September 8, 2025
Berry, her menopause advocacy company Respin Health, and supplement company Perelel Health, spearheaded a campaign, “Turn Up The Heat,” in effort for Newsom to sign AB 432, pushing for a requirement that health plans cover menopause-related treatments.
Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry has slowly become the face of menopause, a period of reproductive changes that women face after 50, and now she is turning to politicians to get the word out — starting with outspoken California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Politico reports.
Berry, her menopause advocacy company Respin Health, and supplement company Perelel Health spearheaded a campaign, “Turn Up The Heat,” in an effort to encourage Newsom to sign AB 432. The legislation, created by California Democratic Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, requires health plans to cover menopause-related treatments.
With the anticipation that the bill will pass in the last weeks of the Golden State’s session after a modified version was shot down by Newsom in 2024, the legislation offers incentives for doctors to receive additional training on menopause beyond what was learned in medical school.
Berry says the lack of menopause education has caused wear and tear as she goes through this stage in her life. The first Black woman to win the Academy Award for “Best Actress” admitted that she suffered for years after being misdiagnosed and spent thousands of dollars before learning that she was experiencing the effects of perimenopause at 54.
“It’s sort of a desert island for women in midlife,” Berry said.
“We’re half the population, and we’ve gone far too long being ignored. It’s really a human rights issue.”
Through the campaign, Respin and Perelel Health are sending emails to customers in addition to posting messages on social media, encouraging people to send a message to Newsom, hoping that will put the pen in his hand to sign the bill if it hits his desk.
“By sending this letter, you’ll send a message to Sacramento that California women deserve the care, understanding, and resources to navigate menopause with dignity and health,” the campaign reads.
“Together, we can close the gap in care and create a future where no woman is left to face menopause alone.”
By definition, menopause is the period when a woman’s menstrual cycle slows down and eventually ends, marking the transition out of fertility between the ages of 45 and 55. The dreaded time period comes with dozens of symptoms — starting as early as 10 years before — in addition to hormonal changes such as hot flashes and changes to heart health and the immune system.
Labeled as a sex symbol as soon as she stepped into the Hollywood limelight, Berry, now 59, started her journey into menopausal advocacy back in May 2024 after standing on the steps of Capitol Hill, supported by female members of Congress, and shouting, “I’m in menopause!” according to Forbes. During her speech, she touched on how this time in women’s lives can be just as sexy as being in the 30s and 40s, given the proper education on what’s happening to women’s bodies.
“For so long, people have put me in this sex symbol box,” Berry said.
“For someone like me to speak about going through menopause, which has been so stigmatized, if I can say, ‘Hey, it’s sexy to arrive at this time of our life, it’s actually a privilege to age.’ I hope I’m giving [women] the courage to stand tall and accept that we don’t have to stay eternally 30. I mean, who wants to stay eternally 30?”
She isn’t alone in the fight as the legislative push started in 2023 with the bipartisan “Advancing Menopause and Mid-Life Women’s Health Act,” a would-be federal bill that would’ve allocated $275 million for federal research on menopause. However, with President Donald Trump’s return to office, advocates like Berry’s group had to pivot.
However, the policy change conversations with state lawmakers and governors have not stopped, with Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Patty Murray (D-WA) planning to reintroduce the legislation alongside Berry for Menopause Awareness Month in October. “We will keep pushing, and we will keep going to Washington and doing what we’re doing, but we really feel like we can get real things done on a state level,” the mom of two said.
“It’s a smaller bite, it’s a tiny win, but all of these tiny wins will add up to the big win.”
RELATED CONTENT: Healing A Generation: The Intertwined Crisis Of Black Maternal Mental Health And Infant Well-Being
