Saturday, 26 May 2007

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Halle Berry: My guilt over abusive dad

Star doesn't understand why he didn't beat her

Actress Halle Berry has revealed she doesn't know why her father hit her mum and sister - but never laid a finger on her.

The 40-year-old says her childhood was filled with pain due to her dad's aggressive behaviour.

'My father was an alcoholic and pretty violent,' she explains, 'and my formative years were filled with turmoil and abuse.'

Halle witnessed hospital porter Jerome Berry beating her mother Judith and her older sister Heidi. Once, he threw their pet puppy against a wall.

'But he never beat me,' she tells Weekend magazine. 'I had a lot of guilt as to why them and not me.'

Jerome died from Parkinson's disease in 2003, but father and daughter were estranged, and Halle did not attend his funeral.