Tears flow as Halle Berry surprises her 5th grade teacher and 'second mom'
On Celebrity IOU Monday, Academy award-winning actress Halle Berry teamed up with the Property Brothers, Drew and Jonathan Scott, to surprise the woman whom she calls her "second mother" with a renovation of her 1920s home.
Berry's fifth grade teacher, Yvonne Sims, became a mentor to her and, ultimately, one of the most important people in her life. "My mom was a single mom and so she worked a lot," explained Berry. "So my sister and I were very much latchkey kids. She sort of took me in under her wing. I have a white mother and she, being a Black woman, taught me about my culture."
Halle shared that she went to a predominantly white school, so having Sims, who was one of only two Black teachers at the time, was a gift that changed her life. "I think she saw the need in me. She saw that I needed to be mentored and she stepped in," said Berry.
Sims shared, "Halle was eager to learn more about herself, being of mixed heritage."
"She would take me to art museums, teach me about Black history, about my heritage, because it wasn't really taught in schools. She just picked me up, you know, and quickly became more than a mentor, almost like another mother," shared Berry.
Since Berry has always seen Sims as a gift, she was thrilled to be able to give her a big gift in return and even began to cry as she told Sims, "There's nobody who's been more selfless and helped so many people, not just me, hundreds of kids, and nobody deserves this more." And the emotions didn't stop there as, later in the show, following the reveal of Sims's new stunning home, the two began to share even more tears.
Video Transcript
[THEME MUSIC]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
- [CHUCKLES]
HALLE BERRY: [CRIES] (TEARFULLY) How are you?
YVONNE SIMS: I'm good.
HALLE BERRY: Nothing in here is different. Like--
[LAUGHTER]
I have a surprise for you.
YVONNE SIMS: What?
KYLIE MAR: Academy Award winning actress Halle Berry teamed up with the "Property Brothers" Drew and Jonathan Scott on "Celebrity IOU," Monday to surprise the woman whom she calls her second mother.
HALLE BERRY: My mom was a single mom, and so she worked a lot. So my sister and I were very much latchkey kids. She sort of took me in under her wing. I have a white mother, and she, being a Black woman, taught me about my culture.
KYLIE MAR: Halle shared that she went to a predominantly white school. Having Yvonne, who was one of only two Black teachers at the time, was a gift that changed her life, so she was thrilled and emotional to be able to give her a big gift in return.
HALLE BERRY: There's nobody who's been more selfless--
[MUSIC PLAYING]
(TEARFULLY) --and helped so many people, not just me, hundreds of kids. And nobody deserves this more.
KYLIE MAR: Halle has had some pretty bad-ass roles over the years, so it's no surprise that she got down and dirty during the demolition stage.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
HALLE BERRY: If they ever needed a property sister--
[YELLS]
- All right.
HALLE BERRY: I'd be down.
KYLIE MAR: And it also wasn't a surprise that following the reveal of Yvonne's new stunning home, the tears continued to flow, and Halle could barely handle it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
YVONNE SIMS: [LAUGHS] [INAUDIBLE] Always crying.
HALLE BERRY: I know. I'm a crier. I can't help it. I just--
YVONNE SIMS: Oh.
HALLE BERRY: You mean so much to me.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[WHOOSH]