Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez (Getty Images)After accepting Olivier Martinez's wedding proposal last spring, Halle Berry is ready to give marriage another try. So committed, she's even said that when her custody battle with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry is finally resolved, she plans to uproot her life in Hollywood to move with her four-year-old daughter, Nahla, to Martinez's native France. Although Berry is clearly head over heels for her fiancé, the twice-divorced actress says it wasn't love at first sight for the couple.
"When I first met Olivier, there wasn't the initial, 'I'm in love!' It was something that grew more gradually — and it feels more real because of that," the 46-year-old tells InStyle. What does she love most about him? "He's silly, a clown, and very much the life of the party, which is good for someone like me. Danny Downer … been there, done that. Now I like Louie Lightfoot!"
See how Halle's look has changed over the years
After failed marriages to David Justice and Eric Benét, Berry famously told Oprah in 2004, "I will never marry again. I mean it with every bone in my body." Obviously she has changed her mind, telling InStyle, "It's another one of those never-say-never things. I'm a hopeless romantic, and I won't stop till I get it right!" Her third wedding will be a small affair. "I haven't been to many weddings, but I went to one this weekend with 250 guests. I thought, Wow — so this is a wedding, huh? I've never had that, nor have I wanted that. I wasn't even trying to catch the bouquet!"
Berry says she trusts her gut more these days than ever before. "Throughout my career I have been talked out of things I wanted to do, and when I look back I think, I should have followed my instincts," she tells the magazine. "I relied on others to guide me because I thought they knew better. But as I've gotten older, I've learned to trust myself." As for her thoughts on aging, she says, "Don't stress about your age or fight it. Appreciate the young women who look like you once did, but don't strive to be like them. You're moving into a new phase of your life — embrace it. That's what I hope to do."
Berry on the cover of InStyleThe actress says she trusts herself when it comes to fashion too — although she's not afraid to admit she's made some missteps through the years. "My style has evolved in a nice way, but everyone has bad moments," she tells InStyle. "Someone just showed me a photo from the '80s in which I was wearing a polka-dot and flower-print suit with puffy sleeves. At the time I thought I was stylin'! But no…" She also reveals what she does with all those beautiful designer gowns we've seen her wear through the years. "I archive a lot of my clothes and have them wrapped up and in boxes," she says. "I call them 'little tombs' and keep them in a storage space. … I would never get rid of the dress I wore on the night I won my Oscar. When I die, someone can have it, but not a minute before!"
And perhaps more famous than her fashion sense is her short hairstyle, which has become her signature through the years. Berry says it's a look she loves — and has no plans to change. "I think I am at my best when my hair is short," she tells the magazine. "It's easier to take care of and more of who I am. Women are conditioned to think we need long hair. I see that happening with my daughter. She is so in love with her hair right now. She says, 'Look, Mommy — it's so long!' As women, we think it defines us, and we learn that at a young age."
Read more of Berry's interview in the November issue of InStyle, which hits newsstands on October 19.
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