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Halle Berry Is 'Disappointed' She's Still The Only Black Woman To Win A Best Actress Oscar

Halle Berry is still the only black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress, and she’s not happy about it.

“I’m disappointed,” she told the Guardian in a new interview. “I’m inspired though, when I see how many people of color are doing such good work out there. The quality and value of our work isn’t determined by an award.”

“I would like to see more of them recognized, absolutely, but we all need to find the win in the work, and doing our craft. The real win is when we’re not just selling stories of color, that people of color can be in everyday stories,” Berry said. “Where we’re not saying: ‘These are the movies for black people.'”

Berry won an Academy Award in 2002 for her role in “Monster’s Ball,” which centers on a poor Southern woman who falls for a widowed prison guard after the execution of her husband. But roles like that don’t come around too often, according to the 48-year-old actress.

“If anybody tells you after winning an Oscar they can pick out things that will be hits, they’re lying!” she said, adding that being an older woman in Hollywood doesn’t necessarily help. “I’ve always had a hard time getting roles, being of color, so I’ve got as many available to me as I’ve always had — there’s no difference for me. When I was 21, it was as hard as it is now when I’m 48. For me, it’s the same.”

Berry is currently starring in the CBS series “Extant,” which was renewed for a second season in October.

“Anyone in this industry will tell you that that’s where the best writing is. Good actors are going to TV,” she said. “It’s not just about making movies any more, and movies are becoming harder and harder to make. That taboo of television is long gone. There was a time when movies were [awed whisper] ‘movies!’ But now we have big screens in our homes.”