Here's What Halle Berry Really Looks Like Without Makeup

Halle Berry has a face that's associated with makeup, thanks to her longtime role as a brand ambassador for Revlon. Her relationship with cosmetics began at age 16 when she started competing in beauty pageants, per Glamour, but she didn't begin pursuing crowns and sashes because she was enamored with the makeup chair. Instead, a high school boyfriend got the ball rolling on her beauty queen career by using her prom picture to enter her in the Miss Teen Ohio pageant without her knowledge. "I went to this contest, thought it was fun, and I ended up winning," Berry recalled to W magazine.

She made it all the way to the Miss USA pageant, and after failing to win, she quit chasing crowns and set her sights on another industry that often requires long hours perfecting hair and makeup. But from the start of her Hollywood career, Berry wasn't interested in playing heavily made-up seductresses. Instead, the future Bond girl convinced director Spike Lee to give her the gritty part she had her heart set on in the 1991 film "Jungle Fever." To show him she was right for the role, she removed her makeup during her audition for a different character. "I came back out and I got to read the crack ho, and I got the part of the crack ho," she recalled to W.

Thus began Berry's love affair with roles that don't require heavy makeup — a preference she also has when she's not at work.

Halle Berry explained to W magazine that she fiercely fought for roles in movies like "Jungle Fever" and "Monster's Ball" — which she won an Oscar for — because she wanted to shed her glamorous image and distance herself from her previous careers. "I came from the world of beauty pageants and modeling and right away when people heard that I got discounted as an actor," she stated. She also likes to keep her look simple during her downtime. "I hardly ever wear makeup," she told People in 2012. "I like to give my skin a break — let it breathe."

Berry occasionally shares fresh-faced photos on Instagram, like a selfie she snapped while working on the movie "Bruised." Her character is an MMA fighter, so when she spent time in the makeup chair, it was often to make her look bloody and beat up, per USA Today. Berry trained in multiple martial art disciplines for the role, and she credits her hard work in the gym for helping her seem frozen in time. When Elle asked her to spill her beauty secrets, she stated, "Besides facials and a good skin care routine, I just try to take care of myself, eat well, and exercise. I really do believe that how you live shows up on your face." Berry has shared that bone broth is one of her diet staples, and a skincare product she swears by is vitamin C serum.

After over five decades living in her skin, Halle Berry has learned some invaluable beauty lessons. She told InStyle (via Who What Wear) that she discovered the importance of SPF at age 16, and in an interview with PopSugar, she fessed up to making a major skincare mistake by using granular exfoliants. Upon reaching this realization, she replaced the scrub with a facial cleanser and massager.

According to Berry, she's started imparting some of her beauty knowledge to her daughter, Nahla. Berry has partnered with Finishing Touch, and when Nahla was 13, she introduced her to the brand's facial hair remover. Berry explained to Glamour that she felt like discussing facial and body hair removal was taboo when she was teen, and she wants to make this shame and discomfort a thing of the past. "[Nahla is] coming of age now, and has a chance to use all these products that I didn't have when I was 13. How cool is that?"

While Berry loves introducing Nahla to some of her favorite beauty products, she doesn't want her to focus on the superficial. The actor told USA Today that she's tried to get Nahla to limit her use of filters on social media, and in a People interview, she shared her makeup advice for her daughter: "It's not about hiding who you are, but really learning how to have the confidence to put your real self forward."