Halle Berry

Halle Berry took over the slot that Will Smith would have held to present the Best Actor and Best Actress Oscars on Sunday.

Following the incident, Smith went back to his seat. [ Brendan Fraser for The Whale](https://deadline.com/2023/03/brendan-fraser-2023-best-actor-the-whale-oscars-1235296085/) and [Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All At Once](https://deadline.com/2023/03/michelle-yeoh-2023-oscar-best-actress-everything-everywhere-all-at-once-1235291040/). [Halle Berry](https://deadline.com/tag/halle-berry/) as the two presented together both the Best Actor and Best Actress [Oscars](https://deadline.com/tag/oscar/).

Two best-actress winners joined forces to present both lead performer winners Michelle Yeoh and Brendan Fraser with their awards.

The moment called to mind the effort over a decade ago to enlist five previous winners in the best-actor and best-actress categories to present not just an award to the winner, but pay tribute to all of the nominees. If Blanchett had won, two fellow veteran performers would be the ones to present the award to someone else already in that pantheon. Yeoh becoming the first Asian winner in this category would have significance as one performer of color helps hand the Oscar to another. Until tonight, Berry was the only woman of color to ever win a best-actress Oscar. The telecast repeatedly had its presenters deliver two awards back-to-back, which allowed a way to have her present both Academy Awards for lead performer by pairing her with Halle Berry, who won best actress in 2002 for Monster’s Ball. It’s a longtime Academy Awards tradition to have the lead actor from the previous year present the next best-actress winner with her trophy, and vice versa.

Halle Berry attended the 2023 Oscars on March 12 in a Tamara Ralph gown with thigh-high slits and donned in pink roses. 2002 gown in Academy Museum.

At the 2002 Academy Awards, where she became the first black actress to win for Best Actress, she stunned in a burgundy [Elie Saab](https://wwd.com/pop-culture/celebrity-news/kerry-washington-unprisoned-premiere-floral-dress-1235565416/) gown with sheer floral adornment on her chest. The champagne carpet is the first to deviate from red since the 33rd Oscars in 1961. She recently announced in March on Instagram that her 2002 [Oscars](https://wwd.com/tag/oscars/) gown is on display at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

Michelle Yeoh became the second woman of color to receive the Best Actress honor at the Oscars, after Halle Berry was the first back in 2002.

Jackson](https://people.com/tag/samuel-l-jackson/), [Janelle Monáe](https://people.com/tag/janelle-monae/) and [John Cho](https://people.com/tag/nicole-kidman/https://people.com/movies/john-cho-shares-essay-about-asian-americans-facing-discrimination-during-covid-19-pandemic/), to name a few. [Nicole Kidman](https://people.com/tag/nicole-kidman/), [Antonio Banderas](https://people.com/tag/antonio-banderas/), [Ariana DeBose](https://people.com/movies/ariana-debose-everything-to-know/), [Samuel L. [Lenny Kravitz](https://people.com/tag/lenny-kravitz/) performed during [the In Memoriam segment](https://people.com/movies/oscars-2023-in-memoriam-segment-john-travolta-gets-emotional/), and all five Best Original Song nominees were showcased live during the broadcast. (It was followed by [All Quiet on the Western Front](https://people.com/movies/all-quiet-on-the-western-front-everything-to-know-oscar-nominee/) and [The Banshees of Inisherin](https://ew.com/movies/movie-reviews/banshees-of-inisherin-review-colin-farrell-brendan-gleeson/), which both earned nine nominations.) [Jessica Chastain](https://people.com/tag/jessica-chastain/). [won in the Best Actress category](https://people.com/movies/oscars-2023-michelle-yeoh-best-actress-winner-speech/) for her performance as Evelyn Wang in [Everything Everywhere All at Once](https://people.com/movies/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-first-a24-movie-100-million-dollars-global-box-office/). [won back in 2002 for her Monster's Ball performance](https://people.com/movies/halle-berry-reflects-on-winning-oscar-20-years-later-monsters-ball-2002-academy-awards/). Everything Everywhere All at Once, meanwhile, earned the night's [most-coveted award for Best Picture](https://people.com/movies/oscars-2023-complete-winners-list/). "I have to dedicate this to my mom, all the moms in the world, because they are really the superheroes. I love you guys, and I'm bringing this home to you. This was a long time coming and a moment I will forever hold dear!" The first was Berry, who

Past Best Actress winner Halle Berry replaced Will Smith to present Best Actress at the 2023 Oscars alongside last year's winner Jessica Chastain.

[Jada Pinkett Smith](https://ew.com/person/jada-pinkett-smith/). Berry won Best Actress in 2002 for Monster's Ball, becoming the first Black woman to win the award since the Oscars began in 1929. In the two decades since Berry's historic win, no other woman of color has been victorious in the category. [full list of 2023 Oscars winners](https://ew.com/awards/oscars/oscars-2023-winners-list/). Smith ultimately [issued an apology](https://ew.com/celebrity/will-smith-addresses-oscars-slap-daily-show-interview/) for his behavior, but was banned from attending all Academy-sanctioned events [for the next decade](https://ew.com/awards/oscars/will-smith-academy-decision-banned-oscars-10-years/). [Halle Berry](https://ew.com/person/halle-berry/) teamed up with [Jessica Chastain](https://ew.com/person/jessica-chastain/) for a presentation of the Best Actress category at the 2023 [Oscars](https://ew.com/awards/oscars/) that likely would have been handled by [Will Smith](https://ew.com/person/will-smith/).

More than 20 years after winning the Academy Award for Best Actress, presenter Halle Berry stepped out at the 2023 Oscars in an ethereal white gown.

However, that could all change at the 2023 Oscars. And more than two decades later, she remains the only woman of color to do so in the awards show's 95-year history [Cate Blanchett](https://www.eonline.com/news/cate_blanchett), Andrea Riseborough and [Michelle Williams](https://www.eonline.com/news/michelle_williams). "Thank you so very much for inducting me into your Fashion Hall of Fame," Halle shared. "I love me some fashion, so this is a huge, huge honor. She proudly showed off the dress' train by throwing both pieces of fabric to her sides for a windswept effect.