Halle Berry urged women to keep telling stories that show their “multitudes and contradictions” in a passionate speech at the Critics Choice Awards (CCA).
The Oscar-winning actress was honoured with the CCA’s sixth annual SeeHer Award, which honours female industry members for their advocacy of gender equality.
Accepting the accolade she reassured girls all over the world that they would be seen and heard.
“I am so grateful to be standing and living in this moment, where women are standing up and we are telling our own stories,” she said.
“We will write, we will produce, we will direct and if we’re brave enough we’ll star in it all at the same time.
“We will use our emotional intelligence and we will tell stories that don’t fit preconceived notions, no.
“We will tell stories so that they see us fully in all our multitudes and contradictions, because we are confident and we are scared.
“We are vulnerable and we are strong, we are beautiful and we are abused. We are everything and all of that and all at the same time.”
She added: “These are the stories we need to tell and these are the stories the world needs to see, so to every little girl who feels unseen and unheard, this is our way of saying to you: we love you and we see you and you deserve every good thing in this world.”