Halle Berry

Halle Berry's role in Monster's Ball was very controversial due to the fact that she plays a single Black mother who experiences grief and sexual readiness with-- unbeknownst to her --the racist prison guard who just helped execute her late husband. According to John Higgins, author of Why Hollywood’s Portrayal of Black Women Is Problematic, an article on The Root, Black women can often be found playing roles in which they are "someone with a perceived negative identity—slave, housekeeper, a victim of domestic abuse, villain—in order for them to be recognized as great actresses?"