This moment is forDorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne,Diahann Carroll.
It’s for the women that stand beside me,Jada Pinkett,Angela Bassett,Vivica A. I’m so honored.
I’m so honored.
Gaborey Sidibe and Halle Berry.Credit:Everett Collection - Design: Alex Sandoval
And I thank the Academy for choosing me to be the vessel for which His blessing might flow.
Berry earned every ounce of emotion she poured into herOscarsacceptance speech in 2002.
Berry replaced Vivica A.
Halle Berry and Eddie Murphy in ‘Boomerang’.Everett Collection
Fox who had starred in the shows backdoor pilot.
Ron Batzdorff/Universal
She then tried her hand at historical miniseries with the Emmy-nominatedAlex Haleys Queenin 1993.
The plot isa lot, full of needless tragedy, including the deaths of both Leticia and Hanks sons.
Halle Berry and Kyle MacLachlan in ‘The Flintstones’.Ron Batzdorff/Universal
‘“Williams said in 2014.
Honestly, great crowd.
But Berry emerged triumphant.
Natalie Desselle (center), Halle Berry in ‘BAPs’.New Line Cinema/courtesy Everett Collection
Black people emerged triumphant.
The Oscars had never been so Black.
And as if a form of self-correction, it never was again.
Halle Berry in ‘Introducing Dorothy Dandridge’.Courtesy: Everett Collection
Black suffering wins Oscars.
Which isnt to say it isnt true.
For most, getting nominated or winning is a career peak, one that most actors will never reach.
Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton in ‘Monster’s Ball’.Everett Collection
But everything you do afterwards is in the shadow of that Oscar.
Berrys post-Oscar career has been decidedly anticlimactic.
The 2004 high camp classic that hit that sweet spot of being so bad it was amazing.
Halle Berry winning the Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar.TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images
Just a swing and a huge miss, but what a swing.
Still, its baffling just how overwhelmingly mediocre Halle Berrys film career has been in the past two decades.
It should be a golden ticket to the A list.
Gabourey Sidibe in ‘Precious’.Anne Marie Fox/Lionsgate
It didn’t happen.
It actually got a little harder.
They call it the Oscar curse.
Gabourey Sidibe at the 2010 Oscars.Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
You’re expected to turn in award-worthy performances.”
And occasionally on film.
Streaming has been the great equalizer, reflecting an easy diversity that movies often struggle to manufacture.
Halle Berry in ‘Die Another Day’.Keith Hamshere/MGM
The movies can either get onboard or get left behind.
Its one of my biggest heartbreaks, Berry said of her Oscar win.
The morning after, I thought, Wow, I was chosen to open a door.
Halle Berry in ‘Catwoman’.Everett Collection
And then, to have no one …
I question, Was that an important moment, or was it just an important moment for me?
I wanted to believe it was so much bigger than me.
In other words, Black film is taken seriously, more often than not.
And Halle Berry winning that Oscar is a big part of that.
It reallydidopen a door because it showed that Black actresses can deliver the kinds of performances that win Oscars.
Its just that her Oscar might have done more for other Black women than it ever did for her.
Which is really what breaking barriers is all about, making it easier for everyone that comes after you.
And it can sometimes be a thankless role.
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