Halle Berry Recalls Experience With Perimenopause Herpes Symptoms, Talks Taboo Women’s Health Topics With Jill Biden at A Day of Unreasonable Conversation

First Lady Jill Biden sat down with actress Halle Berry at A Day of Unreasonable Conversation on Monday in Los Angeles. The annual event unites members of the entertainment industry and government leaders.

Biden opted for a pale purple longline blazer, pairing it with a patterned silk scarf, layered bracelets and a white midi dress. Berry, meanwhile, put an edgy spin on business casual attire, wearing a black leather jacket over a button-up blouse and pinstriped cargo pants.

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Berry and the first lady discussed taboo topics in women’s health, including menopause. The duo also emphasized the need for a new approach to women’s health research. Biden and Berry encouraged screenwriters and other film and television creatives to produce projects highlighting the experiences of women over the age of 40.

Berry recalled her own experience with perimenopause. “First of all, my ego told me that I was going to skip [perimenopause],” she began. “I’m in great shape. I’m healthy. I managed to get myself off of insulin and manage my diabetes since I’m 20 years old. So that makes one think, ‘Oh, I can handle menopause. I’m going to skip that whole thing.’ I was so uneducated about it at that time.”

“I feel like I have razor blades in my vagina. I run to my gynecologist and I say, ‘Oh my God, what’s happening?’ It was terrible. He said, ‘You have the worst case of herpes I’ve ever seen.’ I’m like, ‘Herpes? I don’t have herpes.’

“I realize after the fact, that is a symptom of perimenopause. My doctor had no knowledge and didn’t prepare me. That’s when I knew, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got to use my platform. I have to use all of who I am, and I have to start making a change and a difference for other women.’”

In 2023, Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York and Rep. Debbie Lesko of Arizona, in collaboration with nonprofit Let’s Talk Menopause, presented the Menopause Research and Equity Act to Congress. The bill aims “to require the director of the National Institutes of Health to evaluate the results and status of completed and ongoing research related to menopause, perimenopause or mid-life women’s health, to conduct and support additional such research and for other purposes.”

Biden and Barry were hardly the only stars in attendance at A Day of Unreasonable Conversation. Kerry Washington served as the event’s cochair, while Paris Hilton and Surgeon General of the U.S. Dr. Vivek Murthy discussed mental health and coping with loneliness.

“I am proud of what we did this year with A Day of Unreasonable Conversation,” said A Day of Unreasonable Conversation founder Greg Propper in a statement. “There were conversations that will help culture creators evolve their positions and find common ground to take collective action. We learned how to create more viable futures — for our planet, for those who have too often received the short end of the stick and for those of different abilities and resources.”

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