The herpes misdiagnosis that marked Halle Berry's life

Actress Halle Berry , Oscar winner for her role in Monster's Ball (known in Spanish as The Past Condemns Us), has decided to dedicate herself to raising awareness about menopause and its effects on women.

During her recent appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, she confessed the reason for this decision. “One morning, it took me 10 minutes to empty my bladder,” she recalled. When she went to the doctor, the diagnosis was devastating. “I know these symptoms (...) it's a really bad case of herpes,” the specialist told her.

After receiving the diagnosis, Berry and her partner, musician Van Hunt, spent days questioning each other about the source of the supposed infection.

But it was all a mistake. In fact, Halle was experiencing one of the first symptoms of perimenopause: "That's how I discovered dry vagina syndrome, which women experience during this stage."

The actress of films such as Gothika, X-Men, Catwoman, What We Lost Along the Way, Cloud Atlas, Beguiling a Stranger , and who was a Bond girl in Die Another Day revealed that after being diagnosed she had to find a way to resume sex with her partner. "We struggled to find a way to have sex again, to get rid of the dryness, because it got quite difficult for a while," she said.

This Tuesday, it was also revealed that the Hollywood star will not be able to wear the dress she had chosen for the opening night of the Cannes Film Festival due to the new red carpet dress code.

The American actress , who is on the jury that will decide which film wins the Palme d'Or, said she would likely have broken new rules that prohibit excessively voluminous dresses and nudity on the red carpet.

"I had an incredible dress by designer Gupta to wear tonight, and I can't wear it because the train is too big," the actress said. "Of course, I'm going to follow the rules. So I had to make a last-minute change," she confessed.

The star showed her support for the festival organizers for cracking down on overly provocative outfits with new rules. "The nudity part is probably a good rule," she said.

Cannes organizers raised eyebrows by putting their dress code rules in writing and making them public for the first time. "This isn't about regulating" what people wear, but rather "prohibiting total nudity on the red carpet, in accordance with French law," a spokesperson said.