Cover Girl: Halle Berry in Parade Magazine

Parade magazine is a Sunday newspaper insert, and this weekend actress Halle Berry makes the cover. Here's some excerpts from their recent interview with her.

In a revealing interview in this Sunday's PARADE, Oscar-winner Halle Berry discusses new details of her failed marriages, her desire to be a mom and how therapy changed her outlook on life. Below, read our Web exclusive interview with Berry, who costars with Bruce Willis in the upcoming thriller "Perfect Stranger" (opening April 13).

Also, photographer Michael Larsen, of the husband-and-wife team Larsen & Talbert, takes you behind the scenes of PARADE's photo shoot with Berry.

On surfing the Web...
In Perfect Stranger, Berry uses a false online identity to catch her friend's killer. When asked if she ever goes online anonymously, she replied: "I did at first. I thought, ‘Wow! I can be whoever I want to be. I can say whatever I want to say without being judged the way I would be if I said it.’ It was very liberating. Then I got bored with it."

"We're all the same..."
"As people, we all have insecurities and imperfections, and we're all just struggling to get it right, to figure it out and find our way. Nobody is spared that. I don't care who you are. Nobody is spared."

Playing the dating game as a celebrity...
"Fame is hard on relationships. If two of you are in the fishbowl, forget it. If one is, it's tough on a relationship. Men can sometimes feel a bit diminished. It's nothing you do but how you're perceived."

The benefits of therapy...
"People still associate therapy with being crazy. But I think you're crazy if you won't consider going to get help for yourself—to learn the tools to deal with the problems in your life. Once people see what it is and what it's not, they race to go back. They get the benefit. But it's hard to get people to the first session because of fear."

She's just one of the gals...
Writer Emily Listfield, who interviewed Berry for PARADE, says: "I was pleasantly surprised by how un-divalike Halle was. We were due to meet at 8:30 a.m., and she showed up alone, on time and was overwhelmingly polite. She is absolutely beautiful with no makeup. She was open and curious about my life, as well as willing to talk about hers. When we got onto the subject of our love lives, she was a total girlfriend, laughing mischievously and giving advice!"

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Behind the scenes at PARADE's photo shoot with Halle Berry

Below, photographer Michael Larsen—who, with his wife, Tracy Talbert, shot Berry for PARADE—offers fun details from the photo session:

Where did the photo shoot take place?
Miranda Lofts in Manhattan.

What time was the shoot scheduled to start?
9 a.m.

How long did the shoot last?
Five hours.

What food was served?
Both breakfast and lunch were served. Breakfast included fresh fruit, muffins, pastries and yogurt. For lunch, salmon, tangerines, sandwiches and veggies were served.

What music was playing during the shoot?
"I had downloaded what I thought was [Berry's] favorite music, which was listed on her Web site," Larsen says. "It turned out that information hadn't been updated in a while. So when I proudly displayed all of her 'favorite music' on my iPod, she looked puzzled and asked where I got my information. She laughed and explained how those were here favorites about three years ago!" Shortly after, the photography staff downloaded some of Berry's current music choices from iTunes, including Justin Timberlake and The Pussycat Dolls.

Who accompanied Berry to the shoot?
She arrived with her publicist.

Observations of Berry:
Michael Larsen says: "Halle was charming and professional, and everything went very smoothly. We had a lot of fun, took some great pictures and said goodbye."

Adds Erin Nedell, PARADE associate photo editor, who attended the shoot: "Halle was quiet, demure and not demanding. She got in front of the camera and worked it without being coaxed too much. She really knew which poses to hit."

Photo from Parade.