Becoming ... Halle Berry

See the Catwoman star's evolution from beauty pageant-queen to red-carpet royalty. By Lucy Maher

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FAMILY TIES

Berry and older sister Heidi (a homemaker with whom she now has little contact) grew up in Cleveland with their mother, Judith, after their father, Jerome Berry, left the family when Halle was 4. Although the sisters (in 1970) were teased for having a black father and white mother, "Mom made me feel I was special and different," says Berry.