberry Award

• Golden Raspberry Official Website
• Razzie Awards page on the Internet Movie Database
• Razzie channel on YouTube

Halle Berry
Berry in February 2007
Born	Maria Halle Berry (1966-08-14) August 14, 1966 (age 45) Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Occupation	Actress, former model
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	David Justice (m. 1992–1997) «start: (1992)–end+1: (1998)»"Marriage: David Justice to Halle Berry" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Halle_Berry) Eric Benét (m. 2001–2005) «start: (2001)–end+1: (2006)»"Marriage: Eric Benét to Halle Berry" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Halle_Berry)
Partner	Gabriel Aubry (2005–10) Olivier Martinez (2010–present)
Children	Nahla Ariela Aubry

Halle Berry ( /ˈhæli ˈbɛri/; born August 14, 1966^[1]) is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge^[2] and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming the first and, as of 2012, only woman of African American descent to have won the award for Best Actress. She is one of the most highly paid actresses in Hollywood and also a Revlon spokesmodel.^[3][4] She has been involved in the production side of several of the films in which she performed.

Before becoming an actress, Berry entered several beauty contests, finishing as the 1st runner-up in the Miss USA Pageant (1986), and coming in 6th place in the Miss World Pageant in 1986.^[2] She made her film debut with a small role in 1991's Jungle Fever. This led to starring roles in The Flintstones (1994), Bulworth (1998), X-Men (2000) and its sequels, and as Bond Girl Jinx in Die Another Day (2002). She also won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress in 2005 for Catwoman and accepted the award in person—one of the few performers to do so.^[5]

Early life[link]

Berry was born Maria Halle Berry, though her name was legally changed to Halle Maria Berry in 1971.^[6] Berry's parents selected her middle name from Halle's Department Store, which was then a local landmark in her birthplace of Cleveland, Ohio.^[7] Her mother, Judith Ann (née Hawkins),^[8] who is of European descent, was a psychiatric nurse. Her father, Jerome Jesse Berry, was an African American hospital attendant in the same psychiatric ward where her mother worked; he later became a bus driver.^[7][9] Berry's maternal grandmother, Nellie Dicken, was born in Sawley, Derbyshire, England, while her maternal grandfather, Earl Ellsworth Hawkins, was born in Ohio.^[10] Berry's parents divorced when she was four years old; she and her older sister Heidi^[11] were raised exclusively by her mother.^[7] Berry has said in published reports that she has been estranged from her father since her childhood,^[7][12] noting in 1992, "I haven't heard from him since [he left]. Maybe he's not alive."^[11]

Berry graduated from Bedford High School. She worked in the children's department at Higbee's Department store. She then studied at Cuyahoga Community College. In the 1980s, she entered several beauty contests, winning Miss Teen All-American in 1985 and Miss Ohio USA in 1986.^[2] She was the 1986 Miss USA first runner-up to Christy Fichtner of Texas. In the Miss USA 1986 pageant interview competition, she said she hoped to become an entertainer or to have something to do with the media. Her interview was awarded the highest score by the judges.^[13] She was the first African-American Miss World entrant in 1986, where she finished sixth and Trinidad and Tobago's Giselle Laronde was crowned Miss World.^[14]

Acting career[link]

1989–2002[link]

In the late 1980s, Berry went to Chicago to pursue a modeling career as well as acting.^[15] One of her first acting projects was a television series for local cable by Gordon Lake Productions called Chicago Force. In 1989, Berry moved to New York City to further pursue her acting ambitions. During her early time there she ran out of money and had to live briefly in a homeless shelter.^[15][16][17] Later in 1989, her situation improved and she was cast in the role of model Emily Franklin in the short-lived ABC television series Living Dolls, which was shot in New York and was a spin-off of the hit series Who's the Boss?.^[15] During the taping of which she lapsed into a coma and was diagnosed with diabetes.^[18][19] After the cancellation of Living Dolls, she moved to Los Angeles.^[15] She went on to have a recurring role on the long-running primetime serial Knots Landing. In 1992, Berry was cast as the love interest in the video for R. Kelly's seminal single, Honey Love.^[20][21]

Berry visiting with sailors and Marines during the opening day of Fleet Week New York 2006

Her breakthrough feature film role was in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, in which she played a drug addict named Vivian.^[7] Her first co-starring role was in the 1991 film Strictly Business. In 1992, Berry portrayed a career woman who falls for Eddie Murphy in the romantic comedy Boomerang. That same year, she caught the public's attention as a headstrong biracial slave in the TV adaptation of Queen: The Story of an American Family, based on the book by Alex Haley. Berry was in the live-action Flintstones movie playing the part of "Sharon Stone", a sultry secretary who seduced Fred Flintstone.^[22]

Berry tackled a more serious role, playing a former drug addict struggling to regain custody of her son in Losing Isaiah (1995), starring opposite Jessica Lange. She portrayed Sandra Beecher in Race the Sun (1996), which was based on a true story, shot in Australia, and co-starred alongside Kurt Russell in Executive Decision. Beginning in 1996, she was a Revlon spokeswoman for seven years and renewed her contract in 2004.^[4][23]

In 1997, Halle starred alongside Natalie Deselle Reid in the comedy film, B*A*P*S. Although panned by critics, it showed Halle's acting versatility.In 1998, Berry received praise for her role in Bulworth as an intelligent woman raised by activists who gives a politician (Warren Beatty) a new lease on life. The same year, she played the singer Zola Taylor, one of the three wives of pop singer Frankie Lymon, in the biopic Why Do Fools Fall in Love. In the 1999 HBO biopic Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, she portrayed the first black woman to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award, and it was to Berry a heart-felt project that she introduced, co-produced and fought intensely for it to come through.^[7] Berry's performance was recognized with several awards, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe.^[2][24]

Berry portrayed the mutant superhero Storm in the film adaptation of the comic book series X-Men (2000) and its sequels, X2: X-Men United (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). In 2001, Berry appeared in the film Swordfish, which featured her first nude scene.^[25] At first, she refused to be filmed topless in a sunbathing scene, but she changed her mind when Warner Brothers raised her fee substantially.^[26] The brief flash of her breasts added $500,000 to her fee.^[27] Berry considered these stories to be rumors and was quick to deny them.^[25][28] After turning down numerous roles that required nudity, she said she decided to make Swordfish because her husband, Benét, supported her and encouraged her to take risks.^[29]

In 2001, Berry appeared as Leticia Musgrove, the wife of an executed murderer, in the film Monster's Ball. Her performance was awarded the National Board of Review and the Screen Actors Guild best-actress prizes; in an interesting coincidence she became the first African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Actress (earlier in her career she portrayed Dorothy Dandridge, the first African-American to be nominated for Best Actress, and who was born at the same hospital as Berry, in Cleveland, Ohio).^[30] The NAACP issued the statement: "Congratulations to Halle Berry and Denzel Washington for giving us hope and making us proud. If this is a sign that Hollywood is finally ready to give opportunity and judge performance based on skill and not on skin color then it is a good thing."^[31] Her role also generated controversy. Berry's graphic nude love scene with a racist character played by co-star Billy Bob Thornton was the subject of much media chatter and discussion among African-Americans. Many in the African-American community were critical of Berry for taking the part.^[29] Berry responded: "I don't really see a reason to ever go that far again. That was a unique movie. That scene was special and pivotal and needed to be there, and it would be a really special script that would require something like that again."^[29]

Berry signs autographs for US soldiers in Bosnia-Herzegovina, December 24, 1996

Berry asked for a higher fee for Revlon advertisements after winning the Academy Award, and Ron Perelman, the cosmetics firm's chief, congratulated her, saying how happy he was that she modeled for his company. She replied, "Of course, you'll have to pay me more." Perelman stalked off in a rage.^[32] Her win at the Academy Awards led to two famous "Oscar moments." In accepting her award, she gave an acceptance speech honoring previous black actresses who had never had the opportunity. She said, "This moment is so much bigger than me. This is for every nameless, faceless woman of colour who now has a chance tonight because this door has been opened."^[33] One year later, as she presented the Best Actor award, winner Adrien Brody ran on stage and, instead of giving her the standard peck on the cheek, planted a long kiss on Berry.

2002–present[link]

Berry in Hamburg in 2004

As Bond girl Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson in the 2002 blockbuster Die Another Day, Berry recreated a scene from Dr. No, emerging from the surf to be greeted by James Bond as Ursula Andress had 40 years earlier.^[34] Lindy Hemming, costume designer on Die Another Day, had insisted that Berry wear a bikini and knife as an homage.^[35] Berry has said of the scene: "It's splashy", "exciting", "sexy", "provocative" and "it will keep me still out there after winning an Oscar."^[29] The bikini scene was shot in Cadiz; the location was reportedly cold and windy, and footage has been released of Berry wrapped in thick towels in between takes to avoid catching a chill.^[36] According to a ITV news poll, Jinx was voted the fourth toughest girl on screen of all time.^[37] Berry was hurt during filming when debris from a smoke grenade flew into her eye. It was removed in a 30-minute operation.^[38]

After Berry won the Academy Award, rewrites were commissioned to give her more screentime for X2.^[39]

In November 2003, she starred in the psychological thriller Gothika opposite Robert Downey Jr., during which she broke her arm in a scene with Downey, who twisted her arm too hard. Production was halted for eight weeks.^[40] It was a moderate hit at the United States box office, taking in $60 million; it earned another $80 million abroad.^[41] Berry appeared in the Limp Bizkit music video for Behind Blue Eyes for the motion picture soundtrack for the film. The same year, she was named #1 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll.^[42]

Berry received $12.5 million for the title role in the film Catwoman,^[41] a $100 million movie; it grossed $17 million on its first weekend.^[43] She was awarded a "worst actress" Razzie award in 2005 for this role. She appeared at the ceremony to accept the award in person (making her the third person, and second actor, to ever do so)^[44] with a sense of humor, considering it an experience of the "rock bottom" in order to be "at the top".^[5] Holding the Academy Award in one hand and the Razzie in the other she said, "I never in my life thought that I would be here, winning a Razzie. It's not like I ever aspired to be here, but thank you. 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."^[30] The Fund for Animals praised Berry's compassion towards cats and for squelching rumors that she was keeping a Bengal tiger from the sets of Catwoman as a "pet."^[45]

Berry next appeared in the Oprah Winfrey-produced ABC TV movie Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005), an adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's novel, in which Berry portrayed Janie Crawford, a free-spirited woman whose unconventional sexual mores upset her 1920s contemporaries in a small community. She was nominated for an Emmy for this TV film. Meanwhile, she voiced the character of Cappy, one of the many mechanical beings in the animated feature Robots (2005).^[46]

Berry on the red carpet of Robots

In 2006, Berry, Pierce Brosnan, Cindy Crawford, Jane Seymour, Dick Van Dyke, Tea Leoni, and Daryl Hannah successfully fought the Cabrillo Port Liquefied Natural Gas facility that was proposed off the coast of Malibu.^[47] Berry said, "I care about the air we breathe, I care about the marine life and the ecosystem of the ocean."^[48] In May 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the facility.^[49] Hasty Pudding Theatricals gave her its 2006 Woman of The Year award.^[50]

Berry is involved in production of films and television. She served as executive producer on Introducing Dorothy Dandridge in 1999, and Lackawanna Blues in 2005. Berry both produced and starred in the thriller Perfect Stranger with Bruce Willis and in Things We Lost in the Fire with Benicio del Toro, the first film in which she worked with a female director, Danish Susanne Bier, a new feeling of "thinking the same way", which she appreciated.^[51] Berry then starred in the film Frankie and Alice, in which she plays Frankie Murdoch, a young multiracial American women with dissociative identity disorder struggling against her alter personality to retain her true self. She was awarded the African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress and also was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama.

Berry is one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, earning $10 million per film.^[3] In July 2007, she topped In Touch magazine's list of the world's most fabulous 40-something celebrities. On April 3, 2007, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Kodak Theatre at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard for her contributions to the film industry.^[52][53] As of 2011, Berry's worldwide box office gross has been more than 2.7 billion US$. In 2011, she appeared in New Year's Eve, and is playing one of the leads in the film Cloud Atlas, which is expected to be released in October 2012.^[54] Berry has served for many years as the face of Revlon cosmetics and also as the face of Versace. The Coty Inc. fragrance company signed Berry to market her debut fragrance in March 2008. Berry was delighted, saying that she had created her own fragrances at home by mixing scents.^[55]

Berry at the 2003 Comic-Con International in San Diego, CA

Personal life[link]

Berry at the 83rd Academy Awards, February 27, 2011

Berry has been married twice. Her first marriage was to former baseball player David Justice, from 1993^[56] to 1996. Their divorce was finalized in 1997.^[57] Berry has stated publicly that she was so depressed after her breakup with Justice that she considered taking her own life,^[58] but she could not bear the thought of her mother finding her body.^[59]

Berry was married to Eric Benét from early 2001 to 2005.^[29][60] Berry credited Benét with support after she was involved in a February 2000 traffic collision, in which she left the scene of the accident. Some in the media complained that her misdemeanor hit and run charge was preferential treatment;^[61][62] she had also been the driver in an alleged hit and run incident three years earlier in which no charges were filed.^[63] The incident became fodder for comedians. Berry pleaded no contest, did community service, paid a fine and was placed on three years' probation.^[64] A civil lawsuit was settled out of court.^[65][66] While married to Benét, Berry adopted his daughter, India.^[60] The divorce was finalized in January 2005.^[67]

In November 2005, Berry began dating French-Canadian model Gabriel Aubry. The couple met at a Versace photoshoot.^[68] Berry gave birth to a girl named Nahla Ariela Aubry on March 16, 2008, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.^[69] Nahla means "honeybee" in Arabic; Ariela is Hebrew for "lion for God".^[70] On April 30, 2010, Berry and Aubry announced their separation.^[71] Aubry filed documents with the Los Angeles Superior Court on December 30, 2010, asking the court to formally recognize his paternity and grant a court order giving him and Berry joint legal and physical custody over their daughter.^[72][73]

Berry has been dating actor Olivier Martinez since 2010.^[74] Martinez confirmed their engagement in March 2012.^[75]

In the media[link]

Berry took part in a nearly 2000-house party cell-phone bank campaign for Barack Obama in February 2008.^[76]

In October 2008, Berry was named Esquire magazine's "Sexiest Woman Alive", about which she stated "I don't know exactly what it means, but being 42 and having just had a baby, I think I'll take it.^[77][78] Men's Health ranked her at No. 35 on their "100 Hottest Women of All-Time" list.^[79]

In 2009, she was voted #23 on Empire's 100 Sexiest Film Stars.^[80]

Also in 2009, the 'rapper' Hurricane Chris released a song entitled "Halle Berry (She's Fine)," extolling Berry's sex appeal.

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Banting, Erinn. Halle Berry, Weigl Publishers, 2005 – ISBN 1-59036-333-7
• Gogerly, Liz. Halle Berry, Raintree, 2005 – ISBN 1-4109-1085-7
• Naden, Corinne J. Halle Berry, Sagebrush Education Resources, 2001 – ISBN 0-613-86157-4
• O'Brien, Daniel. Halle Berry, Reynolds & Hearn, 2003 – ISBN 1-903111-38-2
• Sanello, Frank. Halle Berry: A Stormy Life, Virgin Books, 2003 – ISBN 1-85227-092-6
• Schuman, Michael A. Halle Berry: Beauty Is Not Just Physical, Enslow, 2006 – ISBN 0-7660-2467-9

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Halle Berry

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Halle Berry

• Halle Berry at the Internet Movie Database
• Halle Berry at AllRovi
• Works by or about Halle Berry in libraries (WorldCat catalog)