Overview
- Berry tells The Cut that her 2002 Best Actress win for Monster’s Ball did not alter her trajectory, recalling she expected a wave of offers that never came.
- She describes directors questioning whether casting a Black woman would force a film to be labeled a "Black movie" that studios feared would not sell overseas.
- Berry says she advised fellow Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo not to treat a win as life-changing or as validation for her work.
- She remains the only Black performer to have won the Academy Award for Best Actress, underscoring the slow progress she has lamented in past interviews.
- The profile runs as Berry promotes the thriller Crime 101 and references her recent dispute with California Gov. Gavin Newsom over his veto of a menopause bill tied to her wellness company Respin.