Inside Halle Berry’s road to fame began with a pageant stage, evolved into Oscar-winning career

Halle Berry is an actress known for her roles in films like "Catwoman" and "Monster's Ball." Her time in the spotlight started in pageants, when she represented Ohio on the Miss U.S.A. Pageant.

Halle Berry is an Oscar-winning actress who got her start in the spotlight not on a film set, but on the pageant stage. She first competed and won the Miss Teen All-American Pageant in 1985 and was the first runner-up in the Miss U.S.A. Pageant in 1986. These wins helped launch her modeling career. (PA Images via Getty Images) Berry won an Oscar for her work in "Monster's Ball," a 2001 thriller. She was the first Black woman to win an Oscar in the best actress category. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic) One of Halle Berry's earliest roles was in the TV series "Living Dolls." The TV series lasted one season in 1989. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images) After "Living Dolls," Halle Berry appeared in several other TV shows, like "Amen," "A Different World" and "They Came from Outer Space." Berry then transitioned into more movie roles, including "The Last Boy Scout" in 1991. (Warner Bros. Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images) Halle Berry married French actor Olivier Martinez in 2013. The couple divorced in 2016. Before Martinez, Berry was married to former MLB athlete David Justice from 1993-1997 and singer Eric Benét from 2001-2005. She shares her son, Maceo-Robert with Martinez and a daughter, Nahla Ariela Aubry with ex Gabriel Aubry. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/WireImage via Getty Images) In 2000, Halle Berry first emerged as Storm in "X-Men." She later starred in sequels "X2: X-Men United," "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "X-Men: Days of Future Past." (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images) In 2002, Halle Berry earned an Oscar for her role in the 2001 movie "Monster's Ball." She played Leticia Musgrove in the film also starring Billy Bob Thornton. She wore an Elie Saab net an embroidered gown to the award ceremony. (Photo By Getty Images) Berry was cast in the action packed thriller Netflix film starring Mark Wahlberg, "The Union." The two Hollywood elites play ex-lovers turned partners for a secret mission. (Getty Images) Berry began dating singer and songwriter Van Hunt in 2020. It is unclear how the couple first met, but they have been together ever since. The pair attends red carpet events together regularly. (Chris Pizzello-Pool/Getty Image) Halle Berry's most recent TV show was the series "Extant." The show ran from 2014-2015 and followed a female astronaut who becomes pregnant while she is up in space, alone, for 13 months. (Robert Voets/CBS via Getty Images) Halle Berry joined the popular, action-packed "John Wick" franchise in 2019, when "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum" was released. (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images) Halle Berry remains an active member of Hollywood elites, regularly keeping up appearances and attending major red carpet events. She continues to appear in movies and television shows. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images) Ashlyn Messier is a writer for Fox News Digital. 

Long before she was an Oscar winning star, she found success on the pageant stage. 

Berry competed in the Miss Teen All-American Pageant representing Ohio in 1985 and took home the crown. She later went on to compete in the Miss U.S.A. Pageant, where she was the first runner-up.