In 2012, Halle Berry made history as Hollywood’s first Black Best Actress Oscar winner — but her trailblazing career has often been overshadowed by her turbulent relationships and bitter legal battles.
The 60-year-old actress is currently locked in a custody fight with ex-husband Olivier Martinez over their 13-year-old son, Maceo, after he sought sole legal custody and a domestic violence restraining order against her.
In court papers seen by Page Six earlier this month, Martinez, also 60, accused Berry of choking and physically abusing Maceo during an altercation at her Los Angeles home on Sept. 26. Berry and her legal team have strongly denied the allegations as “meritless and deliberately misleading.”
Now, a source who has known Berry for many years tells Page Six that the “Catwoman” star has a side rarely seen by the public — claiming her volatile moods have long concerned those in her orbit.
“Halle can be the loveliest human being you’ve ever met, then within seconds she’ll fly into a rage,” the source said.
“There is what I can only term as a dysregulation to her moods that many, many people in her world have witnessed. And while I personally have never seen her be like that with her children, the polarity of her moods are well known among her friends … I don’t think anyone in her life is immune to the mood swings.”
The source pointed to a series of incidents in Berry’s past, including a February 2000 hit-and-run in Hollywood.
Berry ran a red light on Sunset Boulevard and crashed into a car driven by Hetal Raythatha.
The collision left Berry with a deep gash to her forehead and she later claimed she suffered amnesia after hitting her head.
Raythatha sustained a broken wrist and other injuries.
Berry left the scene before police arrived, although investigators found no evidence that she was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
She was initially charged with a felony, which was later reduced to a misdemeanor for leaving the scene of an accident.
In May 2000, Berry pleaded no contest and was sentenced to three years of probation, fined $13,500 and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service. Raythatha subsequently sued Berry for negligence. The civil case was settled out of court in May 2001.
The source also recalled how Berry remained furious for years after co-star Robert Downey Jr. accidentally broke her arm while filming the 2003 thriller “Gothika.” Berry reportedly told friends she felt his apology was insincere.
“When you put all the pieces together you see there might be a mood issue happening,” the source said, while cautioning: “However, this doesn’t make her guilty of what she’s being accused of.”
Indeed, “Martinez has his own issues,” the source added.
A rep and attorney for Berry declined to comment.
Berry has been married three times — to baseball player David Justice, singer-songwriter Eric Benét and Martinez.
She also dated model Gabriel Aubry for several years in the late aughts and had her first child with him, daughter Nahla, in 2008. But they had a highly publicized legal battle and repeatedly clashed over parenting Nahla following their spit in 2010.
The star met first met Martinez in 2010 on the set of their movie “Dark Tide.” In a combustible confrontation on Thanksgiving 2012, Aubry and Martinez actually came to blows outside Berry’s home. Aubry suffered a broken rib, severe facial bruising and a possible head injury, while Martinez sustained injuries to his hand and neck.
Aubry was arrested for misdemeanor battery and both men subsequently obtained temporary restraining orders against each other before the legal issues were settled days later. Neither men was charged.
Berry and Martinez wed at a chateau in Vallery, France, in July 2013, just three months before Maceo was born, but the drama with Aubry continued.
In 2014, Berry was ordered to pay Aubry $16,000 a month in child support, in addition to Nahla’s private school tuition and paying $115,000 in retroactive support, as well as $300,000 in Aubry’s attorney fees.
Later that year, Berry took Aubry to court, alleging he had dyed and straightened their daughter’s naturally curly hair so she would not look so black. Aubry denied the allegations.
Then, in the fall of 2015, Berry and Martinez announced their separation, but their contentious divorce dragged on for eight years before it was finalized in August 2023.
In the end, she was ordered to pay Martinez $8,000 a month in child support plus 4.3% of any income she earns above $2 million a year. Berry also covers Maceo’s private school tuition, health insurance, extracurricular activities and therapy and counseling sessions.
“These custody situations enrage Halle,” the source said. “And she has to support these men. They have both relied on her to support them, so it’s understandable that she would get upset, but her rage is sometimes out of control.”
In this latest salvo, Martinez has alleged in court papers that Berry choked their son following an argument over virtual reality goggles, claiming she called Maceo “such an idiot” for playing a game on the headset. Martinez has also alleged multiple instances of abuse over the past year and a half. The details of these incidents are, as yet, unknown.
The star, who is engaged to musician Van Hunt, 56, also dates people who “devote themselves to her” — and “she comes to resent it,” the source alleged.
After a longtime friend previously told us that Berry, who won her Oscar for playing the grieving widow of an executed death row inmate in “Monster’s Ball”, can appear “irrational,” another insider who knows the star said they had witnessed “extreme kindness and then extreme bile and rage within minutes that would take your breath away.”
But amid her latest legal fight, Berry has received a powerful public show of support from her daughter.
Nahla, now 18, described her mother as a “loving and devoted parent” who “can be strict when necessary,” according to a declaration filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by Page Six.
“I have never seen my mom hit, slap, choke, grab, or physically abuse Maceo in any way,” she stated, expressing her “shock” at the allegations and her love for her brother.
“I have never seen my mom place her hands around Maceo’s neck, put him in a chokehold, restrict his breathing, or engage in any conduct remotely resembling the allegations that have been made against her.”
Nahla acknowledged that Berry expects her children to follow rules and be respectful, but said her mother is also “warm, supportive and deeply involved in our lives.
“I never observed anything abusive about her parenting,” she added.
Martinez currently has temporary sole custody of Maceo, and this week an LA judge ruled that the teenager can testify in the court proceedings.
In a formal response filed Wednesday, however, Berry alleged that Martinez is responsible for their son’s recent behavioral issues at school.
She is seeking sole legal custody and wants the court to restore her authority over major decisions affecting Maceo’s welfare. If the judge declines, she is asking for final decision-making authority over education, medical care and mental health issues if the parents cannot reach an agreement after 72 hours of trying.
The filing includes declarations from Hunt, 56, alongside Nahla and school staff. The next hearing for Maceo’s case is slated for this coming Monday.
The source who has known Berry for years said, “I hope this [current legal situation] doesn’t get too messy for the sake of everyone involved.”
Despite the turmoil, Berry continues to work on new projects, including “The President Is Missing,” a feature adaptation of Bill Clinton and James Patterson’s novel at Apple Original Films, and Respin, her wellness platform focused on women’s health and menopause.
In August, she turned 60 and celebrated by posing in a lace-trimmed red-and-black robe, seemingly wearing nothing underneath, alongside chocolate-covered strawberries and what appeared to be a mimosa.
The star seems to be ready to make a fresh start. On Friday, TMZ reported that she has put her LA home — the site of Martinez and Aubry’s Thanksgiving fight — up for nearly $12 million.
“I feel stronger, smarter, wiser, more myself, more in control,” she told Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones earlier this year. “I’m the best version of myself at this time in my life and I am so glad that I’m still here and healthy.”