The Real Story Behind the Return of Halle Berry's 'Best Oscar Dress of All Times'

The veteran actress joins the elite ranks of actresses like Jennifer Lopez who can impressively pull off an old favorite like it's brand new.

16 Nov 2024, 13:41 by Shanelle Genai · The Root

Halle Berry at the “Never Let Go” world premiere held at Regal Times Square on September 16, 2024 in New York City.

Halle Berry, one of our 2024 Root 100 honorees, has always been a looker. So it should come as no surprise when she turns heads at events. But a recent appearance has gotten a whole lot of people talking this week—and for a good reason.

But you likely heard wasn’t just any dress — it was the same dress she wore over 20 years ago when she made history at the 2002 Oscars by becoming the first Black woman to take home the award for Best Actress for her role in “Monster’s Ball.”

All About the Dress:

The stunning gown features a mesh top with floral appliqués, an oxblood burgundy skirt, and was dubbed as “one of the best Oscar dresses of all time,” by Cosmopolitan back in 2011. In addition to the dress forever being connected to Berry’s history-making win, it also proved to be a pivotal point in history for Middle Eastern designers as her win helped put Saab on the map as another go-to designer for the stars.

Since the dress gained mainstream recognition, Saab has gone on to dress fellow A-listers like Beyonce for her 2007 “The Beyonce Experience Tour,” Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Sandra Bullock, Taylor Swift and more.

Peep Berry back in 2002 on the left and Berry at the Saab show in 2024 on the right. Who else can say they were able to still fit in the same dress they wore back in the early 2000s?

Halle Berry, 2002; Halle Berry, 2024.

Speaking of the 2000s, let’s really take it back to that moment in history: A shocked and emotionally overwhelmed Berry took a minute to get up on the Oscars stage once her name was called. After she embraced her mother and kissed her then-husband Eric Benet, she made her way up the stairs —momentarily slowed down by trying to gather her dress together. Once there, she was visibly still in shock, her mouth agape while tears began flowing down her cheeks.

The Dresses Appearance at the Oscars:

It was a night that meant so much to so many people. It meant a lot to Berry as it had been 74 years since a Black woman — namely Hattie McDaniel — first took home the award for Best Actress for her work in “Gone With the Wind.” It meant a lot to Black women watching at home to finally see some representation rightfully recognized and applauded (even if some were secretly wishing it would’ve been for a different role than a widower who slept with a racist prison executioner).

It also meant a lot to the myriad of white actors and actresses who were watching her win as it signified once again that they weren’t the only ones with talent and ability.

And as folks at home were both proud and wishing the beautifully dressed Berry would hurry up and get herself together so she could properly articulate how she was feeling, she eventually did and explained how the moment was much bigger than her.

Halle Berry Wins Best Actress: 74th Oscars (2002)

“This moment is so much bigger than me. This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. It’s for the women who stand beside me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox. And it’s for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has the chance because this door tonight has been open,” Berry said through tears.

The Return of the Dress:

Fast forward to 2024, what’s remained in addition to the impact of Berry’s win is the fact that she looked just as stunning donning the iconic dress now as she did all those years ago. So once pictures and videos of “The Call” star wearing the Saab dress began circulating online this week, many gave the veteran actress her props for still looking drop-dead gorgeous in the legendary gown after all this time.

“HALLE BERRY IS IN HER ELIE SAAB DRESS SHE WORE WHEN SHE WON HER OSCAR ON THE RUNWAY,” wrote one user on X/Twitter.

“the ICON. the LEGEND. the MOMENT! forever more,” wrote another in the comments on Berry’s Instagram post on Wednesday.

Added another on Instagram, “She literally put that designer on the award show scene with that dress and it’s my favorite of all time.”

“A reminder that you CAN be the baddest in the game forever,” another commented.

Berry has never been one to play with and her shutting down the runway like this is just further proof of that. Continue to slay!

The Real Story Behind the Return of Halle Berry's 'Best Oscar Dress of All Times'

The veteran actress joins the elite ranks of actresses like Jennifer Lopez who can impressively pull off an old favorite like it's brand new.

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