Halle Berry [photos] may be 42 but 'Esquire' has named the Oscar-winning actress their 'Sexiest Woman Alive'.
"Well, I don't know exactly what it means but being forty-two and having just had a baby, I think I'll take it," Halle says of the title in the magazine's latest issue. "There are billions of women on the planet, but let's just say for giggles that I am the sexiest woman alive."
"Does being the sexiest woman alive imply that I know a thing or two about what's sexy and, possibly, about sex itself? I'm not sure, but here's what I do know: I know damned well I'm sexier now than I used to be."
"Sexy is not about wearing sexy clothes or shaking your booty until you damn near get hip dysplasia; it's about knowing that sexiness is a state of mind -- a comfortable state of being. It's about loving yourself even in your most unlovable moments. I know a little bit about that."
"Sexiness is also about knowing what's sexy to you. To me, spaghetti is sexy, especially when it's served off the tips of a man's fingers. I like that. And I think wine is sexy, just before sex. It relaxes me. But if I want to get a serious groove on -- if I want an out-of-body experience -- I'm all about the sloe-gin fizz."
"I think lingerie is sexy, and I'll wear it, sure. But truth is, I'm good-to-go in a tank top and bare feet -- although every woman should own at least one good pair of pumps. That's really the only wardrobe you need for sex: a tank top and pumps."
"What else? Ah, yes: the big O. You know that stuff they say about a woman being responsible for her own orgasms? That's all true. And in my case, that makes me responsible for pretty damned good orgasms these days. Much better orgasms than when I was twenty-two."
"And I wouldn't let a man control that. Not anymore. Now I'd invite him to participate. I'll tell you this: I've learned my tricks. I know what I like. I do not wait around. I initiate. And I'm not all about frequency. I favor intensity."
"You see, the years go by and you learn, and that just deepens your understanding of every experience."
"Sex and sexiness. It's all about the moment; it's about what you know as much as it is what you offer. That's why I share this title with every woman, because every woman is a nominee for it at any moment."
