From beauty queen to crackfiend, Bond Girl to Marvel superhero, we salute Halle Berry for captivating audiences across the world in her work on the silver screen.

Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry is one of the highest paid and most versatile entertainers in Hollywood. She’s worked her way from beauty pageant fame to Oscar winning glory, maintaining her status as a sex symbol while transforming to portray a dizzying range of roles.

Halle Berry’s Tip for Success: Be Tenacious, Don’t Accept No
In a 2001 interview with Blackfilm.com Berry talks about fighting to be cast in her Oscar winning role in Monster’s Ball:
“It was one of those scripts I couldn't put down…So I knew I was going to have to fight for it. My manager gave it to me, so I thought they (the producers) were interested in me; and so I called back my manager and him to tell them I said yes and that I'll do it for whatever the money is. He said there was a problem. They don't want me. So I finagled a meeting with the producer Lee Daniels and director Marc Foster and I read the script. I had written these ideas as to how I wanted to play the character. In that first meeting, I don't quite know how it went. I guess I did okay. Then I had another meeting and I just kept drilling them with why I thought the part could be for me. When I heard them say "But you're the face of Revlon", I told them I thought tragedy, devastation, and hard times affects everyone. ‘What does this woman look like? Please tell me,’ is what I said to them. I've certainly had my share of ups and downs and my looks have not stopped any of those experiences from coming my way. When they really couldn't answer that, they started to take me seriously. It was just a matter of wearing them down and not accepting no. I wasn't going to give until they told me they casted someone else. Then I would have moved on.”

When we first met Halle as an actress it wasn’t under glamorous circumstances. Her role as Vivian in Spike Lee’s 1991 film Jungle Fever, meant lighting up rocks alongside Samuel L. Jackson (Gator).

…but then she cleaned up her act and won over many a man’s heart as Angela, the girl-next-door/artsy chick who teaches Eddie Murphy a valuable lesson in Boomerang

Berry capitalized on her success with roles in the Alex Haley TV miniseries “Queen,” as well as films like Losing Isaiah, Bulworth and Why Do Fools Fall in Love? before sinking her teeth into the role of 50’s screen icon Dorothy Dandridge in HBO’s 1999 film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.

Much like Dandridge, until this point in her career Halle had been forced to make the most of the limited roles offered her – taking turns as the girlfriend, wife or love interest more often than not. This time the role called for a leading lady and Berry delivered.

The part netted Halle a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award. It would also mark her first turn as a producer – a must-have title for any A-list Hollywood actor with hopes of bringing their dream projects to life.

After jumping into the role of X-Men super heroine Stormin 2000, Berry weathered her first on-screen nude scene in Swordfish, that dicey experience was followed by even more controversy when Halle bared it all again, taking an emotional turn in 2001’s Monster’s Ball. The risk paid off when Halle brought home an Academy Award.

Since her Oscar, Berry has reprised her role as Storm in two X-Men sequels and donned an orange bikini to play the Bond girl Jinx in Die Another Day. The honor has also made Berry one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, she famously earned $14 million apiece for Gothika and Catwoman.

In addition to her success as an actress, the beauty industry has bought into Berry’s marketing power. She’s served as the face of Versace and a longtime spokesperson for Revlon.

On April 3, 2007 Berry was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to the film industry.

In honor of Women’s History Month 24 Hour Grind Salutes Women in Entertainment. Check back tomorrow for more!