A Smitten Young Shaq Wrote A Glowing Letter To Halle Berry

by Glenn Davis | 8:22 pm, October 31st, 2011

A couple months ago, the Miami New Times leaked some emails that featured Shaquille O’Neal saying some really embarrassing things. While the most striking of these emails were probably the ones exchanged between Shaq and model Dominica Westling, also noteworthy was the 2007 correspondence in which Shaq declines to be set up with several attractive women, instead demanding – despite protestations that she was too young – no less than Rihanna.
SportsGrid senior editor Dan Fogarty noted at the time that: 1) yes, the 16-year age difference between Shaq and Rihanna is rather significant – especially at the time, when he was in his mid-30s and she not yet out of her teens; 2) Shaq really thought he had a shot with her?! Today, though, we got some confirmation that Shaq’s high standards aren’t a recent development. Deadspin leaked some passages from Shaq’s forthcoming autobiography, and in one of them, we get a glimpse of a much younger Shaq expressing his admiration for an especially lofty target:

I remember being in the dorm room one night and we were watching the movie Jungle Fever with Halle Berry in it, and I thought she was so stunning, so I wrote her a letter. I was just kind of kidding around, telling her I was a big fan and I’d love to meet her sometime. The guys totally goofed on me for doing it, but I didn’t care. A few weeks later, no lie, Halle Berry wrote me back. She sent me a signed picture that I still have hanging in my office. Turns out she’s a basketball fan. She wrote, “I’m a big fan of yours, too. I can’t wait until you get to the NBA.”

While a signed photo response seems like standard fan mail procedure, the “big fan of yours” message isn’t something Berry would be giving to just anyone…and probably made the goofing Shaq endured worthwhile. All the excerpts are worth a look – there’s info on the breakdown of Shaq’s relationships with both Kobe Bryant and Pat Riley, as well as his future plans. But we just find ourselves coming back to Shaq’s (impossibly?) high standards. Hey, there’s something to be said for knowing what you want.

Au naturel: Halle Berry shows off a new curly hairdo while out and about with boyfriend Olivier Martinez in Berlin

By Laura Schreffler

Last updated at 8:40 PM on 29th October 2011

She's gorgeous no matter what she wears or what 'do she has, but even Halle Berry may not be able to pull off her latest hairstyle.

The 45-year-old actress stepped out in Berlin, Germany today for a shopping trip with boyfriend Olivier Martinez.

The French film actor, also 45, helped his lady love hobble around the KaDeWe department store, as she is still on crutches after sustaining a foot injury while walking in Majorca, Spain.

The new 'do: Halle Berry shows off her curly mullet while shopping in Berlin, Germany today

Halle has worn a variety of different styles over the years, and it's commendable that she's finally wearing her locks wild and natural.

However, her formerly short and spiky style was much more flattering than the short and curly mullet she's currently sporting.

Her usually on-point style was slightly off, as well: her outfit of jeans, boots and a baggy jacket was a bit masculine for the stunning star.

Her crutch: Boyfriend Olivier Martinez has been a source of strength to the 45-year-old actress

Although her fashion and beauty regime seems a bit off, at least things in her personal life are going well.

In addition to having a gorgeous and doting boyfriend, whom she met on the set of her upcoming film, Dark Tide, she's also won another round in the court battle with model ex Gabiel Aubry over custody of the pair's three-year-old daughter, Nahla.

A Los Angeles judge has refused Aubry’s request to rescind a requirement that a nanny be present whenever he has custody of Nahla while the two are in Europe, according to TMZ.

Boyish crop: Halle and her Dark Tide co-star hobble around Berlin

Another small victory for the Oscar winner is that her stalker, Richard A. Franco, was recently ordered to stand trial on two charges after he was caught at her house in July.

According to the Associated Press, he remains jailed on $150,000 bail but will return to court on October 31 for arraignment.

He pleaded not guilty to burglary and stalking charges after he was arrested for trespassing on her property multiple times.

Halle's hairstyles: No matter how she wears it, Ms. Berry looks gorgeous

Halle Berry

Tuesday, 1 November 2011

Young Halle doing the splits with her PomPoms