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About the Author
Kelly Kenyatta is author of the recent best-selling "Aaliyah: An R&B Princess in Words and
Pictures." Kenyatta's first book was “Yes, Yes, Yes: The Unauthorized Biography of Destiny’s Child,” about one of the hottest girl bands in the world. The book was published in 2000 by Busta
Books division of Amber Books in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2001 Busta Books published Kenyatta’s “You Forgot About Dre: The Unauthorized Biography of Dr. Dre & Emimem,” which became an instant top-selling title.
Meanwhile, “Yes, Yes, Yes” was met with such great success
that Kenyatta wrote an updated biography of the band after members changed twice.
That book is titled “Destiny’s Child:
The Complete Story” and was published in
2001.
Kenyatta, a former news reporter, majored in journalism in both undergraduate and graduate school. She was a reporting intern at the Washington, D.C., bureau of the Chicago Tribune. She has been a daily education reporter for a large suburban paper in Illinois. As a freelance writer, she has written for numerous national publications including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Black Enterprise Magazine. She has been chief publicist for a large library organization where she traveled to major cities promoting reading among children and young adults.
"Aaliyah: An R&B Princess in Words and Pictures" is a must read! I wanted to share it with our readers, so I included an excerpt in the June 2002 issue of Right On! - Cynthia Horner, Editorial Director, Right On! Magazine
"Aaliyah: An R&B Princess in Words and Pictures" is a compelling biography in memory of the late singer actress." Ebony Magazine
"Fans of "Baby Girl" will find this book refreshing, with its focus on Aaliyah's life and her desire to achieve her dream of becoming a star and how she made that dream a reality."- Black Issues Book Review
"You Forgot About Dre is loaded with exclusive pictures of Dre and Eminem, including behind-the-scenes footage from the "Up in Smoke Tour". The biography also provides timeless discographies and interviews with Dre and Eminem. Once you finish reading this book, you'll learn all you need to know about Dre and Eminem." - Black Beat Magazine
Introducing Halle Berry
The expression “You’ve come a
long way, baby,” perhaps refers to no one as much as it does to Halle Berry.
Meet the renowned actress, movie producer, model, wife and stepmother. Oh yes,
add history maker to that substantial list of roles. In March of 2002, Halle
Berry became the first African American woman to win the Academy Award for Best
Actress, an award that had eluded talented Black women for 73 years. The Oscar
is perhaps the most coveted and prized award given in the industry, in part
because of the notoriety it brings the recipient. The outrageously ambitious
Halle has spent more than a decade in Hollywood steadily making films and
portraying a colorful array of characters—the crack head, the girl-next-door,
the passionate teacher, the funny country bumpkin and the infamous actress
Dorothy Dandridge, among others. She had long gained the respect and admiration
of many. But her Oscar win was televised before hundreds of millions of people
in more than 100 countries, making her almost immediately an American icon. The
publicity surrounding the nomination and the win was dizzying. If people
didn’t know who Halle Berry was before, they have been doing double takes at
the actress ever since.
She went on to star in a slick, high-budgeted James Bond movie opposite popular
actor Pierce Brosnan. She has filmed the sequel to the “X-Men.” In addition,
she is negotiating her next three or four projects. Halle Berry is indisputably
red hot! But it hasn’t always been that way. Red Hot Halle: The Story of an
American Best Actress, delves into the life and times of the Cleveland born
actress and chronicles her childhood, where she grew up fatherless and unsure
about her racial identity. It explores Halle’s close relationships with her
mother and with her first “puppy love.” It tells the story of a young girl
finding her place in school and excelling. Likewise, Red Hot Halle examines the
actress’s abusive relationships that started early, making her life at times a
living hell.
The story captures Halle’s gradual move out of her cocoon to become a national
beauty pageant winner, then a model living initially in poverty in Chicago. From
there, she went to Manhattan and then to Hollywood to pursue acting. During her
decade in the industry Halle Berry has dated prominent men who left her lonely
and dejected. Her first marriage failed miserably and resulted in haunting
thoughts of her taking her own life.With the help of her therapist, Halle
realized that growing up without the love and support of her father had scarred
her terribly and that the wounds were still open and festering. She picked up
the debris of her shattered life and moved forward toward healing. Several years
later, she fell in love again with the man she would marry and her career
continued to flourish. She co-produced the award-winning “Introducing Dorothy
Dandridge,” where she starred in her dream role.
But as fate would have it, Halle Berry suffered yet another setback. In February
of 2000, she collided with another driver in the early hours of the morning on
her way home from a friend’s house. Halle left the scene of the accident where
she had injured another young lady. The NAACP Image Award and Golden Globe Award
winner was facing criminal charges. For the second time, her character was
questioned by the public (earlier, an ex-lover had unsuccessfully sued her
claiming she owed him some $80,000 he loaned her to launch her career). She
eventually pled no contest in the hit-and-run incident and announced, supported
by medical authorities, that she had no memory whatsoever of the accident.
Again, she endured.
Over the next years, the actress starred in controversial movies that involved
nudity and racially charged material. But she felt giving a voice to the
characters she did was important and stood by her decisions. In her life, Halle
Berry has made some courageous moves. She has taken unbelievable risks. And
while her choices were not always the best, she is a person who seemingly learns
from her experiences and emerges a stronger woman. She has long pushed herself
toward her own personal excellence and she has been rewarded. After winning the
Essence Award in 2002, Halle commented that if she, a little girl growing up in
a single family household of modest means in middle America, could go on to
become successful in her field, other young people surely could realize their
dreams.
Meet Halle Berry—renowned actress, movie producer, model, wife, stepmother,
history maker. Meet Halle Berry, an inspiration to many.
Chapter I Halle Berry Resurrects Dorothy Dandridge
Chapter II Black, White or Other
Chapter III Halle High
Chapter IV Breaking into the Business
Photos
Chapter V Taking Flight
Chapter VI Prince Charming
Chapter VII Everything and Nothing
Chapter VIII
The Greatest Love of All
Chapter IX Red Hot Halle
The Films of Halle Berry
160 pages and two dozen photographs