Jerome Jesse Berry: Is Halle Berry’s Father Still Alive?

Jerome Jesse Berry is the s the late father of Halle Berry. Jerome Jesse Berry’s daughter Halle is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and coming in sixth in the Miss World 1986.

Jerome Jesse Berry: Bio Summary

Jerome Jesse Berry was born on August 7, 1934, in  Clarksdale, Mississippi, the United States to his parents Robert Berry and Cora Lee. Jarome is an African America. He came into the limelight because of his daughter Halle Berry. Jarome had two children with his wife Judith Ann Hawkins. The couple had two children—Halle and her elder sister Heidi Berry.

Career

Jerome Jesse Berry had served in the Air Force. He later became a bus driver and worked for Bluebird Travel Lines for several years. Furthermore, He also worked as an Attendant at a Cleveland psychiatric hospital, where he met his future wife Judith Ann.

Jerome Jesse Berry’s Cause of Death

What happened to Halle Berry’s father? Unfortunately, Halle Berry’s father Jerome passed away in 2003. On 24, January 2003, Jerome Jesse Berry died at Euclid General Hospital in Euclid, Ohio. When it comes to the cause of his death, Jerome died of Parkinson’s disease. At the time, he was 68 years old. He was laid to rest in Cleveland Memorial Gardens in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

He was married to Judith Ann Hawkins

Jesse was married to Halle Berry’s mother, Judith Ann. There aren’t many details about the years in which the couple tied the knot but Jerome was married to Judith Ann Hawkins. The former duo first met when they both were working at a Cleveland psychiatric hospital. At the time, Judith was a nurse at the hospital.

Jerome and Judith started a family a few years after their marriage, welcoming their first daughter, Heidi Berry-Henderson, in October 1964. Hawkins gave birth to their second child, a daughter Halle Berry, in August 1966, making them parents for the second time.

According to some online sources, it’s been stated that Judith Ann Hawkins’s ex-partner Jerome Jesse used to assault her physically.

Their daughter Halle also remembers that her father had misbehaved with her mother when she was just five years old. She further added that her father used to raise his hands almost every day to Judith. Her father had also kicked their mother downstairs, hitting her with a wine bottle in her head. 

In an interview, Halle Barry told Daily Mail,

“‘I saw my mother battered, and could not do anything to stop it. My father was tyrannical, lashing out at her for no reason. I felt the effects that had on our family – I’ve experienced what these women have gone through.”

Furthermore, in an interview with the host James Lipton, Halle once again opened up that her late dad never abused her but beat her big sista several times. She said,

“The hard part for me was he never abused me. I was dealing with a lot of guilt because I saw my sister go through terrible beatings.

Jerome and Judith called their marriage quit in 1970, after living a conjugal life of about 10 years. Although neither of the parties revealed the actual reason behind their divorce, according to their daughter Halle, it was Jerome’s abusive behavior towards his wife.

Jerome’s girls grew up with their mother who raised them alone. It is not surprising to see the girls having a great bond with their mother rather than with their abusive father. Halle has been spotted at various events with her mother.

Jerome Jesse Berry’s daughter Halle

Jerome Jesse Berry’s daughter Halle Berry had the honor of being ranked No. 1 on People‘s “50 Most Beautiful People in the World” list in 2003 after making the top ten seven times and appearing No. 1 on FHM‘s “100 Sexiest Women in the World” the same year. 

She was named Esquire magazine’s “Sexiest Woman Alive” in October 2008, about which she stated: “I don’t know exactly what it means, but being 42 and having just had a baby, I think I’ll take it.” Aside from that, at the age of 42 (in 2008), Halle was once again named the “Sexiest Black Woman” by Access Hollywood’s “TV One Access” survey. 

Jerome Jesse Berry’s daughter stated that her biracial background was “painful and confusing” when she was a young woman, and she made the decision early on to identify as a black woman because she knew that was how she would be perceived.