Racism and sexism have been part of Hollywood since its very inception and remain prevalent in the recent landscape of the industry. While things aren’t as bad as they once were, unfortunately, this wasn’t the case when Moonfall Star Halle Berry was trying to break into Hollywood back in the ’90s.
While Halle Berry has cemented herself as an accomplished actor in the realm of Hollywood by delivering acclaimed works, it wasn’t always sunshine and roses for her in showbiz. Opening up about her initial struggle, the actor explained how her race and gender made her climb to the top extremely hard.
Halle Berry Had a Hard Time Battling Racism and Sexism in Hollywood
Growing up in Oakwood, Ohio, Halle Berry acquired a variety of skills under her belt in her younger days and would become a prominent figure in the modeling landscape. But her success wasn’t limited to beauty pageants, as she would eventually break into Hollywood. However, the initial years in the industry were pretty hard on her, following her background of competing in beauty pageants and her ethnicity, which made the Catwoman Star’s ascend pretty challenging. She told THR:
“It’s a hard nut to crack, this business, but that’s for anybody. It’s not for the weak or the meek. And it was hard for me. I started almost 25 years ago. Television was different, what women could and could not do was different. And being a person of color, I was making a way out of no way. That was quite different than it is today for women of color,”
Although the John Wick Star eventually broke the mold and would go on to win an Academy Award for Best Actress for Monster’s Ball, it took her “years to build that respect within the community”.
Zoe Saldana Too Spoke Out Against Hollywood’s Woman Problem
But Halle Barry isn’t the lone victim of the broken system, as the franchise queen Zoe Saldana too had to experience a lot of rejection in her initial years for her skin color. Although she eventually made it to the top and is now at the forefront of major IPs, the issue of sexism and racism is far from over in the industry, as she often found herself being outnumbered by men in sets.
Speaking to Time, Saldana explained,
“I feel lonely on set. And it’s not just that you’re the only woman in the cast. There are very few women on the crew. You hardly ever get to work with a female director. Some female producers try to blend in with their male colleagues and won’t stand up to them. You’re completely outnumbered. And you take a hit in your paycheck as a woman too. I’m so f—ing tired of it,” she said.
On the bright side, things are definitely progressing in the right direction with creators like Greta Gerwig and actors like Michelle Yeoh earning the recognition they deserve.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Time
