Halle Berry Reveals Doctor Misdiagnosed Her with ‘Worst Case of Herpes’

While speaking with First Lady Jill Biden at A Day of Unreasonable Conversation summit on Monday, per THR, the 57-year-old actress recalled how she learned she was in perimenopause, revealing a doctor mistook her perimenopause symptoms for a serious case of herpes.

Perimenopause is when the body “starts transitioning to menopause,” according to Cleveland Clinic. During the transitional period — which starts about eight to 10 years before a woman enters menopause — the ovaries begin to produce less estrogen. Some of the symptoms include irregular periods, hot flashes, and vaginal dryness.

“First of all, my ego told me that I was going to skip [perimenopause] — I’m very safe, I’m healthy, I managed to get myself off of insulin and manage my diabetes since I’m 20 years old,” Berry told Biden, adding that she met her partner, Van Hunt, when she was 54, calling him the “man of my dreams.”

The Oscar winner went on to share some details about her sex life, before revealing that she visited the doctor after she suffered severe pain during intercourse. Berry said the doctor told her that she had the worst case of herpes he had ever seen. However, after she and Hunt both tested negative for the sexually transmitted disease (STD), she discovered that her symptoms were caused by perimenopause.

“I realized after the fact that is a symptom of perimenopause,” Berry revealed, referencing the dryness and pain she experienced during sex.

“My doctor had no knowledge and didn’t prepare me, that’s when I knew, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got to use my platform, I have to use all of who I am and I have to start making a change and a difference for other women,'” she added.

The Monster’s Ball actress — alongside with Biden — concluded the discussion by asking the audience to “help us change the way culture views women at this stage of our lives.”

“And we’re not exactly at the end. We’re sitting up here, two women who are clearly down the path of life, we are not done,” Berry added. “We’re just getting started in our next act.”

The star has previously opened up about her experience with menopause.

In a piece she penned for Women’s Health in August 2023, Berry got candid about “embracing” the changes in her life and “owning” her sexuality, sharing that she’s her “best self” at her age despite being “smack dab in the middle of menopause.”

This important transition period in a woman’s life marks a change in hormone levels, usually after the age of 40. Although all women are affected differently, it can result in symptoms like hot flashes, fatigue, irritability, and insomnia, according to John Hopkins Medicine.

“The most important thing about owning your sexuality as a woman is accepting the station you’re at — and embracing that,” Berry said. “And I say that because I’m smack dab in the middle of menopause. And I am challenging everything I thought I knew about menopause. Things like: ‘Your life is over.’ ‘You are disposable.’ ‘Society no longer has a place for you.’ ‘You should retire.’ ‘You should pack it up.'”

“I’m challenging all those stereotypes about how you have to look a certain way or feel a certain way. I’m my best self now that I reached 56 years old,” she added. “I have the most to offer. I have zero blanks to give anymore. I’m solidly in my womanhood. I finally realize what I have to say is valuable, even if no one else agrees.”

During Berry’s appearance at the A Day of Unreasonable Conversation summit on Monday, she said her goal is to change “the way women and men feel about women during their midlife and how they feel about this — which used to be a dirty little word — menopause, perimenopause, and we in this room have to change that… it can’t just be the doom and gloom story. This is a glorious time of life.”