Halle Berry graduated from Bedford High School, afterward working in the children's department at Higbee's Department store. Halle Berry then studied at Cuyahoga Community College. In the 1980s, Halle Berry entered several beauty contests, winning Miss Teen All-American in 1985 and Miss Ohio USA in 1986. Halle Berry was the 1986 Miss USA first runner-up to Christy Fichtner of Texas. In the Miss USA 1986 pageant interview competition, Halle Berry said she hoped to become an entertainer or to have something to do with the media. Her interview was awarded the highest score by the judges. Halle Berry was the first African-American Miss World entrant in 1986, where she finished sixth and Trinidad and Tobago's Giselle Laronde was crowned Miss World.
