Halle Berryis an accomplished woman. She is intelligent. She is talented. She is strong. She is the first African-American woman to win a Best Actress Oscar. And, she is drop dead gorgeous.
Incredulously, despite all that she has going for her, Halle still has suffered greatly from a sense of low self-esteem in adulthood–an unfortunate result of growing up in an abusive household.
Halle, 44, opened up to CNN recently about her childhood, living with a violent father who physically abused her mom. Halle confides to CNN: “I think I’ve spent my adult life dealing with the sense of low self-esteem that was sort of implanted in me.”
Halle continues: “Somehow I felt not worthy.” Despite her success in Hollywood, she explains, “Before I’m ‘Halle Berry,’ I’m little Halle….a little girl growing in this environment that damaged me in some ways and I’ve spent my adult life trying to really heal from that.”
Halle has turned her pain into efforts to help others in similar situations. She dedicates her time and finances to the Jenesse Center, a Los Angeles shelter, which renovates apartments for women who have left abusive relationships. Halle says, “I have a spot in my soul that understands the devastation that this causes a family and how hard it is to rebuild your self-esteem when you have suffered.”
Watch the full CNN interview below: