Actress Halle Berry is one of the most beautiful women in the world, but her talent of "becoming" the character she portrays led to her being the first African-American in the history of Academy Awards to win the Best Actress Oscar (for "Monster's Ball") in 2002. Born to a mixed-race couple and named after her mother's favourite department store, Halle Berry's upbringing was marred by her father's abuse of her mother and sister (though never Berry herself). This, added to the racist taunts whe endured at school, only made her even more determined to "fit in" and strive to achieve all her ambitions. By the time she was in her teens she was prom queen, editor of the school newspaper and top of her class. Professionally Berry got her big break in the 1991 hit "Jungle Fever" alongside the formidable Samuel L. Jackson, and in 2000 won a Golden Globe for her depiction of the 50s black actress Dorothy Dandridge, with whom she so closely identifies. She went on to star in films as diverse as "The Last Boy Scout", "Boomerang", "The Flintstones", "Bulworth", "X-Men", "Swordfish", "Die Another Day", and reprise her role as Storm in "X-Men 2". Berry's personal life has often been rocky. Her first marriage to baseball star David Justice ended when he cheated on her. Then, after a series of disastrous (and some abusive) relationships, Halle married the singer Eric Benet, whose daughter India she later adopted. In 2000 she was also involved in a hit and run accident for which she was fined and placed on three years' probation. Frank Sanello delves into the life of Halle Berry to uncover the truth about the abuse, the racism and the screen nudity, while also showing how one of the most beautiful and talented women in the world still finds it difficult to get the parts she wants.