Halle files for divorce

Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry is getting divorced for the second time, it was announced today.

The X-Men star, who also appeared in the James Bond film Die Another Day, has filed for divorce from her husband, R&B singer Eric Benet, a spokeswoman said. The couple were married for about three years and separated in October.

Berry, 37, who became the first black woman to win a best actress Oscar for her performance in the 2001 film Monster's Ball, was previously married to baseball star David Justice.

Tabloids speculated about Benet's faithfulness from nearly the moment they married in January 2001.

The two met in 1999 at a party to celebrate the premiere of Berry's HBO film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, about the first black woman nominated for a best actress Oscar. Berry won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for the Dandridge role.

Although the couple had no children of their own, Berry was stepmother to Benet's young daughter, India, from a previous relationship with a girlfriend who was killed in a car crash 15 months after the girl was born. In her Oscar acceptance speech Berry described Benet, 34, as "the joy of my life".