Halle Berry’s older sister is Heidi Berry-Henderson.
Halle and Heidi were raised by their mother, actress Judith Hawkins, after their father Jerome Berry abandoned the family.
After Jerome Berry left the family, Judith Hawkins moved the family to a predominantly white suburb of Cleveland called Bedford. Halle Berry’s time in a nearly all-white school was marred by racial discrimination. The actress has said that this time drove her to work harder.
In interviews over the years, Halle Berry has alleged her father was a violent alcoholic who beat her mother in front of her and her sister Heidi.
Halle Berry excelled in beauty pageants and easily found work in modeling after leaving college early to pursue her dreams.
