The 54-year-old took home the Best Actress prize for the film Monster’s Ball, making her the first Black woman to win the award – and she remains the only Black woman to have achieved the honour to date.
Despite the success, in an interview with Variety, the star reflected on the win and what has come since, including a deficit of role offers which has tainted her achievement.
“I think it’s largely because there was no place for someone like me,” Berry said. “I thought, ‘Oh, all these great scripts are going to come my way; these great directors are going to be banging on my door.’ It didn’t happen… It actually got a little harder. They call it the Oscar curse. You’re expected to turn in award-worthy performances.”
Nearly two decades after accepting the award, the star is astonished that no other Black woman has matched her accomplishment.
“I thought there were women that rightfully, arguably, could have, should have. I hoped they would have, but why it hasn’t gone that way, I don’t have the answer,” she insisted, naming Harriet‘s Cynthia Erivo and Loving star Ruth Negga as nominees who should have won.
The Catwoman star continued: “It’s one of my biggest heartbreaks… The morning after, I thought, ‘Wow, I was chosen to open a door.’ And then, to have no one… I question, ‘Was that an important moment, or was it just an important moment for me?’
“I wanted to believe it was so much bigger than me. It felt so much bigger than me, mainly because I knew others should have been there before me and they weren’t.”
– Reuters
