Halle Berry, Chaka Khan to receive BET Honors in 2013

Published Friday, Dec 21 2012, 21:14 GMT | By Justin Harp

Halle Berry and Chaka Khan are to receive special awards at the 2013 BET Honors.

The stars are two of a group of African-American luminaries to be honoured for their contributions to culture at the upcoming ceremony.

Halle Berry at the 'Cloud Atlas' premiere arrival at the Princess of Wales Theatre during the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.

WNBA legend Lisa Leslie, former Venture Records executive Clarence Avant and preacher and Sparkle producer TD Jakes will receive tributes.

The cable channel began its BET Honors gala in 2008 and has since paid homage to the likes of Alicia Keys, Tyler Perry, Whitney Houston, Jamie Foxx and Iman.

Gabrielle Union is to host next year's event, with special appearances by other celebrities also scheduled.

BET Honors is taped on January 12 in Washington DC and will air on the network on February 11.

Thursday, 20 December 2012

Halle plays it for laughs as it is revealed she is Ellen DeGeneres' Christmas mascot

It's Holly Berry! Halle plays it for laughs as it is revealed she is Ellen DeGeneres' Christmas mascot

By MONTY ARCHIBALD

PUBLISHED: 21:37, 19 December 2012 | UPDATED: 08:04, 20 December 2012

Her public profile has taken a bit of a battering in recent months.

So no doubt Halle Berry will be hoping her comedy appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show as her Christmas mascot will help restore some of her lost popularity.

The crowd were left in stitches when she recorded her appearance as Holly Berry for her shock appearance on the popular daytime chat show.

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Good golly Miss Holly: Halle Berry played it for laughs when she appeared as the Ellen DeGeneres Show's Christmas mascot

Just who was playing the character was kept a mystery as it regularly rampaged onto the stage for a festive 12 Days of Christmas skit, but its identity will be finally revealed on January 3.

The Catwoman favourite certainly seemed to have found her level as she larked around on the set, much to the amusement of the studio audience.

But it was not as easy as it looked for the 46-year-old to get in character for the jolly role.

For her transformation was revealed in backstage photographs showing her getting ready, with the first step making sure she was well hydrated as she was sure to lose plenty of fluids while dressed in the stifling costume.

The X-Men star then wore a smile of slight trepidation of her face as the main part of the costume was lowered over her head.

Getting juiced: Halle made sure she was well hydrated before putting on the stiflingly hot costume

Berry excited: The Monster's Ball favourite wore a wry smile as she got ready to don the outfit

Given her success as Holly Berry though, she would surely not would be short of offers from sports franchises if she decided to make a career out of being a costumed mascot.

Halle has been a regular fixture in the news in recent months due to her ongoing custody dispute with former partner Gabriel Aubry, who won a fight to stop her moving to France with their four-year-old daughter Nahla in November.

The acrimony reached a low point when Gabriel was involved in a brawl with her current squeeze Olivier Martinez which resulted in him being hospitalised on the American Thanksgiving holiday.

However a police probe into the incident was dropped after Halle, Olivier and Gabriel's attorneys all agreed to settle the matter to avoid a messy criminal trial.

Very helpful: Enthusiastic Ellen could not resist lending a hand as the glamorous actress pulled on the outfit

Transpiration complete: Connoisseurs of the actress' work will surely agree it is her finest costume since Catwoman