At 40, Halle Berry is ready for anything

Golf, screenwriting — Halle does it all
The real Halle Berry is a drug-free Cleveland native who avoids the Hollywood scene like the Bird Flu. She’s the kind of person who makes everyone in the room feel like they matter. She’s a woman who loves shoes, her dogs, her “really cute boyfriend” model Gabriel Aubry, and golf, even though she hates the clothes.

“Can someone, somewhere come up with some really cute outfits that I can wear? I hate the clothes,” she said.

She’s also a talented writer who was editor of her high school newspaper and briefly studied journalism in college before heading off to Chicago to become a model. Berry has even completed a couple of screenplays that she hopes to produce some day if she “gets the courage.”

“One is a comedy,” Berry says. “I’ve realized I have to write one for myself because that’s the only way I’m going to get one! So, I wrote that. One is a thriller and the other one is only half done.”

And even though she’s had her share of PR mishaps—the dual divorces from Benet and first husband David Justice, that messy auto accident back in 2000 in which she fled the scene, and having to dodge all those stones thrown at her after “Catwoman,” Berry has always been able to bounce back with grace and dignity. She doesn’t shy away from the “hard” questions.

“I’m fair game,” Berry says. “People ask me the unthinkable questions and I’m constantly asked personal questions and things that I don’t really want to talk about but I know the name of the game so there have been certain times where I’m willing to disclose certain aspects of my personal life — especially those that I think might help someone else.”

Ready to shed her famed locks
Berry thinks that one of her upcoming films, “Nappily Ever After,” might help women with self-esteem issues. Berry will play a character who decides to shave her head after her hair starts falling out.

“As a woman we define ourselves by our hair,” she said. “And I know I always have my whole life. If my hair’s not right, then I’m just not right. And many days I won’t leave the house if my hair’s not right. So, I’m going to shave my head on screen and hopefully that can help women who are also slaves to their hair find some freedom from that bondage.”

Berry’s “Perfect Stranger” costar Giovanni Ribisi thinks that bald will become even more beautiful when Berry sheds her locks. He applauds her “fearlessness.” But chances are there will be some folks who will be pooping on her decision to take it all off. Guess what? It doesn’t matter. Even though her work is often validated by the responses of her fans — many of whom she says loved “Catwoman” — she won’t be adversely affected if they diss her buzz cut.

“I know every time — good or for bad — that I give 100 percent of what I have to give in that moment,” Berry says emphatically. “I make choices based on what’s happening in my life at that moment. Sometimes it’s what I need to do for personal reasons, sometimes for the art of it. So, knowing that I made decisions for the right reason, I can live with that no matter what the outcome.”

Berry bites On having won an Oscar, Golden Globe, Emmy and SAG award: “If I could win a Grammy that would be something because I can’t carry a note. If I won a Grammy you wouldn’t be able to tell me nothing! On how many children she would like to have: “Well, right now I’m just hoping for one!” On auditioning: “I’m a terrible auditioner! If I had to audition for any one of these jobs I wouldn’t get them. I’m horrible! The fact that I ever got a job offer off an audition is just, you know, because the stars were aligned that day and everybody sucked more than I did.” On Barack Obama being criticized for not really being black: “I think that’s just BS, really. I like Obama. Everyday of my life I’ve operated as a black woman. I’ve been discriminated against as a black woman. I connect to the black community, that’s where I feel most a part of. I remember after the Oscars a lot of people said I wasn’t really the first black actress to win because I wasn’t really black. So, I relate to Barack.” On visiting chat rooms on the net: “No, I haven’t. Somehow that got out and it’s been reported. I think I’ve come off as like this twisted deviant now that’s just is on the Internet posing as someone else. You know, parents don’t worry about me. I’m not the one targeting your kids. It’s not me!”

Miki Turner is a freelance TV producer/writer in Los Angeles. She can be reached at .

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