Halle Berry has been in the acting game for years, but as she did her press run for the film, Kidnap, a few years ago, we learned there are still many things we never knew about the woman she is outside of the Hollywood life.
Many of us have been diggin’ Halle ever since she played Samuel Jackson’s crackhead girlfriend, “Vivian,” in Jungle Fever. Then, she hit us with the girl-next-door vibe in Boomerang, as “Marcus'” girlfriend, “Angela.” Little did we know, that it was just a few short years before those big screen appearances, that Halle and her mother were going through one of the toughest tests on their relationship.
Halle On Why She Stopped Talking To Her Mother For A While
In an interview with People, Halle revealed that everything wasn’t all good in her life. She was once a starving actress who was in desperate need of money and that’s when she says her mother, Judith Ann Hawkins, denied her help. That led to her living in a homeless shelter in New York all alone, and she stopped speaking to her Moms for a year. But Halle confessed that although that was one of the worst experiences of her life, it ultimately turned into the best thing that could have ever happened to her:
Halle: “That was rough. […] I called my mother and asked her to send me some money, and she said no, and that led to a year of not speaking to her because I was so upset that she wouldn’t help me. […] But that’s probably one of the best things she did for me.” […] She [Halle’s mother] said, “If you want to be there, then you work it out.”
Halle then revealed that after her Mother denied her of help, she was on a mission to prove her moms – and everyone – else wrong:
Halle: Giving up was never an option….It took me right back to my high school years, ‘You say I can’t, WATCH me.'[…] Shelter life was part of figuring it out for a minute until I could get a waitressing job. Then I got a bartending job, and until I could figure that out, that’s what I did.”
Watch Halle Discuss Past Hardships With Her Mother
Thankfully, Halle and her Mother reportedly have a great relationship now though. Ms. Berry also revealed that her Mom’s choice to leave her hangin’ when she needed her most, was what helped her develop an intense competitive spirit and incredible drive that has propelled her to being one of the most seasoned actresses in the game today.
So, ILOSM family, the question is: Would you have displayed that type of tough love to your child, by leaving them homeless in an attempt to teach them a life lesson? Or would you have chosen a different route?
