Halle Berry has been a queen in the entertainment industry on a number of occasions. She made history as the only Black woman to win Best Actress at the Oscars and has many badass performances to show she slays through each character she portrays. But as it’s important for one queen to support another. Berry saw Angelina Jolie’s 2024 Netflix movie Maria, and I’m loving the praise she’s giving it.
Angelina Jolie’s biopic Maria has been earning raves where the Oscar winner portrayed opera singer Maria Callas’ final years. However, an important rave review to take notice of is Halle Berry’s, who wrote in her Instagram stories strong praises for the new musical biopic:
My friend completely transforms herself! What a sight to see!
Critics, as well as Halle Berry, have agreed what a transformative performance Angelina Jolie gave in Maria. Variety said the Girl, Interrupted actress proved herself to be “a deadly serious actor of commanding subtlety and power” and Deadline said she was “an almost magical match” for the real-life singer. Director Barry Jenkins even compared Jolie’s performance to Denzel Washington's in Malcolm X, as he received an Oscar nomination in 1993. As the actress/director has been nominated at the 2025 Golden Globes for Maria, I have no doubts she’ll score an Oscar nomination as well.
Other than being Hollywood A-listers, Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry have a lot in common. Not only were they on Fandango’s Top Ten Popular Actresses list in 2014, but they also proved themselves to be total badasses when they took on action roles, like Jolie playing Lara Croft in Tomb Raider and Berry as Storm in the X-Men movies. Plus, the two are the proud owners of Oscar statuettes that represent the remarkable work they’ve put into their roles.
The two Hollywood starlets are about to have an upcoming movie in common as well. As reported last year in Variety, Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry are set to co-star and co-produce in Maude v Maude, which is described as a mix between Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Mission: Impossible with a little comedy. Berry admitted that she and her co-star had a “rocky start” at first, but were able to bond through “divorces and exes.” After all, Jolie’s divorce battle with Brad Pitt has been ongoing for seven years. The Catwoman actress could relate, as her divorce from Olivier Martinez began in 2015 and came to a close in August 2023. So it’s nice that the two women have each other to lean on professionally and in their friendship.
There’s nothing like seeing one big screen queen send praise to another as Halle Berry says kind words about Angelina Jolie’s Maria performance. I have a feeling these two will continue to have a beautiful friendship on and off-camera going forward. You can see for yourself why Berry and critics are so taken by Jolie’s newest emotional role with Maria, which can be streamed now with your Netflix subscription.
