Fabulous Halle Berry Talks About Motherhood & Getting Back Into Shape

Halle Berry is taking her time to get back on the scene since she is busy and enjoying her new life with 2-month-old baby Nahla. Of course Halle didn’t lose any time to get back into shape – she has now a rocking post-pregnancy body (photos).

Are you enjoying becoming a mother at last?
This is the most beautiful time of my life. Having a baby has made me so happy and fulfilled, I just can’t express in words how I really feel. To be able to nurse and bond with my daughter is such a joy. It’s been a long, long wait!

Did you know you were going to have a girl?
Gabriel and I both agreed that we would rather not know and let it be a wonderful surprise. I just felt a lot more comfortable not knowing.

Has Nahla brought the two of you closer together?
From the beginning, Gabriel was someone I felt I could feel very close and loving to, and I also knew from early on that he was the kind of man who would love a child as much as me. I’m happy just being with a man who loves me unconditionally and is looking forward to the future with me.

Has being a mom changed your approach to your acting career?
I’m definitely going to work less. I used to put so much pressure on myself to succeed that it often made me very unhappy in my personal life, and I felt on the verge of burning out three or four years ago. Also, I feel having a baby will open up a whole new world for me. I think I’ll actually find better roles, because I’ve gotten past being the ingénue and sex symbol.

But you look as gorgeous as ever! Was it tough getting back into shape?
It’s been kind of tough. But I have a great trainer [LA-based trainer Ramona Braganza] and we’ve been working out an hour a day, five days a week, for the past month. I didn’t want it to take five months to get back my figure. It was something I wanted to take care of now and just not worry about. I feel really good.

Have you been able to fit in any other time for yourself?
Well, Nahla is keeping me pretty busy with feedings, but it’s always a pleasure to oblige. Gabriel and I also plan to sleep again in a few months, as soon as Nahla’s nighttime feeding schedule allows!

In a couple of photos, Halle Berry is showing off her political support by wearing a Barack Obama t-shirt, giving this presidential candidate what’s sure to be a great publicity boost.

HALLE BERRY

Biography

Born on August 14, 1966, in Cleveland, Ohio, Halle Maria Berry and her older sister, Heidi, were raised by their mother, Judith, a psychiatric ward nurse. Halle Berry's father walked out on the family when she was only 4 years old.

Although living in a single-parent household was somewhat tough, Halle's mom managed to move the family out of the inner-city neighborhood and into the suburbs of Cleveland. But because the neighborhood was predominantly white, Halle and her sister were treated cruelly because of their dark skin.

halle berry in miss usa pageant
Determined not to let the color of her skin get the best of her, Halle Berry made it a point to make friends, and her dream of becoming an actress already began to surface.

By the time Halle Berry reached high school, she was a cheerleader, an honor society member, editor of the school paper, and class president. Not surprisingly, she was crowned her high school's prom queen. In 1983, when she was only 17 years old, Halle's then-boyfriend entered her name in the Miss Teen Ohio beauty pageant. Once again, it's no surprise that Halle Berry got to wear the crown in that competition.

But it didn't stop there: Halle Berry won many other high-profile competitions, including Miss Teen All-American, Miss USA (first runner-up) and Miss World. Once she was done raking in points by winning pageant after pageant, Halle continued her education at Cleveland's Cuyahoga Community College in 1986, studying broadcast journalism.

halle berry stars in jungle fever
Unfortunately, Halle Berry didn't complete her degree -- she left the program to pursue a more glamorous career in modeling and started studying acting in Chicago. Although Halle Berry auditioned for Aaron Spelling for a part in Charlie's Angels and didn't get the role, Spelling encouraged Halle to pursue her dreams of being an actress.

Halle Berry moved to Manhattan, where she immediately landed her first TV gig in Living Dolls. Although the show was short-lived, Halle was more determined than ever to become a great actress.

Halle Berry got her first big break in 1991 when Spike Lee cast her as a crack-addicted woman in Jungle Fever, costarring Samuel L. Jackson. Halle was so determined to execute the role perfectly that she actually interviewed real addicts and stopped bathing 10 days before filming the racially charged film.

halle berry stars in boomerang
Soon after, Halle Berry reverted to television with a recurring role on the popular prime-time soap opera Knots Landing in 1991.

But the big screen was where Halle Berry wanted to be and she soon landed another part, this time playing Damon Wayans' exotic girlfriend in the film The Last Boy Scout (1991), which also starred Bruce Willis.

In 1992, Halle landed a starring role opposite none other than the man of comedy himself, Eddie Murphy, in Boomerang. In 1993, she married Atlanta Braves right fielder David Justice. Unfortunately, the marriage was short-lived and they divorced in 1996.

halle berry stars as dorothy dandridge
Next, Halle Berry decided to take a lighter acting job and starred in the 1994 movie The Flintstones, but her riveting big-screen role as an illiterate addict who abandons her child in a garbage can in 1995's Losing Isaiah shot her star up high.

Unfortunately for Halle Berry, she missed a great opportunity when she passed up the lead role in the film Speed, which ultimately worked wonders for Sandra Bullock's career.

Other movies that Halle Berry starred in include Executive Decision (1996), Race the Sun (1996), B*A*P*S (1997), Bulworth (1998), and Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999), for which she won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV movie.

halle berry stars as storm in x-men
In 2000, Halle Berry starred as Storm/Ororo Munroe in the live film adaptation of the cartoon strip X-Men -- along with fellow mutants Rebecca Romijn and Famke Janssen.

Halle Berry also returned to modeling as a spokeperson for Revlon. And because Halle Berry was diagnosed with diabetes, she became an avid volunteer for the Juvenile Diabetes Association.

halle berry's hit and run
Unfortunately, Berry made headlines when she was charged with a hit and run in 2000. She pleaded no contest and the judge ordered her to perform 200 hours of community service. She also made news when she was allegedly paid a $500,000 bonus to reveal her breasts in a scene in 2001's hacker film, Swordfish.

In 2001, Halle Berry married soul singer Eric Benet, but the couple divorced in 2003.

halle wins an oscar for monster's ball
2001 wasn't all bad for Halle Berry, however. She received the 2002 SAG award for Best Actress in Monster's Ball and made history at the Oscars as the first black actress to receive a Best Actress Academy Award. Her Oscar triumph cemented her as an A-list actress.

But that didn't mean Halle Berry was giving up action blockbusters: She appeared as Bond Girl Jinx in the film Die Another Day (2002), as well as in X2 (2003), the second installment of the X-Men franchise.

halle berry is catwoman
Next, Halle appeared in the psychological thriller Gothika (2003) and in Catwoman (2004), which was panned by critics.

Later that year, Halle Berry made headlines again when her allegedly abusive ex-lover was revealed as Wesley Snipes, although Halle herself never confirmed this.

halle berry in x-men: the last stand
In 2005, Halle Berry appeared in the TV movie Their Eyes Were Watching God and lent her voice to the animated film Robots. Her projects for 2006 included the third X-Men installment, X-Men: The Final Stand, and the thriller Perfect Stranger.
Halle Berry was also named the new face of Versace. During a photoshoot for the designer, Halle Berry met her boyfriend, top model Gabriel Aubry.

halle berry is named no. 21 in 2008 top 99

In 2007, after starring in Things We Lost in the Fire, Halle Berry confirmed reports that she was pregnant with boyfriend Gabriel Aubry's baby. Her even-more-voluptuous breasts quickly became the topic of conversation as her body beautifully blossomed with pregnancy