Halle Berry is laying out exactly what six decades of life have taught her about boundaries, self-worth, and shedding guilt.
The Oscar winner, 58, took the stage at Create & Cultivate’s “On Her Own Terms: Halle Berry on Menopause, Aging, & Women’s Health” panel in downtown Los Angeles, where she told moderator Jaclyn Johnson that her approaching 60th birthday has unlocked an unexpected kind of freedom. Rather than dreading the milestone, Berry framed it as the opening of what she considers her most liberating chapter yet.
“I think as I’m aging, I’m learning that confidence just grows. It grows. You become more of yourself,” Berry explained. “And that’s why I say this time of life, whenever I’m talking to women, I tell them, this is going to be your best chapter. It’s your ‘I have zero f—s to give’ chapter. And you really start to patronize yourself.”
That mind-set didn’t arrive overnight. Berry traced it to a lifetime of refusing to chase Hollywood’s shifting standards or measure herself against anyone else’s timeline. The “Monster’s Ball” star said she has never tried to fit the industry’s mold or follow the crowd.
“I think I’ve always had the ability to walk in my own shoes and walk my own path. I’ve never really been a follower. I’ve never tried to keep up with anybody. I’ve realized I’ve always been in my own race,” she noted.
That self-certainty has now reshaped her closest relationships. Berry told the audience that she no longer drains her own energy to keep everyone around her comfortable, and she has stopped apologizing for it. She said she exercises that boundary “at will” with her family, sometimes with humor.
“I have no more guilt about it. I do it at will, and I tell my family that all the time. ‘No, I’m not doing that. How about you do that for yourself?'” she shared with a laugh.
Berry framed the word “no” not as rejection but as an act of preservation and even love directed inward. She described it as a skill she has sharpened with age, one that protects her well-being without requiring harshness.
“You learn how to say no with no guilt. You can say no with love because you’re choosing to love yourself. And that’s what I’ve really come to terms with,” she continued.
The actress also credited her fiancé, Grammy-winning musician Van Hunt, with reinforcing that evolution. She said his support has helped her fully embrace self-love as a daily practice rather than an abstract goal.
“And now, having my guy that also supports me, loving myself has been, I think, the greatest gift to show up in my life,” she added.
Berry’s comments come as she has increasingly used her platform to challenge stereotypes about women aging in the public eye. The panel appearance marked her latest effort to reframe menopause and later life as periods of expansion rather than decline.
The Cleveland-born star, who won her Academy Award in 2002 for “Monster’s Ball,” has maintained a steady presence in film and television while also directing. She made her feature directorial debut with 2020’s “Bruised,” in which she also starred as a disgraced MMA fighter seeking redemption.
Berry is set to continue her advocacy work with additional speaking engagements focused on women’s health and aging.