Halle Berry Didn’t Know She Was in Perimenopause for 10 Years. Now, Her Life Mission Is to Help Women Through It

So you were going through all of this, and everyone was just telling you that you were fine?

Women need more support, we need more therapies, and we need to be studied. More doctors need to understand it. I realized the menopausal body is only a chapter in medical school for doctors. I mean, how can they help us when they know nothing about it? It’s not been made important, and it’s just time for that to change. It really has become my life mission.

How has your experience been navigating this time in Hollywood, and in the public eye?

I often felt that I had to act as if these things weren’t happening. If I were in the middle of a scene and got a hot flash, I had to just act as if it wasn’t happening or somehow try to incorporate what was happening involuntarily to my body into the scene, or into my character in some way.

I worked a lot with massive headaches, not feeling like I could say, “I’m having a symptom of menopause, everybody.” One, I didn’t even have the language. I didn’t even know that’s the state I was in. I had many, many sleepless nights. I would come to work very tired, and I just had to suffer through it.

What’s your advice for those approaching, or in, this time of life?

First of all, I think women should start thinking about this at age 35. When we are in our baby-making years, you don’t have to worry. Your body is full of estrogen normally, unless you’ve had a hysterectomy or you’ve had some other issue that’s caused [early] menopause.

At 35, you should start thinking that estrogen is leaving. How do I want to live my midlife years? If you want to go down the path of HRT [hormone replacement therapy], the sooner you start, the better. So, I would say to find a knowledgeable doctor who specializes in the menopausal body and make these decisions for yourself. Deep dive into this subject. Come to Respin, because that’s what our mission is—to help educate women, help them make informed choices so that they can decide how they want to live their midlife years.

If there’s anything that shows that menopause really is magic, it’s that you recently rewore your Elie Saab Oscars dress from 2002. How did that feel?