After 15 years of trying to keep her daughter out of the spotlight, Halle Berry finally shares rare images of Nahla, who’s often tangled in the drama of her squabbling parents, which included bizarre brawls over her hair.
In a career spanning three decades, Halle Berry, a striking beauty at 56, is one of Hollywood’s highest paid female actors.
After her performance as a struggling woman in Monster’s Ball (2001) Berry became the first, black woman to have won an Academy Award for Best Actress.
When she appeared as Catwoman (2004), a role so bad that one critic suggested she return her Academy, Berry redeemed herself in the thriller Perfect Stranger with Bruce Willis (2007) and Things we Lost in the Fire in the same year.
It’s perhaps her role in the X-Men franchise as the platinum-haired Storm, whose superpower is weather manipulation, that earned her commercial and international recognition.
What she really needed was a superpower allowing foresight in her personal life.
Married twice, first to MBL player David Justice (1993 to 1997) and then singer-songwriter Eric Benét (2001 to 2005), the former beauty queen then met her next husband, the handsome Canadian model, Gabriel Aubrey, at a 2005 Versace photoshoot. Wed the same year, the couple had a baby girl, Nahla in 2008.
After announcing their divorce in 2010, Berry wanted to move their daughter to France, saying she wanted to live more privately, with her girl, in the home of her new boyfriend, Olivier Martinez, whom she co-starred with in Dark Tide.
But her requests to pull Nahla from her father Aubrey, were denied by the courts.
Married to Martinez in 2013, the couple share a son, Maceo Martinez Berry, who was born in the same year, three years before Martinez and Berry divorced.
But it’s Nahla, big sister to nine-year-old Maceo who–despite her parent’s efforts of concealing her face to keep her identity safe–has the attention of the public.
Celebrating Nahla’s 15th birthday this year, Berry shared a string of photos of the girl on her special day. The first is a framed black and white image with mom and daughter sharing a laugh, and the second captures Nahla from the back, while she lies on a netted hammock overlooking the water. The last photo shows the girl sitting on an outdoor couch, green bamboo stalks lining the wall behind her, and her face covered with a brown, beret-styled cap.
The proud mom captioned the photos, “One of the greatest gifts the universe has given me is my daughter, Nahla. She is the sun that never fades and the moon that never wanes! Please join me in wishing her a happy 15th Birthday today! I love you sweet angel.”
Followers were excited to see the rare photos of Berry’s quickly growing daughter.
One surprised fan wrote, “Is that ‘15th a typo? That human cannot be 15 already.”
Aubrey also wished Nahla a happy birthday with a photo of her on a swing, her face hidden by radiant beams of sunshine that hit her tilted head. He writes: “Happy Birthday my beautiful little Nahla. Nothing brings more joy than seeing you grow into the amazing little woman that you are.”
Co-parenting, Berry and Gabriel work together in raising Nahla. Though mostly amicable, the former couple still have powerhouse squabbles over their daughter. One highly publicized incident resulted in lawsuits after Berry accused her ex of dyeing Nahla’s hair blonde, from its natural dark color.
According to sources, Berry realized something was wrong with Nahla’s hair, the damage suggesting that it had been dyed.
After vehemently denying accusations of coloring his daughters’ hair, Berry opened a court case against him. Courts ruled in her favor after Nahla’s hair was analyzed, revealing that indeed, her hair had been colored.
In a more recent incident involving hair and Nahla, whom her beauty icon mom says is a “girly girl,” Berry was slammed for shaving her then 12-year-old daughter’s head, leaving her “…bald in the back.”
Appearing virtually for an at-home edition of the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the Golden Globe winner explained how she and Nahla stayed busy during Covid lockdowns, and why Nahla was sporting a new look.
“Every day we’re swimming and when we get out of the pool, my daughter’s like … ‘I don’t need you to brush my hair,’” the actor said. “We’re doing her homework the other night and (Nahla) goes, ‘Mom, I’m scared to tell you this, but touch the back of my head.’ All her hair, which is past her shoulders, has shrunken up into a tight ball that feels like matted fur.”
Unable to get her fingers into the large knot, Berry continued, “I’m pulling and she’s screaming,” and after 30 minutes of struggling, the knot only got “tighter.”
Though Nahla “was not cool with that decision,” shaving her curly locks was their only option.
“Now she gets it,” Berry said. “I was like, ‘First of all, maybe you’ll let your mother help you. And second of all, you learned you gotta brush your hair. Every day, you gotta brush your hair.’”
And of course, the online audience had plenty to say about her shaving Nahla’s head.
One user writes, “Cutting her daughters hair was ridiculous and unnecessary.” Another praises the actor, “Well, besides being freaking gorgeous, it sounds like Halle has a good head on her shoulders.”
Nahla Aubry often draws attention for her striking resemblance to her father. Previously, people have commented on the similarities in their features, such as their facial structure, eye shape, and even their golden locks of hair.
The resemblance between Nahla and Gabriel has been a topic of discussion among fans and the media for quite some time, showcasing how genetics can play a significant role in familial resemblances.
And when Halle posted the new pictures of Nahla, it sounded the same.
A lot of people commented on the physical likeness between Nahla and her father, writing, “that baby looks like her daddy,” and “she has her dad’s face.”
Happy late birthday to Nahla!
We look forward to one day seeing her beautiful face!